However, the invention of photography changed the way images were viewed. This is a process of cultural “mystification of the past” (Berger 16). However, when the historical value of the image was discovered, men started depicting images that were already there in order to create a path towards the continuity of its legacy. For instance, the first visual representation of images was that of things that were not present. This idea reverberates the theory presented by Roland Barthes who points out that we never encounter images in its literal purity for they are always painted with a symbolic message (Barthes 42) Production of images has changed over the years and this has changed the perception man has about them. Thus, an image, when separated from time and place will hold little meaning to the observer for she will have no reference to derive its meaning. Images are the vehicle to create certain responses, which are actually the connection the brain makes to the image and the construct related to that image. In other words, what we see is influenced by what we know and believe (Berger 8). The main argument posed by Berger is that what we see is influenced by what we understand. Ways of Seeing is a seminal work by John Berger published in 1973 that propounds that academics have obscured the meaning of images. The paper will also discuss how images make a social distinction between men and women and how the commercial pillage objectifies the latter to validate certain long-standing social constructs. This paper discusses how images help to create social history. Images help us understand not only the message in it but also about the culture. The images that are presented all around us are open books that chronicle the history and the social binding of society. We see images in newspapers, billboards, television, and even in mobile phones.

Berger john ways of seeing