Family Snaps

Abstract

The Family Snaps Representing the Family. Deborah Chambers. Sage. 2001 In her new book, Representing the Family, Deborah Chambers offers an ambitious and quite comprehensive attempt to chronicle progressive perspectives on resistance to the nuclear family ideal. She represents the ideal both in massmediated discourse and as it is presented in private individuals and families. The strongest part of the book is the original research Chambers presents on private family photo albums and photographs. The book covers a great deal of important material, but ultimately and unfortunately fails to make a strong case for a perspective of its very own and is sadly beset by a plodding, passive writing style that at its worst drives the reader into a rather restless state of semi-somnolence and at best, blocks the way to Chambers' most crucial points. In the best part of the book, Chambers allows us a peek inside her own rather unusual upbringing and the sad tale of how many of her family pictures were destroyed in the '70s by seawater that leaked into a ship's hold during the family's many travels. It may have been this traumatic loss that peaked Chambers' interest in the whole notion of familial representation. She cannot replace her own photos (excepting some strays that relatives kindly donated on hearing of the tragedy). And yes, Chambers goes on to say: to most families, such a loss would indeed be considered a true 'tragedy.' Such an event would certainly not match the loss of a real, flesh and blood, live person, but it ranks very high among families with whom she spoke for an earlier research project dedicated solely to this subject. I agree with those individuals who say that the one thing they would grab first in a natural disaster is a family photo album. Some of my own dearest familial representations are now posted in a remote and 'hidden' part of the World Wide Web. When given permission to share them with the world, I will. At the point when people decide to share their private photos with an anonymous audience, most distinctions Chambers draws between private representation and the massmediated variety vanish. This has vast implications for the nature of late modernity and post-modernity, but Chambers does not adequately explore the changing nature of visual representation in what many call the Information Age. As much as I enjoyed the mid section of the book when Chambers explores the implications of family photos and photo albums, I have profound problems with many other aspects. Most glaring, for me are the startling grammatical lapses that made it through the editing process. I find this puzzling. Chambers uses the 'passive voice' writing style constantly throughout the work; it not only grates, but also drains the book of the excitement the material should reliably induce. …