According to the Oxford Dictionaries, the 2013 word of the year was
“selfie”, which Oxford defines as “a photograph that one has taken of
oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to
a social media website.” (BBC News, 2013)
The word 'selfie' is so ubiquitous in social media. But do we call any picture of ourselves a selfie? Does it require an arm or a selfie stick to be seen in a picture? In my opinion, not necessarily. A selfie allows people to see how they will look on a picture before it is being captured. It can be purposely staged or posed to their satisfaction. It is not the same when somebody else takes a picture of you where you might already have an idea of how you want to pose, but unable to see how you really look like when the picture is being captured even though it can also be taken again for many times to your satisfaction. I think it is considered as a self-portrait rather then a selfie. In short, selfie and self-portrait are two separate, although at times overlapping,
efforts at establishing a definition of one self.
The history of selfie:
In Internet culture class, selfie is related to self-portrait done by painters in early ages. Back in 18th century, self-portraits, whether drawn,
painted or sculpted, were mostly commissioned by the
wealthy people- royalty and nobility. They are a symbol of status. In the mid 19th century, the attitudes
about humanity following the Age of Reason combined with the social
upheavals fueled by the Industrial Revolution brought the activity of
painting into the homes of the middle class. The working class and the poor were painted to serve as a political statement at that time. Vincent Van Gogh's collection of self-portraits places him among the most prolific
self-portraitists of all time. He used portrait painting as a method of introspection, a method
to make money and a method of developing his skills as an artist.
In 1827, Joseph Nicephore Niepce made the first photographic image with a camera obscura but it was meant for viewing and drawing purposes. It requires eight hours of light exposure to create a photograph. Louis Daguerre in the late 1830s developed a more convenient and effective method of photography- daguerrotype. Portraits were the most commonly produced type of photographs in the first decades of photography, comprising an estimated of 95% of surviving daguerreotypes. In 1990's, computer-based electronic cameras became increasingly available. The invention of Z1010, first cell phone with front-facing camera by Sony Ericsson in 2003 made selfie even more popular and handy. More and more cell phone companies follow suit by introducing more advanced front camera. Applications like Instagram that provides a platform for photo sharing creates another peak in selfie culture.
All in all, it is safe to say that technology is what gave rise to selfie. It has became so abundant and different from the purposes back then. The greatest difference of self-portraits in the past and selfies nowadays is that selfie is inherently replaceable. It also indirectly means that people nowadays can have more versatile online identity.
References:
BBC News, (2013).
'Selfie' named by Oxford Dictionaries as word of 2013. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-24992393 [Accessed 18 Jan.2016].
Van Gogh Gallery, (2002). Self-Portraits. [online] Available at: http://www.vangoghgallery.com/misc/selfportrait.html [Accessed 18 Jan.2016].
Rawlings, K. (2013). Selfies and the History of Self-Portrait Photography. [blog]OUPblog. Available at: http://blog.oup.com/2013/11/selfies-history-self-portrait-photography/ [Accessed 18 Jan.2016].
Selfies
and the history of self-portrait photography - See more at:
http://blog.oup.com/2013/11/selfies-history-self-portrait-photography/#sthash.a0JO9Gpr.dpuf
Selfies
and the history of self-portrait photography - See more at:
http://blog.oup.com/2013/11/selfies-history-self-portrait-photography/#sthash.a0JO9Gpr.dpuf
The
self-portrait and the selfie are two separate, though at times
overlapping, efforts at establishing and embellishing a definition of
one’s self. - See more at:
http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/whats-the-difference-between-a-selfie-and-a-self-portrait/#sthash.re7rHBB1.dpuf
The
self-portrait and the selfie are two separate, though at times
overlapping, efforts at establishing and embellishing a definition of
one’s self. - See more at:
http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/whats-the-difference-between-a-selfie-and-a-self-portrait/#sthash.re7rHBB1.dpuf
The
self-portrait and the selfie are two separate, though at times
overlapping, efforts at establishing and embellishing a definition of
one’s self. - See more at:
http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/whats-the-difference-between-a-selfie-and-a-self-portrait/#sthash.re7rHBB1.dpuf
