Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/07/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I'll mildly point out that the failure of Barthes and of post-stucturalism in general is precisely this: his/its failure to allow for the historicity of any given text. -Family of Man- appeared in what, 1951 or '52? I don't have my copy handy. It was produced by and for a generation that had, in fact, just expended millions of lives and billions of dollars in just that effort do "do something to change the world," unless one views acquiesence to the threat of facism and kindred totalitarianisms as a more desireable behavior. Perhaps their concerns do not meet our enlightened standards, but they are legitimate nonetheless. There's a reason that combat photography appears in the exhibit. It's both glib and cynical to dismiss the work as the "pinnacle of western cultural imperialism," Barthes notwithstanding. It is in part, however naively constructed, an attempt to conceive of a world at peace. Chandos Michael Brown At 02:44 PM 7/9/98 -0400, you wrote: > >Oh please... Family of Man is the pinnacle of western cultural imperialism (and this post is coming from an American). It merely allows people in wealthy industrialized countries to feel comfortable in their lives instead of opening their eyes to the difficulties of the world and trying to do something to change it. As Roland Barthes wites in his essay by the same title (which I highly suggest reading), all lives are not created equal, a reality the exhibit glosses over by suggesting some sort of imaginary parity between the coutries whose life average life expectancies (not to mention infant and maternal mortality rates, etc.) differ by over 30 years. > >----Original Message----- > >From: Eric Welch <ewelch@ponyexpress.net> > >But life is the same the world over > >in many ways, including our backyards. The Family of Man is a perfect > >example of that. > > Chandos Michael Brown Assoc. Prof., History and American Studies College of William and Mary http://www.resnet.wm.edu/~cmbrow/