Power in Images

Reading Responses:

Powerful Influences on my life:

- Family: Domination Power (Coercive)
- Social Media: Consensual Power (Persuasion)
- YouTube: Domination Power (Belief in Expertise)
- Friends: Consensual Power (Affiliation)

What images move you emotionally? When an image affects your emotional state, does the image hold power over you in some way? 

I found myself most moved by the image of the person being tied up as a puppet for the clock. I did find that the image held power over me since it was trying to hold my attention in the hopes that I would perceive its true meaning. This could be seen as Situational Power because either I give in to the image's power and continue to look at it or I could remain in power and place my attention elsewhere.

Is it the image itself or its context that gives the image its power? 

I find that both parts make up the power of the image. To begin with, the context the image gives helps sets the mood in a sense and begins to direct our thoughts down a certain path. The image itself then helps push us down that mental path and to dive into how the context is being used by the image. It may be turned on its head or shown upon in a new light, but there would be no new context if there also wasn't an image to represent it in the first place. 

Discuss your 3 selected concepts in terms of power and for whom.

Accessibility: I find that Affiliation power of both parties suits this concept best because both groups bring something to the creation. The students help give feedback and test out new ideas while the creator takes those feedbacks and tries to either fix what is already their or build new paths to the same goal. With both sides helping out, the final creation becomes all the more impactful and unique.

Creativity: This concept would be Situational Power because it all depends on how the activity is created and curated. Sometimes, the activity is cut and dry with the curator having all of the power in the lesson and other times the student is the one given all the power for certain purposes. This also takes into consideration the times when an activity doesn't go the way a curator would want it to, leaving the student with all the power until the curator can come up with a new solution.

Visual Culture/ Social Media: I found that the Belief in Expertise Power fits best in the way for the creator because they are trying to have the student believe that they are the expert in the activity. That since they are the one who has created it, they fully understand what needed to be done and what could be shown. The power itself may not be too strong though since many students today are hesitant to fully believe what they are told.