What is in a Name?
By Nicole Clinkaberry
On Instagram,
users can choose to accompany a photo with a caption, title or status or just
let the picture speak for itself. A friend and I often joke about how other
mutual friends will post a photo of themselves (known as a “selfie”) and
caption it with something along the lines of, “Heading out for breakfast”, when
in fact that photo has nothing to do with breakfast at all. However, by giving
this meaningless “selfie” a caption, our mind builds a story that this person
has gotten up in the morning and made themselves pretty for a breakfast date
and they just had to share that with everyone. The words have given an identity
to the image.
This weeks’
reading from Tuan (1991) spoke about the power of language and how naming
creates character and meaning more than the physicality of a space can. When
you quickly scroll through Instagram it seems just like one picture after
another, but when you add language, the images can take on a whole new meaning.
The words extend on the idea that the photo is bringing and allow for more
substantial layers of a narrative when others comment and conversation starts. Dr.
Van Luyn (2013) referred to how narratives can take something simple and make
it complex by drawing on memory and events that may have occurred and therefore
give it meaning. A photo can invoke human memories and emotions, but without
the human interaction in the first place the photo is not really anything to
begin with, “[t]he visual alone does not rise to the full potential of its
power. Words must also be used” (Tuan, 1991, p. 691).
I chose to name
my Instagram account simply nicoleclinkaberry because that is in fact my name
and a part of my identity. I wanted to keep Instagram simple and to contain no falsehoods
or mixed interpretations about what I was putting online. But what is in a
name? Kalabarian
Philosophy (1995) believe not only that language, symbols and power play a
role in naming but that it also equates to mathematical findings to determine
the force a name can hold. Their website offers a free name analysis and upon
searching mine I agreed with some statements such as I need things explained to
me in great detail before I can fully understand. However, I did not agree with
the stance that the name ‘Nicole’ means I crave heavy rich foods. I would
rather a salad any day.
References
Kalabarian
Philosophy. (1996). Name meanings – what they really mean. Retrieved from
http://www.kalabarians.com
Tuan, Y. (1991).
Language and the making of place: a narrative-descriptive approach. Annals of the Association of American
Geographers, 81(4), 684-696.
Van Luyn, A.
(2013). BA1002: Networks, narratives and
the making of place, week 5 notes. [Power Point]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au
Image:
Name Tag [Image]. (2011). Retrieved from
http://www.catholicphoenix.com
Hi Nicole,
ReplyDeleteNail on the head there I believe with reference to Language and space.
Personally I have had an Instagram account for over 12 months and today - after reading your blog I look and see Instagram differently.
It has been the expected norm that we can find a caption or a space for one on a picture wherever we go; a newspaper, research report, photo album and Instagram so naturally I put in a caption. (This obviously doesn’t take into account if the document was required to cite the source of the image). If I were to access my Instagram and delete every caption to all of my images, the nature of my “instafeed” would change.
Essentially if I have only come to terms of what I am actually doing on Instagram, it to keep me busy, however based on your point of view n your blog I now have the power over my own Instagram profile. Taking special consideration of what I caption my images or if I even choose to at all gives me the power to create my own identity and perhaps change the way people subconsciously perceive me and my activities. Rather than Instagram acting as an online “cloud” to store my favourite images I can space Instagram out as a lifetime timeline.