Enshittification
This one is pretty self explanatory
Alo alo!
On trend with the current state of global diplomacy, or lack thereof, I’ve recently been sliding down the slippery slope of thinking that everything is increasingly rather shit.
The word Enshitification was originally coined in 2022 by someone called Cory Doctorow, in reference to online platforms, streaming services and apps, aka the internet. He’s since gone on to write a book of the same name, about the topic. He argues we’re living through the Enshitocene―the Great Enshitening of the internet. Haven’t yet read it, but sounds decent.
I’d like to encourage the term to be used more widely though, for almost everything. Now, as much as the tech giant are to blame for much of it, it’s too widespread to point the finger specifically. But you fashion designers and Gen Z/Alphas aren’t excused - what’s with all the plain-Jane boring clothes? Doesn’t anyone else miss stripes, paisley, patterns, and colours aside from brown, grey and black? I do.
What’s all this have to do with photography, on a photography focused Substack?
Well, I think photography is also getting enshittified too, in a few ways - one being the entire ecosystem, thanks to the frantic speed of online publishing, and minute attention spans of the audience/readers/people - thanks again to the tech bros.
Editors no longer have time to work with photographers deeply, give assignment briefs, reply to pitch emails, build long term relationships with photographers, and vice versa.
Another is the fads of the photography world. One minute a particular editing and colour toning palette is in demand, the next, people are over it. You’ve all seen it - the current ultra desaturated, ultra low contrast photography, as if shadows were fictitious. There was also the not so subtle deep vignetting circa 2011-2014. One of the more recent ones is using direct flash for everything and anything. None of these are necessarily bad, but it’s funny seeing them grow widely, and then vanish, until the next fad comes along. They’d be more valid if photographers picked one style and stuck with it for longer than the fad phase.
Maybe I’m just being a grumpy old sod as I get older. Having watched a few old films from the 50s and 60s at the recent Istanbul film festival, I came out feeling nostalgic for periods of time before I was even alive. The way people dressed, the designs of the cars, the pre generic/pre Americanised heavy world. Music festivals and gigs of my youth when you could actually see the performance without a sea of glowing phone screens taking the same videos.
Vote away with your thoughts, add any others in the comments.
After having brought you down, I’d now like to lift you up.
There has been some glorious photography of late, specifically from Artemis II, the space capsule. It gives us all some much needed calm and wider perspective on life.
There have also been some more bizarre photography stories too. The British RSPCA (an animal protection charity) posted a photo of 87 gorgeous but mistreated dogs in a house, and the internet accused them of using A.I. to make it. This is how far we have come, people don’t believe real photography, but have been tricked plenty of times by fakes. (feel free to read this previous post on that)
The photo was in fact real, unfortunately for the real dogs involved.
BBC ran a series of photographs from the 19th and 20th centuries that experimented with manipulation and trickery.
The late Steve Schapiro claimed he struggled to keep his left eye open in the latter years of his life, due to taking too many photographs over the years.
So, no everything isn’t necessarily getting enshitified, but it’s definitely not as rosy as it once seemed to be.
Roll on the enshitoscene and the shitageddon 😃
Happy workers day, and happy May Day!
B x