Thursday, November 14, 2013
Global Visions
In Denis Cosgrove's reading of "Contested Global Visions: One-World, Whole Earth, and the Apollo Space Photographs," it was interesting to find how photographs changed the perception of viewing the earth from a distance. In the past we have read readings on aerial photographs, and viewing the earths landscape from an aerial or birds' eye view distance. In this reading, we take a new angle on viewing the earth and seeing it from space. From the moon to be exact. Since the Apollo 17 did this back in 1972, it was difficult to capture colored photograph with perfect resolution. Many astronauts took this plunge and traveled to the moon to see the surface of the Earth. One of the video clips that we viewed in class today were about the three astronauts that traveled on Apollo 8. They thought that they would be mesmerized by the view of the moon, however, they were instilled by the beauty of the Earth itself. Seeing the view of the Earth as a whole was a big mark in history. Seeing the Earth as a whole brings together our nation as well as connecting us to all parts of the Earth. This signifies also an advancement in technology that we are able to capture the significant shape of the Earth. From these advancements, astronauts were able to capture "22727 which locates a perfectly circular Earth image within a square frame" (Cosgrove, 287). With this advancement of traveling to the moon and back, "America's fascination with the globe as a symbol of modernity was already apparent in the period between the World Wars" (Cosgrove, 291). Even though the nations were undergoing a difficult time with the war, people were still able to achieve greatness by traveling to the moon and seeing how fragile the Earth really is. By seeing the earth from a different point of view, it gives us a chance to reflect and be grateful that we are living on such an amazing planet like the Earth.
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I agree fully with your statement that seeing the world from a different perspective that we are not used to allows us to be grateful and also connects people all over the world and allows us to share one common habituated place.
ReplyDeleteI also found it very interesting when the astronauts were more amazed at the view of the planet Earth rather than the moon. Over time, it was shown that the view of a certain location was able to be seen from higher and higher up but to see the Earth as one whole element must have been interesting. We may find it surprising because Earth has been studied a great amount up until the 21st century and science today focuses on trying to find life sources on other planets or galaxies. Our interests have spread past the Earth and the moon which may alter how we take in the astronauts' opinion.
Another observation that relates to technology was the pattern of advancement. It's exciting to see that technology had such an early start (mass printing machines) and technology continued to grow to satellite and even more to what it is today. It is only a precursor to what advancements scientists and developers have in store for us in the future!
You mention that the picture of Earth as seen from outer space “brings together our nation as well as connecting us to all parts of the Earth.” As we discussed in class, this effect is probably due to the elimination of the sights of borders, wars, and conflicts. People must have been used to maps with borders, but maybe there is little thought of borders or war when one looks at 22727. Maybe there is an overwhelming feeling of spirituality or even the sublime. It is a picture of everything and yet it does not accurately show the full story, but it tells a story that was very much in vogue for the times. I believe that the timing of 22727 (1972, I think), as I recall that one astronaut said in lecture, was significant because it gave people more reason to seek peace instead of conflict—people were then more able to see how connected and, as you put it, fragile, this small blue bubble is. It seemed well-suited for the Cold War period. The image could portray unity in many ways—we are all living on this infinitesimal, spinning marble in an infinite, cold, barren ocean. The image could be read as a call to end war—the fact that we are able to take such a photo from outer space is a sign that human technology is so great that we are now faced with a choice to either use this great potential to destroy ourselves or to discover the cosmos and challenge the impossible. Many people certainly felt (and maybe should consider today) that a nuclear holocaust would be inevitable and imminent, which may be one reason why the image of a connected Earth was not only accomplished, as the fates would have it, but also pushed so heavily.
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