Analyzing John Berger's "Appearances"

In John Berger’s book, “Another Way of Telling” he purposes various aspects of a photograph. Determining the “good” aspects from the “bad” he presents us with the exceptional photograph. He interprets that an exceptional photograph should provide a desire to create further truth, curiosity and knowledge. The photo should arouse meaning although meaning, like the photo, is always ambiguous, in other words the photo has a form of uncertainty. For Example: If I were to show someone the photograph of these five girls laughing many questions would shuffle through their mind, especially if these five girls were unknown to the viewer. But, if the viewer knew these five girls he would have a much closer connection to the picture. In order to explain this concept Berger introduces the idea of a circle and its diameter. He explains, “The diameter of the circle depends on the amount of information to be found in the event’s instantaneous appearances. The diameter (the amount of information received) may vary according to the spectator’s personal relation to the photographed event” (121). To clarify his quote review the illustration below.

When a picture is taken it stops time:

Before the picture Picture taken After the picture

------------------------------O---------------------------------à

The dotted line represents our imagination of before and after the picture. For instance, for someone who does not know these five girls they would probably image the time before this picture as the good life and something extremely funny was said. Since there is not much to base the actual time period of the photograph on, one would probably ponder what was so finny. To someone who does not know these girls the photograph would be ambiguous but they could still have some sort of emotional connection to it. This is because we have a primal instinct to make meaning with our eyes. Berger explains: “We must take literally what vision teaches us” (116). We normally look at a photograph and immediately distill some sort of meaning. When the viewer begins viewing the photograph he would probably describe and interpret it. Stating:

-There are five girls, three blondes and two brunettes.

-They all have long hair and are laughing at something, but that something is ambiguous. -They are sitting on something like a couch because they are all seated lower than the picture and lamp behind them.

-It looks as though one of the middle girls said something funny because they are the ones looking at each other, maybe an inside joke? Or maybe they were all watching something in front of them that was funny because they are all seated facing the same direction.

-It looks like these five girls are friends and have probably been friends for quite some time.

While describing and interpreting the photograph the viewer begins to realize the picture has a sense of language. This is because he and anyone else in the universe can connect emotionally to it. Everyone knows what it is like to laugh with friends. We have all experienced the emotion and feeling of comfort when we are surrounded by people who care about us. The photograph is universal because it relate to anyone. While the picture does have a portion of language the facial and body expression of the girls along with a quote or caption would create a sense of a narrative to/about the photograph.

If I were to change roles and say the viewer knew these five girls, or was one of these five girls everything explained would change. The diameter of the circle would expand along with the viewer’s knowledge of before and after the picture was taken. The viewer would be able to interpret the picture and have a solid emotional connection to it. This image becomes a particular image because it is a wash of history to the people who knew the girls along with the girls in the photo.

This next photograph resembles a sort of truth. Berger states, “As one looks through the camera on to the experience of others, it is the “utter truth.” “In fact, when a photograph is used scientifically, its unquestionable evidence is an aid in the coming conclusion: it supplies information within the conceptual framework of an investigation” (98). Therefore when looking onto this picture of the x-ray of a broken leg, if is extra evidence for doctor assessing the patients leg. There is no need for captions or quotations the picture is, in fact, the utter truth. Berger’s quote “within the conceptual framework” implying that within the hospital and the broken leg (the framework) this picture is providing exact truthful evidence to both the doctor and the patient. Even if the photograph was not of a broken leg, it would still have “the status of fact,” and this is because pictures stop reality. For example the five girls, the picture cannot lie because that exact moment of that particular photo happened. If we added a caption to the photograph it would provide an even larger truth. Lets say we said: “Girls laughing at inside joke” there would be an even larger truth to the picture.

Photography is complex, a notion of history and an interpretation. Whether someone knows the people in the photograph or doesn’t they are still apt to have an emotional connection with the picture. There are normally universal connections to every photo along with particular ones for personal pictures. Pictures create some sort of meaning and language they have their own personal narrative or way of speaking and explaining this controversial world around us.