John Berger Ways of Seeing Summary: Whats the Big Idea About It?

So, the other day I was cleaning up my old bookshelf and found this book called Ways of Seeing by John Berger. I remember buying it years ago, and I thought, “Why not give it a read now?” And wow, it really messed with my head, in a good way!

I started reading it on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I’m not gonna lie, it wasn’t like flipping through a comic book. I actually had to think while I was reading it. I was reading it very carefully, word by word. I even read some parts a few times to really get what Berger was saying.

John Berger Ways of Seeing Summary: Whats the Big Idea About It?

Then, I grabbed a notebook and started jotting down the main points from each chapter. For example, I wrote how Berger talks about the difference between seeing and looking. It’s like, we see tons of stuff every day, but we don’t always really “look” at them and think about what they mean.

After that, I tried to summarize each chapter in my own words. I’m not gonna lie, this was tough! But it really helped me understand the ideas better. It’s like, when you have to explain something to someone else, you really have to know what you’re talking about, right? It made me realized I have to learn more about the art.

  • Chapter 1

    I wrote down how the meaning of an image can change depending on where and how you see it. I mean, I kind of knew this before, but Berger really spells it out. He uses that example of a painting of wheatfield with crows, and how it means something different in a museum versus on a postcard.

  • Chapter 2 and 3

    These chapters were a bit of a trip. They’re all about how women have been depicted in art throughout history. I jotted down notes about the male gaze and how women are often shown as objects to be looked at, rather than as, you know, actual people. It got me thinking about all the ads and movies I’ve seen, and how women are portrayed in them.

  • Chapter 4 and 5

    Okay, these were about oil paintings and how they’re often used to show off wealth and power. I wrote about how the paintings themselves are kind of like possessions, and how they were used to make rich people look even richer. I scribbled down some thoughts about how this still happens today with luxury goods and all that.

    John Berger Ways of Seeing Summary: Whats the Big Idea About It?
  • Chapter 6

    This short one was about how images can be used to create nostalgia or to kind of romanticize the past. I think I wrote something like, “Makes the past look better than it was,” which is pretty much the gist of it. And that made me remember all those “good old days” talks, and I couldn’t help but think about whether it is just some kind of fantasy of some people.

  • Chapter 7

    The last chapter was a bit of a wake-up call. It’s about advertising and how it uses images to make us want things we don’t really need. I made notes about how ads create this fantasy world where everyone is happy and beautiful, and how they try to make us feel like we need certain products to be like that too. It is interesting.

After reading and taking notes, I felt like I saw the world a little differently. The book really stuck with me. I started looking at art and images in a whole new way. I even caught myself analyzing billboards on the way to work!

It made me realize how much images shape our understanding of the world. I highly recommend this book to anyone who’s interested in art, media, or just how we make sense of the things we see. But be prepared, it might just change the way you look at everything!

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