"Way of Seeing"
John Berger's article, out of the couple other pieces I have read for this class, was the easiest to read because I understood what he was referring to and could think of real-life examples that related to the points Berger touched upon. He first discusses how "the way we see things is affected by what we know or believe." This phrase reminded me of phobias and fear. If someone has a phobia of spiders, the sight or even discussion of the creature can make this person extremely anxious and uncomfortable, they may even break down into tears at the sight of one. A different person may be able to see a spider in their house and calmly return it to the outdoors without breaking a sweat. The person with the phobias may believe that spiders are dangerous and have a disturbing appearance, while the other person may believe that (most) spiders are harmless and play an important role in the ecosystem.
Berger's points about how one's one beliefs/perspective changes how they see things reminded me of love. A person's perception of another person varies between lovers and friends. A woman would see their male friend differently and interact with him differently than she would her husband, who invokes different feelings and behaves differently around.
Berger also discusses how vision continually changes because of the relation of the world around you and how you can see something but never truly replicate what you saw because of the disconnect between an eye and being there versus a camera. It brought to mind when I went to Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington state and took pictures of the mountain and landscape. Yes the pictures were beautiful but they did not capture the entire beauty of the moment I had experienced. The picture did not capture the sound of the rushing water, the warmth of the sunshine, or the calmness of the breeze. From this piece, I understood that there is always a disconnect between the actual moment and the image that is taken from that moment.
Berger's points about how one's one beliefs/perspective changes how they see things reminded me of love. A person's perception of another person varies between lovers and friends. A woman would see their male friend differently and interact with him differently than she would her husband, who invokes different feelings and behaves differently around.
Berger also discusses how vision continually changes because of the relation of the world around you and how you can see something but never truly replicate what you saw because of the disconnect between an eye and being there versus a camera. It brought to mind when I went to Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington state and took pictures of the mountain and landscape. Yes the pictures were beautiful but they did not capture the entire beauty of the moment I had experienced. The picture did not capture the sound of the rushing water, the warmth of the sunshine, or the calmness of the breeze. From this piece, I understood that there is always a disconnect between the actual moment and the image that is taken from that moment.
The image of Mt. Rainier I took. The brown was a powerful river that ran down from the mountain.
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