Crossing the bridge

“A witness is authorized to speak by having been present at an occurrence. A private experience enables a public statement. But the journey from experience (the seen) into words (the said) is precarious… It always involves an epistemological gap whose bridge is fraught with difficulty. No transfusion of consciousness is possible. Words can be exchanged, experiences cannot.”

In his essay published in the journal Media, Culture, and Society, John Durham Peters brings forth provocative realities about the role of a witness. As the above quote demonstrates, it is impossible to truly communicate the act of experiencing an event to an ignorant second party. The “bridge” between experience and words that Peters describes is one that our society has tried to form in many different fashions. We of course relate verbally; but we also take photographs, write stories, paint pictures, and videotape those experiences in our life that may be of significance to others or ourselves....