Rhetoric of the Image

The first quote I found interesting was on page 269: "According to an ancient etymology, the word image should be linked to the root word imitari. Thus we find ourselves immediately at the heart of the most important problem facing the semiology of images: can analogical representation (the 'copy') produce true systems of signs and not merely simple agglutinations of symbols?"
First, this is what agglutination means: a clumping of bacteria or red cells when held together by antibodies (agglutinins).

wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

I liked this quote because I did not know that image basically comes from imitate. Also, a picture is just a memory captured, it's not the actual memory, it brings up emotions that we felt but a picture is not as true as being there and experiencing what happened. He questions the representation the picture holds and how true this image is. I just think it's interesting since to be there in the photo you know the truth, versus having a photo of what happened you can assume it's the truth. The second quote is on page 276: "...we never encounter (at least in advertising) a literal image in a pure state." This when connected to the media happens all the time. We don't know what is behind that picture in the magazine or on the billboard. How airbrushed is the man? How actually skinny is the model who looks so flawless? This quote just makes me think how mean advertising can be to society. This photo is my daughter's first haircut- kind of. She had just turned 5 and her friend was getting a trim so I decided she could get one. The catch was I had to trim her hair first. This lady did not want me to trim her hair. I as a parent decided it's my God-given right to the first haircut and was about to go buy scissors or not let her get the trim when finally the stylist caved in and let me trim her hair outside real quick. This picture means nothing but a haircut to many, but I see it and remember the frustration and triumph I had that day over an inch of hair.