#scientific looking

In this week's class lectures, we looked into chapter 9 of Sturken & Cartwright and the topic of scientific looking! The first thing we looked into about the topic was one of the earliest computer renderings of dimensional human figures. These were made for technical purposes and were used to represent the cockpit of an airplane which was very interesting to see! Another topic we dove deeper into was media, art, and gender politics which was very interesting to learn about as well. This dove deeper into the medical skills and gaze involving techno, art, or craft, and mainly focuses on drawings. The next topic we discussed was actually my favorite topic we hit on that talked about more of the anatomical and surgical theaters! These theatres are where autopsies or dissections were performed by doctors for people who had a fascination with the art of the body or were just normal students trying to learn about the human body. These anatomy theatres are not still performing today, but we do have something called body museums that allows us to look into the human body still. Body museums are buildings full of art of the human body for people who want to look more into seeing human remains. After learning about this week's discussion, I have learned so much more about the different ways the human body is perceived and has been discovered over the years. Technology and the human body have never been something I have gotten into, but it was interesting to hear about. I never thought that these two topics had any similarities at all, but I found it very educational and I loved all the examples we studied and discussed in this week's lecture on scientific looking!

This week in class, we discussed scientific looking and chapter 9 of Sturken & Cartwright. This chapter sounded like it would be interesting to learn about. I found it interesting to read about the many imaging technologies used in the twenty-first century and how technology has developed in the past. One of the first subjects we covered in class was the invention of Boeing Man, one of the earliest three-dimensional human models to be rendered by a computer. This technology was developed for tech-related social objectives and to simulate an aviation cockpit. Anatomical and surgical theaters were my favorite topic to read about. We discovered that one of the earliest depictions of a human as a symbol of nature in the universe was da Vinci's Vitruvius man. This image, which was produced for both technical and artistic reasons, is highly well-liked. I have frequently seen this picture in public places like schools. The anatomy theaters was another subject that I thought was related and fascinating. While they dissected and operated on the bodies of criminals, these were utilized to instruct and amuse the students. The notion of dead bodies and the morbidity of a crime fascinated people. Although we no longer have anatomical theaters, body museums are a very similar concept. A good illustration is the picture of a skinless pregnant woman lying in an unusual position in the museum. The Body Worlds Exhibit features this artwork, which has raised many moral dilemmas. I now know much more about the various ways the human body has been understood and discovered throughout history thanks to this week's conversation. Although I've never really gotten into technology and the human body, it was interesting to learn about. I thought it was quite instructive, and I appreciated all the cases we looked at and talked about.

Chapter nine, Scientific Looking, Looking at Science, was very interesting. Seeing art from a scientific point of view is something I’ve never thought about people. This chapter was about the relationship between culture, science, and media. As new technologies were developed, such as X-rays, CAT scanning, ultrasounds, ad MRIs, there was a shift in the visual aspect as well. Before these technologies, the only way of seeing into a human body, was “through the study of cadavers” (pg 344). The book also talks about the “Body Worlds” exhibition, a “collection of preserved human cadavers” (pg 347) that have been shown in exhibitions worldwide. This exhibition was created to show the inside of the human body to all of society. 

The section of the chapter that I found most interesting was the Digital Body. Focusing specifically on digital morphing, I found it incredible how it has changed the outlook on humanity. It allowed for “statements about universal humanity and the blending together of races (pg 367). Michael Jackson used digital morphing in one of his music videos. This allows society to take a step back and recognize that we are all humans and the same on the inside, no matter our physical appearance on the outside.

This week’s chapter on scientific looking was very interesting to me. I had not thought to relate the principles of looking to anatomy. The two main things that sparked my interest this week were medicine as spectacle and evidence, classification & identification. The process of looking became more complex after modern imaging heightened the knowledge of bodies. The anatomical and surgical theater believe that man was not created from the same principles of the natural world but instead a microcosm of the world. Meaning that we as people encapsulate in miniature the characteristic qualities of the world. Anatomists would entertain and educate audiences in anatomy theaters. In these theaters, they would use the bodies of criminals which made the morbidity with crime a central feature of the visual spectacle of modernity. Cameras are a part of identification, evidence, and classification because they reveal truths that otherwise cannot be perceived. The term positivism refers to the value that truth comes from sensory experience. I love photography and filmmaking so I was intrigued on learning about how photography related to this chapter. It was said that in photography, mechanical instruments intensify our access to empirical truths, getting rid of human error and subjective impressions. Empirical truths also known as actual truths are based on evidence and research gathered by observation or experiment. Sturken and Cartwright emphasize to see is to know and photography helps with this. Photographic documentation supports classification and document studies and diagnosis. Prior to reading I hadn’t realized that photography is in science and medicine. The same way I might capture an image to conserve a memory or document my life is the same way they use it for discovering and understanding the human body. Technology is used for a number of things in various occupations. Biometric technology is used for profiling and identifying individuals. Other technological systems like X-rays, PET scans, and sonograms assist in viewing one's interior and supporting biomedical truth.

This week in class we learned about diversity and "Scientific Looking". I found this to be a little bit confusing at first, but after our class discussion I felt as if I was able to comprehend it a little bit better. On Wednesday, we were shown a video of different people from all over the world kind of combining into each other and then discussed the significance of this. My original thought was that everyone is so diverse and different, but we are also so similar to each other. This was just one of the things we talked about in class this week.

We also discussed how the advancement of technology has changed the way people act. We watched a video in class with a guy wearing a mask and talking about how these surveillance/identifying systems are so bad for us, but I disagreed with this. Personally, I find that surveillance systems are helpful in many aspects including; identifying criminals, providing crucial evidence in many cases, and even protecting citizens. When we talked about the video in class, everyone else seemed to have the same thoughts as me with how the video didn't make much sense and most people disagreed with him.

I think that being Identified by cameras can make people uneasy at times, but our society as a whole has (for the most part) accepted this. Overall, this was an interesting week in class and I enjoyed learning about "Scientific Looking".

The Scientific Gaze

In Chapter 9, Sturken and Cartwright discuss how scientific looking is not isolated but rather dependent on social, political, and cultural meanings. The emergence of photography in the 19th century was an important development that allowed imagery from the scientific world to be seen even more truthful and objective. However, the authors note that scientific imagery comes with the influence of the authority behind it and may be used to a affirm a certain ideology and construct stereotypes about race and gender. For example, images were used in prison and hospital as visual markers of what is considered normal and abnormal, inviting the viewer to see the physical differences of how these people fit within the normal cultural standards and norms. The Visible Human project also demonstrated how images display traditional gender stereotypes as males were displayed in active states while women were presented in pregnant states.   

The first image I chose is a part of the Nazi propaganda used by the German Health Ministry in 1938. The chart shows what will happen if there is an increase in the reproduction of the “inferior” and a decrease in the reproduction of the “superior.” This image is not without its political and cultural meanings as it serves as an extension of Hitler’s aesthetic ideal and political agenda to justify the forced sterilization of the “inferiors.”

Sturken and Cartwright also talk about the theater of science and how surgery, bodies, and death had always been a site of fascination. The Leiden Anatomy Theater was a place where people could view dissections. This fascination to look on and into the human still exists today as we have television shows of people undergoing medical procedures. The authors bring up the question of whether the art, science, and pop culture can remain in separate realms and whether entertaining the audience has become equally important as informing the audience.

The second image is from a Korean television show called “Let me in.” This show, like many other plastic surgery makeover shows, features contestants’ before and after, happy endings with clapping and oohs and aahs as depicted in the picture, and rarely shows the negative aspects of plastic surgery. For entertainment purposes, contestants are given nicknames such as “Small Face,” “Scar Face,” “Wannabe,” and “Top class.” Blurring the line between science and entertainment even further, the show fantasizes the results of cosmetic surgery through making the reveal at the end dramatic, as contestants are revealed in ball gowns with a huge curtain backdrop.

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