Technology mediates the high school musical. But, per the final example, the motives of the tourist Mona Lisa photographer do diverge from those of parent videographers: both are using technology to capture/realize the experience of being there, but the parent is also more likely to be zoomed in on nuances of the performance (specifically, a what their kid is doing at all times while onstage) that would not necessarily show up in a single professional video. Ten years from now, personal video cameras may well have become smart and unobtrusive enough to reside in the glasses-frames of parents, who’ll then be able to have their cake and eat it too. At least till they get busted for intellectual property theft (which could well be schools’ the real reason for the camera-bans). “Life Through the Viewfinder,” a post by blogger mrs tulip, 6 April 2009 :: via Tomorrow Museum
Two schools I have taught at in the past couple of years ban camera use at their high school musical night. One of the reasons is because students look out to the audience to see if mum and dad are watching. If they see only a sea of lenses instead of adoring eyes they are met with technology rather than soul.We are obsessed with recording life from our point of view, even when it is only 30 cm from the next person’s POV.The Mona Lisa is photographed by every visitor to the Lourve when we have ready access to pristine images of her taken in optimum lighting etc.We humans are strange creatures