Assignment 1 -MOMA

Jeffrey Figlar

ACM

02/19/20

MOMA Assignment

In Judith A. Howard’s ‘Social Psychology of Identities’ we learn that “identity is a concept that neither imprisons nor detaches persons from their social and symbolic universes” (Davis 1991:105). In earlier times identity was not chosen by the individual but was assigned by other factors. Today, a person’s identity means much more than it used it and is something that people pride themselves on even more. A person’s identity is what makes them unique and is what people revert back to at the end of the day. 

Social cognition says that people categorize information first and foremost. By categorizing what we see or hear we are making it more familiar and easier to relate to. The first movie I watched was Miscellaneous Reels by Joseph Szkodzinski, who used clips from 1977-1978 to form this film. In this film you see a man in various areas taking photos while he is being filmed. This film has many different cl2ips throughout, but I believe all take place in NY. From various mountainside shots to the everyday life in New York City, they were not specific in what they captured. Sharing clips of taxis driving, people walking the streets, to the mountains and fields of upstate New York, they gave us a glimpse of what life physically looked like during a whole different time period. The man in the clip identifies as a photographer and seems to be dedicated to his craft. Through watching him do his work it is obvious that he is passionate about photography and could be grouped in with others who love art or do this type of craft for a living. His passion for photography says a lot about him but does not sum him up entirely. He may be into art, but he may also be extremely different from another photographer based on other factors such as where they grew up, who their parents are, and etc.  

The second movie I watched was Best South Seas by an Unidentified Filmmaker in 1937, which seemed to take place in Hawaii. This filmed was of a woman and some men who danced for a crowd in what seemed to be a festival. It seemed the women who was scene in various different shots identified as a performer but also her culture played a huge part in her. Throughout the whole film you see the wonderful lifestyle of Hawaii, and how the people of the island have such strong Hawaiian roots. From beautiful volcanos, to islanders cannoning, and many culture dances, I believed this film was meant to be seen by an audience. The audience would be anyone interested in cultural dances or anyone who identifies strongly with their own culture. The woman in the film is dancing for an audience and seems to identify as a performer. From the footage alone it is clear that her ability to dance is an important part of who she is because of the way it is captured. It showcases the culture of those from Hawaii and also her intense passion for dance. Howard describes Interactionism by saying that “people attach symbolic meaning to objects, behaviors, themselves, and other people, and they develop and transmit these meanings through interaction” (Howard). The woman dancing in this film is meaningful because the dance is intertwined with their culture and their identity. To anyone raised in Hawaii this is a symbol of their heritage and although they might not be the ones dancing, they are being represented in a way. When people see hula dancing, they may connect it to Hawaii or something general, but to a Hawaiian and/or someone who grew up on the island it has significant and deep meaning. 

The third movie I watched was Wise Family, S.D.W & Friends Roughing It in Canada. When I started to watch this film I quickly was intrigued because I enjoy watching people camp. From various scenes of them cannoning, fishing, and or making a campfire to eat, they all seemed happy and genuinely having a great time. This family in the film were all comfortable with being in the nature, which indicated to me that they identify with nature and have a passion for the wilderness. Howard goes into detail about identities across time. She writes “theories of social cognition have underemphasized how identities shift over time” (Howard). In this film the people are seen camping which is not for survival but for fun. In primitive times camping could not be seen as someone’s hobby or something fun to do because our idea of camping is what they did to survive. In modern times people go out into the wilderness and live without basic necessities for fun. For the people in the film it is obvious that camping is fun for them. They identify as campers but only in first world countries would camping be considered a hobby. If we consider how some people even today have to scavenge and hunt strictly for survival this identity shifts to something else entirely. 

            Identities come from a collection of our surroundings, our family, our trauma and our passions as well as so many other factors. Each person may find importance in one thing more than the other and creates the sense of self. Siblings may come from the same two people and live in the same area but end up being completely different people. Identities are extremely specific and are not entirely created by the individual but rather accepted by the individual. What we allow shapes us into who we are but also what we reject shapes us as well. Every choice a person makes results in their sense of self.