Nat HW 1: Photography, Selfies, and Cindy Sherman

Although I do enjoy photography I’m not particularly fond of the way it is used through social media. I think social media has both enhanced and spoiled some forms of photography. Social media has allowed artist to bounce back ideas and create this sort of fluent language in art. It has given access to people all over the world and provided a platform for many artists. However it has had some repulsive affects on society. Selfies are one of the dominate forms of photography to be used in social media and is in my opinion the worst. Not only have they evolved through time but they have also destroyed many peoples perception on beauty. In todays world people have become obsessed with their image or their impression among others. I think selfies aren’t always healthy. Social media is a huge form of communication but so is photography. Due to those similarities they both can be devised for forms of destruction. Many people of this generation are no longer authentic to their own nature. Some even live in denial of who they are due to society’s influence. Society has gave structure to this falsehood of beauty and has even advertised it. We no longer are satisfied with our true selves. We evaluate and interpret beauty through what social media finds acceptable. My opinion may be controversial but social media has indeed turned selfies into something far worse but I do think Cindy Shermans selfies are innovative. Now I may sound like I’m contradicting myself but her selfies are reliant on her own perception of beauty. The altered selfies do not enhance her appearance or make her look more attractive. Therefore I think Cindy Sherman’s use of selfies are for different purposes. I think she is trying to provoke her audience and challenge society’s view on beauty through social media. With all things being said I still like selfies and consider it to be a form of art but I do think we need to stop glorifying and identifying with these non idealistic forms of beauty.