I'm alive

Alstatt, Robert
Title In Class Essay 3

Today the world is fast pace with so much getting filter thru multiple eyes. Know one really knows the truth. Shekhar Deshpanda has written an article “The Confident Gaze” describing how this filtering is being played out in the magazine The National Geographic. Deshpanda worn the readers of the National Geographic that we must understand how National Geographic and other forms of educational publications are used. Deshpanda from his article writes “It is a magazine of choice of teachers of history, anthropology and culture in general schools” (Deshpanda). I remember my days as a youth and going to the school library. You know there was no internet in my day. The way I would see other cultures and what I thought to be outrages or even odd was to look at the National Geographic magazine. I would imagine that I was the great hunter after the big cat or even Tarzan sometime yelling” ahhhh ooo ahhhh” or something like that. Deshpanda brings interesting perception and uses it to tech us to not get fooled by the glossy some what staged pictures of these magazine. Taking from Deshpanda article, “While we admire the accomplishments of its photographers to bring us the rest of the world, we forget that the photographs and the contexts in which they are placed represent a very conscious effort by the editors to make the world a happy place and a happy place for the Western eye” (Deshpanda). I see can see why Deshpanda is concerned and I do feel that he has a point. The National Geographic as do other magazine, do depict images that are eye catching. These magazines are in business to make money and we many not what to think it the west is where the money is. The magazines do a great job of providing us with picture of place that we may never get to go to or will only see in them. Yes are this picture stage setup yes but we readers understand this and want this. These magazines are only providing what we as there clients expect. Further more I do not believe that the National Geographic magazine has ever been adoptive buy the educational board as accredited teaching material. I believe that the magazine is a publication that sales a view of what you are missing out there. They are not trying to be a text book, but they are trying to be entertaining and informational. Readers of these styles of periodical need to use them for conversational starters, to bring out question to used them in discussion in education and not as the educator.

Summary: Deshpande - Elizabeth Blake

In Shekhar Deshpande’s recent essay, “The Confident Gaze,” Deshpande explores the hidden meaning behind National Geographic and their article on India’s 50 year anniversary of freedom from Brittan, something our nations have in common. National Geographic, while being a non-profit organization has a very American view of the development of budding democracies. Deshpande asserts out that the magazine is dangerously close to being a “blatantly ethnocentric” magazine posing as objective journalism. Deshpande discusses the framework their photography provides for a sugar-coated idea of India’s overall well being. ”National Geographic has made an aethstetic of its own photography.” Deshpande insists. “It is slick, it is technically flawless or even adventurous, and it attempts to sanitize and universalize the uncomfortable as well as different elements of other cultures.” Thus creating a palatable story for a group of people who desire to feel socially and worldly conscious while not bringing themselves down.

Oops what year is it

Oops what year is it?
The Confident Gaze
by Shekhar Deshpanda
The National Geographic misty lens
Shekhar Deshpanda article the confident gaze is a call for vision, for its reader to wake up and see the photographic message depicted in The National Graphic magazine. Deshpanda is educating his readers on the deception or as in his words “While we admire the accomplishments of its photographers to bring us the rest of the world, we forget that the photographs and the contexts in which they are placed represent a very conscious effort by the editors to make the world a happy place and a happy place especially for the Western eye”(Deshpanda par 9). Deshpanda is leading his reader to discover the hidden message the glossing over of the truth, the real vision not the made up view. Despanda brings this out clearly stating “The pictures of the monsoon or the image of a woman cooking food on the pavements of Calcutta are devoid of their documentary contexts. They are great in providing excruciating detail of misery, the unpreparedness of a youngster in the rain or the paucity of food and water on the pavement. From the worn out bricks to the tobacco stains on the teeth, the photographs are rich in their content, but entirely dishonest in their relationship to the environment or the context. It is as if that world needs to be in appropriate way to Western observer, could he not see it in its bare essentialities” (Deshpanda par.13). Deshpanda views could hold water and probably does with people of the 1950s and early 1960s but in today’s world we are for more educated and understand that it is a money drive world and you must appeal to your audience. The National Geographic magazine doesn’t just materialize it all take money and the western eye is where it is. By the way back to Despanda article he talks about a photograph of the van and the white man and the three women and how this supports his argument. Reread it, this picture is from 1947 think about it. In 1947 photographic technology was adventurous it just wasn’t aim and shoot you didn’t just pull your camera out of your pocket. Taking a picture was a process and the one lady describe as if to be mesmerized by the camera, no doubt, India in 1947 I can safely say this was the first time she saw a camera and the two other woman where most likely afraid of it. Read what you want into photographs just don’t let people tell you what you should see.
Bobby Alstatt (Nihilist)

In the essay,” National Geographic’s Misty Lens”, By Shekhar Deshpande, Deshpande reminds the readers of this magazine of all of the priceless pictures that are on every page throughout the magazine. He also brings to our attention that the photos that are taken are not what we think they are and that there is more behind the beautiful photo than we think. He also reminds the audience that the magazines job is to sell magazines and to put things in magazines that people in the western eye wants to see. He states, "[W]e forget that the photographs and contexts in which they are placed represent a very conscious effort by the editors to make the world a happy place and a happy place especially for the Western eye" (pg. 2) This means that the photographs can be misleading along with the stories that go with them which overall gives the western eye a false understanding on how other cultures actually are. All throughout Deshpande’s essay he continues to talk about how the photographs in National Geographic are what attracts the audience and the stories behind them are not accurate to what is actually going on in the photo and in that culture. Deshpande states, "The primitive, often a focus of the magazine,... [Provide an image] of what 'would have been' if the West had not taken a march toward 'civilization'" (pg. 2). This means that the photos are used to meet and western eye and to sell, which means its job is to make money and to entertain. The problem with this is that it gives us a false idea of what other civilized cultures are like. And progress for a struggling country is ultimately trying to make other countries like western civilization.

National Geographic (Slavik S)

In the article “THE CONFIDENT GAZE” by DR.SHEKHAR DESHPANDE we read about the National Geographic magazine.
It is the magazine that is view by a lot of Americans and well-liked for its photographs and worlds explorations, ect.
“While we admire the accomplishments of its photographers to bring us the rest of the world, we forget that the photographs and the contexts in which they are placed represent a very conscious by the editors to make the world a happy place and a happy place especially for the western eye”. (page 2) The author tells us about the magazine and its values in America. The magazine shows Americans what they want to see. As we look at the pictures in the magazine we often compare ourselves and in the most, if not all pictures we see ourselves being lucky and having better life.

In another part of the article author states: “Human suffering becomes worth a good image.” This means that suffrage is valuable in this magazine. Also, Americans look at another part of the magazine, where Deshpande states: “The idea of progress is always in terms of weather the others have taken steps to be “Western.” (page3) Again we tend to compare ourselves to others while viewing the images from the magazine.

Taylor on Deshpande

In “The Confident gaze” by Shekhar Deshpande He talks about the way National Geographic takes their photos and how these pictures are sheltering us from the “real world”. He states:

“While we admire the accomplishments of its photographers to bring us the rest of the world, we forget that the photographs and the contexts in which they are placed represent a very conscious by the editors to make the world a happy place and a happy place especially for the western eye”.

This is saying that a lot of the time pictures are taken around the world in places that have a lot of poverty or violence, we do not see the real India, or Iraq, or wherever, because either we don’t want to see it or they don’t want us to see it. Then he says, “ While it covers or represents such issues or situations, it can sanitize and even beautify the blood and gore of the conflict. This means that even through all a countries issues National Geographic’s photographers can make the place look beautiful. Deshpande does not agree with the way that National Geographic captures other countries, he believes that their should be truth inside their photos.

Confident Gaze - Tim

Deschpande, author of "The Confident Gaze" describes the popular magazine, National Geographic, as a means to show the world to other people with some bias on their views as a nation. In his words, "What attracts a common reader is that the magazine provides a balance of images of both, once irreconcilable aspects of life in other cultures. That increases the comfort level of its readers. They get education through information that is "balanced" and they get entertained in the beauty of its representation, which denotes such an urge to give the reader his money's worth”. This means that people of certain nations or groups will not typically migrate towards the magazine issues unless there is a balance of bias, showing the subject of review in the light that the audience desires, but not too much. He furthers this when he says “While we admire the accomplishments of its photographers to bring us the rest of the world, we forget that the photographs and the contexts in which they are placed represent a very conscious effort by the editors to make the world a happy place and a happy place especially for the Western eye”. This suggests that Western people cannot fully grasp, or do not want to grasp, the world as it truly is. We would rather see things in a positive view rather than deal with the struggles and tribulations that are everyday life for the photographed people. In a sense it is much like the material that is censored for younger audiences. If a video game is deemed ‘too violent” then the violence and gore are tuned down, or removed all together.

Word Count: 275