Reflecting the seen scene: Theorizing screenshots as multistable metapictures

Abstract

This paper develops contemporary theorizing of vernacular screenshots by positioning them as artifacts reflecting the technological design and individual choices that allow their content to be viewed. By situating them within metapicture theory, screenshots induce a multistable perception of static image content as visibly nested within an imaging process. Screenshots, then, infer causal reasoning over how and why they exist. Several examples of screenshots are given to exercise this contextually reflective reading. Analysis of each exemplifies the theoretical stance described and aids in two contributions for this paper to existing discourse on image ontology in New Media. First, the paper applies metapicture theory to increasingly contemporary cases of image remediation. Second, the paper provides a theoretical approach to assess screenshots as multistable metapictures where simultaneous content readings are possible. As a result, screenshots emerge to increasingly implicate a world of interaction behind the camera lens.