Declaring one’s class shares with the world an aspect of our identity that might otherwise go unnoticed - it provides others with some idea of our lived experience and the struggles we may have faced – both generally speaking and as a documentary storytellers.
As we discuss, the history of photography and filmmaking is deeply rooted in elitism, as well as colonialism, and the patriarchy – forces that continue to heavily influence these media to this day.
The only way in which we’re going to be able to decouple visual storytelling from these destructive forces – if we ever will in the advent of AI – is to acknowledge it, talk about it, and develop the tools to build a more just and humane alternative.
This is exactly the purpose of these podcasts and the articles I write to accompany them.
I really hope you enjoy this episode, and it sparks dialogue about representation, and the role photography and filmmaking has had on maintaining a limited understanding of the forces that govern our societies, and maintaining existing injustices.
References
Mark Fisher (author)
The oil machine directed by Emma Davie
Time span museum – Beatrice: Transition Under Petrocapitalism exhibition
Baltic Centre of Contemporary Art in Gatesend