Create 2023-03-15-reading-comment-elizabeth-edwards.md

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+---
+layout: post
+published: true
+category: commentary
+title: 'Reading Comment: Elizabeth Edwards'
+author: Aron Qiu
+---
+I am particularly interested in the idea that photographs cannot be reduced to mere signifiers of social forces and relations, but rather should be analyzed in detail to recognize both possible closures of meaning and open spaces of articulation.
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+The author Elizabeth Edwards emphasizes the need for a nuanced approach to analyzing photographs, one that goes beyond simply seeing them as reflections of social forces and relations. Instead, it suggests that photographs contain both closed and open meanings that require detailed analysis to fully understand.
+
+On the one hand, photographs can be seen as signifiers of social forces and relations. They capture moments in time and reflect the social, cultural, and political contexts in which they were created. For example, a photograph of a group of people protesting for civil rights in the 1960s can be seen as a signifier of the social forces and relations that led to the civil rights movement.
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+However, the author argues that photographs should not be reduced to these social forces and relations alone. Rather, they contain both closures of meaning and open spaces of articulation. In other words, while some meanings in photographs may be fixed and closed off, others are more open to interpretation and can be explored in greater depth.
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+To fully analyze a photograph, one must pay attention to both the closed and open meanings it contains. This requires a detailed examination of the composition, subject matter, and historical context of the photograph, as well as an awareness of the viewer's own cultural biases and assumptions.
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