Visualizing Theory

  The image above is Elon Musk, a prominent inventor, entrepreneur, and businessman known for his work in technology, transportation, and even space exploration. Musk is the CEO and lead designer for SpaceX, a private aerospace manufacturing and transportation company. Musk is also the CEO and product architect for Tesla, the leading electric vehicle and clean energy company. Musk is also the current owner of X, previously known as Twitter, a social media site where you can broadcast short posts. Musk is also known for his ambitious goals, including colonizing Mars, developing high-speed transportation systems, and advancing artificial intelligence. However, Musk has also been involved in several controversies regarding his labor practices, his comments regarding Covid-19, his management of X, and hate speech such as anti-LGBTQ and numerous antisemitism controversies. The image also displays blue birds, which refers to him buying Twitter and renaming it “X.” The image also shows th...

Joe, Darrow. 2022. From New York Magazine. Retrieved April 16, 2024 (https://nymag.com/magazine/toc/2022-12-19.html).       In this picture, the cover of a “New York Magazine” article, the heads of various celebrities are edited onto the bodies of babies, in an attempt to represent their “nepo baby” status. The caption of the article confirms this, with a witticism that pokes fun at these joyful 20- and 30- something year-old infants. The idea that these celebrities have a familial “in” to the business that has been instrumental to their success is a point that is made stronger by the imagery of these famous faces in this seemingly helpless, carefree infant form. Most of the celebrities look knowingly at the camera, beaming with pride at the reader, while a few instead look off to the side or shoot a smolder our way. The exaggerated expressions on these famous faces give us the sense that a joke is being made about them, one that they are not in on. In “The Power E...

  The photo above pictures the front of the Koch Industries headquarters building in Wichita, Kansas. Koch Industries is a conglomerate corporation in control of manufacturing and distributing oil, gas, energy, fibers, chemicals, technological equipment, paper, and many other materials, across the United States. The large logo in front is written in large bold silver lettering with an American flag stuck in the middle of it. The actual building it directly behind the logo and sign. The building is large and grey filled with dark windows of offices. The outside of the building is decorated with large trees, foliage, and freshly cut grass with a clean pathway leading to the building. In "The Power Elite," C. Wright Mills argues that there are three spheres of "power elites" that make decisions for a modern society. Those spheres are the military sphere, the corporate sphere (large businesses, economy), and the governmental sphere (political) (Mills 1956: 7). These sph...

This is a picture of President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel this past November. They both look pretty pleased with smiles on their faces. They are sitting on comfortable, big armchairs that highlight their importance. Biden is wearing a Black suit with a blue and white tie (the colors of the Israeli flag), which could represent Biden's solidarity with the country. Netanyahu is wearing a blue suit with a white shirt, which could represent his solidarity with the country he governs. They are backdropped with three US flags and three Israeli flags intertwined with each other. The overlap of the flags symbolizes the allyship of the two countries to each other. There are also two little flags next to each country’s leader with their respective flags next to them. These flags make clear which nation each leader comes from. In “The Power Elite,” Mills argues that modern societies are dominated by an elite group of leaders from the highest ranks of busine...

In this image, taken on June 26, 2015, a crowd outside of the US Supreme Court celebrates the court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. Bright red balloons spelling out “LOVE” are the center of the image in the foreground; they appear to be on strings held by some members of the crowd. The heads of a crowd of people are visible, many of them holding aloft flags with the logo of the Human Rights Commission (an equal sign). The flags display this logo in bright yellow or pale pink, on a dark blue or red background respectively. The HRC is an advocacy organization that played a large role in advancing marriage equality for the LGBTQ community. A gay pride flag as well as several signs are also visible in the background. Above the flags and between the triumphant balloons, a light gray cloudy sky is visible. The framing of the image, which focuses mostly upwards, might perhaps imply optimism for the future and a focus on the path ahead. On the left side of the image part of the US Supreme ...

       The above image features a newly wed couple, better known on TikTok as Lunden and Olivia Stallings. They have a large presence and following on TikTok, as they post both about their day to day lives, but also about their relationship and how it would not have been legally possible for them to get married just 10 years ago even, in the state of Georgia, where they live. Viewers can see the couple, each with their wedding dresses and respective bouquets, as they walk down the aisle. In the background of the image, the viewer can see a few faces, one of whom is a bridesmaids, who is particularly excited, as well as a flower girl. The two brides, Lunden and Olivia are holding hands as they proceed down the aisle, with huge smiles on their faces. The subtle differences between the two brides fit their respective aesthetics which can be seen on social media. Every aspect of this photo has been cautiously handpicked by Lunden and Olivia to epitomize their relationshi...

  Nan Goldin, top: "Gilles and Gotscho in my hotel room," Paris 1992 bottom: "Gilles in his hospital bed," Paris 1993        Photographer Nan Goldin captured the gay subcultures of New York City during the late 1970s and 1980s, focusing on issues of drug use and the HIV/AIDS crisis. Goldin was close friends with the people she photographed, showing snapshot images of the intimacy and relationships she had with others. The visual diary she kept unintentionally brought to light the typically unnamed identities of the victims of the HIV/AIDS crisis, showing them as friends, as individuals, as real people outside of a statistic. These specific images were captured in 1992 and 1993 in Paris, the top one of Goldin's close friends Gilles and Gotscho, and the bottom one only of Gilles, after becoming extremely ill from an HIV infection. The top image shows humanity, love, admiration, and purity. The physical human body is typically seen as 'pure', especially whe...