Snapshot Versions of Life PDF
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Snapshot Versions of Life Snapshot Versions of Life Richard Chal/en BowlingGreenState University PopularPress BowlingGreen, Ohio43403 Copyright © 1987 by BowlingGreenState University Popular Press Library ofCongress Catalogue Card No. 87-70258 ISBN: 0-87972-387-4 Clothbound 0-87972-388-2 Paperback Coverdesign by Gary Dumm Dedication To Gladys and Sam, who saw to it that I grew up in 16mm color. Acknowledgements The writing of this book has been a long haul. It has been through severalreorganizations andrewrites. Some people, more than others, saw whatIwas up toandsupportedtheeffort. Forhelpwithearlyconceptual issues, I wish to thank the late Sol Worth, and Erving Goffman. For more recent consultation, thanks go to Larry Gross, John McGuigan, and Russel Nye. I am particularly indebted to the editorial assistance of Karen Donner. For struggling with the reading and typing of hand written manuscripts, I thank Linda Ecker, Laureen Rafalko, and Gloria Basmajian. Gratitude is extended to the College of Arts and Sciences atTempleUniversityforgrantingmeanacademicstudyleavetocomplete the first draft of the manuscript. Parts of several chapters have been published elsewhere. Original titles and sources ofpublication are acknowledgedas follows: Cinema Na'ivete: A Study of Home Moviemaking as Visual Communication, Studies in theAnthropologyofVisual Communication2(2):87-103(1975). Photography's Role in Tourism: Some Unexplored Relationships, Annals of Tourism Research6(4):435-447(1979). I also want to thank the many non-professional photographers and familymemberswhowerewillingtodiscuss theirphotographcollections with me. And for the support, patience, and understanding of Kirsten, Leah, and Claire, I am deeply grateful. RMC East Harwich, Massachusetts Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi PREFACE 1 CHAPTER I Kodak Cultureand Home Mode Communication 4 CHAPTER2 Social Organization, Kodak Culture, and Amateur Photography 17 CHAPTER3 Cinema Naivete: The Case ofHome Movies 49 CHAPTER 4 SnapshotCommunication: Exploring the Decisive HalfMinute 70 CHAPTER5 Tourist Photography: Camera Recreation 100 CHAPTER6 InterpretingHome ModeImagery: Conventions for Reconstructinga Reality 119 CHAPTER 7 FunctionalInterpretations 131 CHAPTER8 HomeModeImagery in Other CommunicativeContexts 143 CHAPTER9 Conclusions and New Questions 161 NOTES 169 APPENDIX HomeMode Questionnaire 197 INDEX 207 Preface We know that the majority of American families own inexpensive cameras, and that ordinary people use those cameras to take enormous numbers of pictures of themselves. People save, preserve, and treasure these pictures more than many of their other possessions. We know, too, that people take time and trouble to organize their pictures into various kinds of albums, sometimes sending special pictures to relatives and friends in all parts of the world. And, occasionally, they enlarge and frame individual pictures to be hung on household walls. While peoplecommonlyreveretheirownsnapshotcollections,theyoftenexpress negative opinions about other people's pictures. (Being "invited over" to see someone else's travel slides or home movies is something to be avoidedifatallpossible.)ThequestionIwanttoaddressin thefollowing chapters is quite simple, namely "What's all the fuss about?" My approach to studying amateur photography draws attention to a question that will be repeated throughout the book: "What are people doing when they make, appear in, or look at their own collections of personal pictures?" How do people know what to do? But I am not referring to technical information needed to produce photographic images. Camera manufacturers have historically taken care of that by continually developing more fully automated, error-free, inexpensive equipment. Commercial pressures and entrepreneurial initiatives have soughttoguaranteethat"everypicturewillturnout."Andtheyobviously havedonequitewell. Butquestionsaddressedin thisbookhaveadifferent twist. My studies have been directed toward understanding the knowledge that one must have in order to take "good" pictures-but what is a "good" picture? How do we decide? And how do we "know" all the things that we know about photos-how to take them, how to exhibit them? How do we know who should be asked or allowed to see these pictures, as well as when and where the pictures shouldbe shown? What is taken for granted about this type of photography? And how is this knowledge used in everyday life? I am also asking a set of questions about communication. I have been studying the kinds of personal expression and interpersonal communication that underlie forms of amateur photography. What are I
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