One World

It wasn't until reading Cosgrove’s article that I realized how prominent NASA’s 22727 photo taken on Apollo 17 was. Throughout my life, I have seen that image multiple instances. I find it interesting how, although time has passed, it seems as if photo 22727 will never become outdated. Although humans see pictures as a sort of fact, mimicking the truth, NASA’s 22727 did not necessarily have one “truth”.  As Cosgrove states, images of the world can be used to portray an empire, like the American Empire, be used by capitalist companies as advertisement, or depict the stage of the world we live in, uniting everyone who is separated by borders and lines that do not physically exist. 22727 definitely is an ambiguous image that can be viewed today through multiple perspectives. However, I find a cosmopolitan view mostly commonly associated with this image. This image was not modified to place a certain country in the center, it was taken in natural conditions. No national boundaries are shown in this image, we are seen as one planet. The reading made me realize how ironic it is that an image this significant for cosmopolitanism was  produced on a space mission that was based on nationalism, to prove that the US was more powerful then the USSR. Images of the earth can be “interpreted as a sign of spatial and social incorporation rather then of direct imperialism”(Cosgrove,281). This shows how seeing the globe can feel as if everyone is incorporated, yet it can also be used in the favor of a specific individual seeking power. All in all, photo 22727 captured everyone’s attention around the planet, and did unite the world in a way that had not been done prior, that is ,where no territories or land is claimed which ultimately divides the world.