When looking into the flow of visual culture, so much has happened in the last fifty years that has continued to erode borders between people of different geographic locations and cultures in our world, through the prevalence technologies that allow for mass distribution of images and other mesia, such as television, radio, personal computer, and the internet, etc.
After doing the reading, I was surprised by the fact that it took a bit of activism on the part of the public (by people such as Stewart Brand) before NASA released a photograph of the whole earth in 1970. I had always believed that images of the earth in it's entirety had been taken and released to the public years before that during the space race. It was interesting to see the effect that this photo which NASA called "the blue marble" would have on many people across many countries. This image as well as other striking images that came after (The Last Whole Earth Catalog) became strong symbols for peace movements around the world, as they pushed the idea that humankind should be unified across national boundaries. The effect that images can have on bringing together support for a cause or an ideal is staggering.
Cultural imperialism being put to use as a new weapon in the cold war as a means to influence the views and perceptions around the world was a way in which people could be exposed to new cultures. While this had been intended to garner support to the ideals of either the West or the East, it still contributed to this spread of visual culture.
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