Brody Week 14: The Photos
There a series of photos I took of myself nearly a decade ago that I’ve recently discovered on my phone, and I have no memory of taking them, though I wish I did.
They could capture anyone’s attention, intriguing them into thinking “what was going through this kid’s mind?”
I’ve tried to analyze the photos the way we do in APENG, looking at all the little details to see what’s going on.
I’m judging someone, clearly. This makes sense, I was a very judgmental kid. I’m at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse, but considering the table I’m at, I could only be judging the people I’m sitting with. This leaves only my parents and maybe my siblings as the victims of this nasty side-eye.
Ok, good. I’m getting closer to figuring out what’s going on here. But it’s at this point that EVERYTHING becomes speculation. Unfortunately, no one in my family remembers these photos. Of course they wouldn’t, to them this night was probably just another night out.
I feel like this particular moment in time should be engraved in my memory. I’m having very strong opinions towards whoever, or whatever, I’m judging, so why can’t I remember what’s going on?
At the very least, I should remember taking the photos, considering I took 3, all of the same moment, just different reactions to said moment.
All I’m left with is my imagination, what I would like to assume what was going on. So, this is what I’m guessing happened at this moment.
I’m sitting at the booth with my parents, waiting for our server to bring us our food. I sat next to my mom, and the two of us were playing centipede on her phone. I didn’t have a phone at the time, so I was using hers. As I’m playing, her and my dad start talking about someone in their family-friend circle. They’re major gossipers, so this isn’t out of the ordinary. But this particular time, they were talking about someone new. Someone I always believed to be one of the best aunts anyone could possibly have. One of my mom’s friends, Jamie. Now, though I’ve heard them gossip about people before and had gotten numb to the drama, because this was someone new, I was intrigued. Suddenly, my mom said something baffling, causing me to direct my full attention towards her. After this I tune her out; I’m considering the statement she just made. I start to question it. I come to the conclusion that I don’t agree, whatever she said, I think she’s wrong. Now I judge her like I’ve never judged someone before, creating my own drama without ever speaking a word.
Hello Brody, your photos are simply iconic. You took a unique but entertaining approach with this blog, working backwards like a detective to fill out a lost memory. It's funny what we as children determine what is important enough to preserve in photographs; I remember staring at a picture of the ground I took when I was around seven, wondering what was important about it, before realizing I had probably just thought a rock looked really cool. If I would have one suggestion for this blog, it would be to add a conclusion paragraph at the end—though maybe, since we will never truly know why you took those photos, the present conclusion is already fitting.
ReplyDeleteHi Brody! I'm going to be honest, I genuinely thought your blog would be about meme culture because that is what I thought those were! No offense, but I applaud your kid self for being so pop-culture and icon worthy. Anyway, this blog was a great surprise to me as I read it and one of the most unique ideas I've thought about in a while. I've always felt a little sad that I remember basically nothing from before I was around 5 or 6 years old. It baffles me to think about but I know people who remember their life as a baby?! I imagine some version of you does have a memory of this, and it is hidden very deep in your brain. But I suppose that is wishful thinking. I digress once again, but I loved how you took a chance to imagine what might have happened yourself. It was kind of funny because I did the exact same thing in my piece this week, just in a different context. But I used it as an introduction whereas you used it as a conclusion; I must say though that the latter was very fitting for your blog. It made it feel complete like you were giving yourself closure and connecting what happened to what may have happened. Though, if this gives you no comfort, I have a feeling that these pictures will make for some avid conversation in the future. I enjoyed this piece thoroughly and look forward to reading more of your work!
ReplyDeleteHey Brody! Before I continue let me just say your blog is one of the most unique I’ve read so far. I love how you painted the images as a mystery, and as someone who loves mysteries, it was fantastic reading you extract little details from the image and try to paint a story. It’s always so fascinating to see how much pictures can preserve as well as how many questions they can cause as well!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your prediction, let me share what I think about what happened. You said you took the photos, which meant that you must have had the camera app open. It’s probably very unlikely that you gave someone a side eye and accidentally took the photo. Also, these separate photos of you are three separate side eyes. This makes me believe that you may have taken these photos to practice your side eye! Just a prediction of course!
Thanks so much for sharing these photos and bringing us along a trip in trying to demystify them!
Hi Brody, when I saw the cover photo and the title, I was genuinely confused as to what I would be reading. The post took me on quite the journey, and I loved the path to understanding the photos. I liked the reference to the image analysis back from first semester, and the way you systematically looked at each part of the photo was quite humorous. The way the photo has lived on even when your memory has not is quite interesting to me, as I can always recall a moment if I see a photo of it, so this is quite a new concept. Despite the lack of a real memory, the scenario that you made up was enjoyable, and it feels as if it’s an actual experience. Overall, I loved your post and really enjoyed reading it.
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