Visual Information in America

Both of the readings from this week give examples of how great an impact the effects of visual media have on America.  In the first reading that focused on Fred Waller’s groundbreaking invention, Cinerama, there was an amazement that swept through the country because of this new way to perceive images.  People were able to use frontal along with peripheral vision to feel like they were in the moment of whatever action was happening on screen.  This example of a kind of shock to the senses is also seen in the second reading that focuses on the Eameses’ multimedia architecture.  People were overwhelmed by the amount of information that was being flashed through thousands of photos on multiple screens.  The Eameses’ goal was to change the structure in which a person gains information, which is similar to how Waller wanted people to be able to view film in a different, innovative way.  It seems to me that Cinerama and the curved screen began this idea of giving people a sensory overload.  The Eameses took this idea and forced information upon people in what I think is an almost unpleasant way, because after watching part of their Glimpses of the USA in class I found that all of the images just swirled around in my head with no uniformity.  Today, the technology for information we have is astounding in that there is way too much that one person could ever learn in a lifetime.  There seems to be this almost paradoxical phenomenon in that there are so many options to focus on, we often find it too difficult to even focus on one.  Along with this, it creates the problem of how easy it is to falsify information and feed it to the general public.  I think it will be interesting to see the new ways in which we are able to access information in the future.