Is there a perfect image? “Seemingly ripped from the clutch of death, in reality it has succumbed to it”. In analyzing photography as being similar to mummification, one must realize that while photography attempts to transcend death, its attempt is reflective of the impossibility of such a venture. The death of the image begins the moment it is being captured. Not only does the physical quality of it disintegrate, the essence of it leaks away. It becomes tainted with perceptions or interpretations of it, and we become further and further removed from the moment we try to preserve. The photograph serves as a stark evidence of this phenomenon.

What are some ways in which photography reflects social forces? Discuss how they have been successful or unsuccessful in doing so. I think that the point on how the photograph loses its meaning with the blizzard of them cheapening it reflects an important social phenomenon. With increasing consumerism and commercialization, even something as sacred as art have been cheapened through overproduction. It truly reflects how society has become numb to everything, and even if the photograph could defy death, the society will never be able to sustain it.