it’s punk to forget
Amanda Gray Reynolds 2015
questions you probably once knew the answer to... How much did you weigh when you started middle school? When, exactly, did you realize that some people are cooler than you? What was your childhood best friend’s phone number? What is the quadratic equation? The last time you stubbed your toe, how many forevers was it going to hurt for? When was the first time you ate a hamburger? What toy were you so pissed your mom threw out? What is the password for Purchase Wifi? Why did you love them? When did dinosaurs go extinct? When did you first understand the concept of death? When was the last time you believed you were going to be famous? Who sat next to you 2nd period in 10th grade? How much TV did you watch when you were six? Who was the first person you ever talked shit about? When was the last time your leg was asleep? What were you wearing April 21, 2012? What was your childhood rationale for loving your favorite animal? When was the first time you heard a country song?
*if you know the answer to any of these questions, is it because there is a photograph of it?
YOU FOrGET
EVERYTHING YOU DONT trY to REMEMBER
if you want to remember something better think about it
if you want to forget about something faster don’t think about it
Photograph
Memory
photographs
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We, as a society, are obsessed with externalizing our memory. Ever since the invention of photography, personal interest in self-documentation has exploded.
Photography is often toted as the fool-proof memory device. Writing is too subjective, others can’t be trusted, and sound doesn’t give you the full picture. Even the phrase: the full picture. It is embedded in our language that a photograph is trustworthy. It potrays a candid honesty that can’t be faked. But a photograph represents less than a second of time. You can be anything for less than a second. So why are we so attached to photography as a memory crutch? You pull out your phone to take a picture of something in order to recall it later, to re-picture it in your mind. You post something on Facebook so your friends can see your adventures and so they can share the memories. Memories, Memories, Memories...
memories
It is obvious to say that human memory existed long before the invention of the camera. The camera has sold itself since as the ultimate memory device, completely disregarding the MAGICAL nature of the human memory.
Our brains can remember sight, sound, smell, touch, taste, emotion and time. It is seven dimensional. There is nothing in the known world that can create as complete a “picture” as the human brain. So why are we so reluctant to trust our own memories? To experience something with all of our senses, not filtered by mediation objects? Why don’t we trust ourselves to recall it later? The human memory is EXCELLENT! It has developed over thousands and thousands of years to be dynamic, healing, helpful and preventative. Yet, we believe that a split second of time, captured in tiny, colorful bits could do an equal, or even better job.
mimi youn 2014
Human memory is always affected by time and constantly changing based on the present. Your past is constantly being filtered and re-remembered based on who you are now. When you were 14, you thought you were the coolest person ever, right? And that all those 10-year-olds were so young and scrawny and didn’t know shit about the world.
Now, you see a picture of 14-year-
old you and think, “how lame”. You are recontextualizing your memories based on your experiences and development. However, digital memory collapses the concept of time. A post online from six years ago can sit next to a post from six months ago, which can sit next to a post from six days ago and they all hold the same digital weight. It does not change. There is no disclaimer that notes, “This photo was from six years ago, in which I was a significantly different person.” And therefore, your perceptions of that information do not change either. It is uneditable. The way it was then is the way it is now. You are unable to reimagine or recontextualize the memory to allow it to fit into your new present. This creates the illusion that we must always stand up for our past selves. That we should have one fluid identity throughout our lives; one true version of “me”.
It collapses the
individual human freedom to forget, move on and reinvent.
shawn lenker 2015
“If human actions are never forgotten, there is little need for people to push themselves to change. In a world of omnipresent history, there may be little incentive to actively work on escaping one’s caste and breaking out of one’s mold, a fundamental element of modern englighted society. Of course, even without incentives, humans as living beings will continue to change in a digital world- we’ll age physically and modify our views, but our digital representations will forever thether us to all our past actions, making it impossible, in practice, to escape them. Without some form of forgetting, forgiving becomes a difficult undertaking. Or as T.S Elliot wrote, “If all time is eternally present, all time is unredeemable”
Viktor Mayer-Schonberger
I know it is unrealistic and unwanted for us to boycott photography, the internet or anything that takes us away from our natural human identity. Technology has solved many problems and will continue to solve many more. However, it is important to remember ourselves as seperate entities from the technology we create. Humans have particular qualities that can never be posessed by binary codes and algorithms. These qualities should be appreciated and cherished, especially as we grow more and more dependent on our shiny metal boxes. Sites like Facebook and Instagram pose the idea that being forgotten is the nightmare of humanity. A problem that needs to be solved with constantly updating newsfeeds and timelines, so you will never forget a moment. But forgetting is not a problem that can be solved by technology. In fact, it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a problem at all. Forgetting is a solution. Forgetting allows us to make decisions. It allows us to look past the particulars and on to the general. It allows us to grow and move on. It allows us to forgive others. So embrace your natural technology. Use it as much as you would your cell phone. Realize that some things donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to be remembered. Some things are better left unphotographed. Some experiences are meant to exist only inside your memory and the shared memory of your friends & family. Allow yourself to experience the necessary impermanance of the world around you. Enjoy your basic human right to forget.
CONSIGN Yourself TO OBLIVION it’s okAY