| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立彰化師範大學 === 美術學系 === 100 === Teenagers are in the stage of keen self-integration. Arm’s length photography is adopted by them as a way of retrospection and find their group identity through this behavior. During the process of expression, image is integrated with personal life experience; the presentation of visual image helps teenagers go through the process of subjectivity. Relevant theories such as the theory of subject of Lacan, psychosocial developmental theory of Erikson and dramaturgy of Goffman are adopted in this study to interpret the relevance between arm’s length photography and self-identity of teenagers. The research questions are: what is the motivation of arm’s length photography of teenagers? What is the significance of arm’s length photography behavior to them? What is the relationship between arm’s length photography/self-identity of teenagers and theory of subject of Lacan and relevant theories? This study focuses on three case studies through interviews, collection of pictures and literature.
The study sheds light on four dimensions of arm’s length photography. First, the motivation of arm’s length photography of teenagers includes recording, shift of mood and habit. Recording is the record taken on appearance and mood for the convenience of afterward search and recall. Shift of mood is to ease spiritual pressure by using the behavior of arm’s length photography or watching it. Habit is defined as the leisure adopted by teenagers against boredom. Second, the significance of arm’s length photography is adopted by people who carry out this action to increase self-identity and group identity. The former indicates the perfect image of arm’s length photography presented by photographers; thus, they have to understand the strength and weakness of their appearance in order to solidify the presumptive self and to improve self-confidence through gaining control one’s self image. The latter is because of the special value on group identity by teenagers during their stage of development, in which peer feedback is an important reference for arm’s length photographers as well as an crucial media for one’s self-identity. Third, although the self-identity of arm’s length photographers is influenced by group identity, flexibility is still maintained with the possibility of overcoming constraint. Finally, the subject of arm’s length photography adopts arm’s length photos as the code of self-presentation through the gaze of others in order to confirm the existence of oneself, but alienation is carried out during the process of presenting oneself with code.
Arm’s length photography is currently a popular culture of teenagers. The implication for teachers is that self-portrait could be adopted as concept to develop lesson plan of arm’s length photography, it will be able to increase the learning motivation of students, and teachers could focus on social significance and cross-cultural learning behind visual image. Since this study focuses on the relations between arm’s length photography and self-identity without further studies on exchange activities after photos are printed out, future studies could be developed toward issues of consumption of image and self-identity of teenagers.
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