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An essay on the importance of black history
The impact of photography on society
The history of african americans in the u.s
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In August 2013, Rolling Stone magazine’s cover had Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s selfie plastered across it. Other media outlets favored using a mugshot of him or a photo of the incident as opposed to a standard photo of the perpetrator. His long curly hair, goatee, expressionless face, and white t-shirt were on newsstands across the nation. This was met with huge backlash especially from the Boston community. Massachusetts State Police sergeant Sean Murphy said that the image was “glamorizing the face of terror” (Boston Magazine, July 18th, 2013). Retailers pulled the issue from their shelves and some (such as BJ’s Wholesale Club) ended their ties with Rolling Stone entirely. Many believed that Tsarnaev’s long curly hair and goatee …show more content…
She focuses on snapshots of a person’s daily life. hooks discusses the significance of these snapshots in the time of post-segregation; when negative stereotypes of African-Americans were rampant. For black people, these snapshots allowed others to see that in reality, black and white people were not all that different. Snapshots allow people to “look at ourselves with new eyes…create oppositional standards of evaluation” and now “[black people] saw [themselves] represented in these images not as caricatures, cartoon like figures; [they] were there in full diversity of body, being, and expression, multidimensional” (hooks, 61). hooks believed that the snapshots broke down the mental barriers between black people and white people in the minds of white people. What the whites learned through the images was that although they believed that the blacks were almost subhuman, in reality, they were no different from them. They both did normal, human activities such as playing games, loving their family, or celebrating. Tsarnaev’s selfie classifies as a snapshot, which is unusual for a magazine cover. Most magazine covers are professionally done photos that are edited and photoshopped to look flawless however the image of Tsarnaev is raw and taken with a cellphone camera. A selfie is more raw and candid than a …show more content…
Publicly, Tsarnaev is known as a ruthless, heartless, terrorist however in his private life, people have been quoted saying that they had no clue that someone like him could commit such a crime because he was so nice. Nate Mann, a student who was a year older than Tsarnaev in high school said “seriously, he was so, so normal, no accent, an all-American kid in every measurable sense of the word” (Telegraph UK). Rolling Stone was trying to show that everyday side to him because that is what should make us comfortable. According to their statement, Rolling Stone believed that since “Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of [their] readers,” there is a need to show that he is not as distant from them as they would like to believe (Rolling Stone’s Facebook Page). By making a private photo public, Rolling Stone enabled the public to close the gap between criminal and citizen so that a more nuanced discussion on the causes of terrorism could occur. How can a criminal have a heart? Terrorists are monsters that are not like the rest of us. The fact of the matter is, Tsarnaev was, at one point, no different from the rest of
Dave Cullen includes descriptive language while providing accurate information based on research he has gathered in the past and to this day continues to study. “There is a photograph. A blonde girl lets out a wail. Her head is thrown back… she became the image of columbine.” (Page 101)
In “Who Shot Johnny” by Debra Dickerson, Dickerson recounts the shooting of her 17 year old nephew, Johnny. She traces the outline of her life, while establishing a creditable perception upon herself. In first person point of view, Dickerson describes the events that took place after the shooting, and how those events connected to her way of living. In the essay, she uses the shooting of her nephew to omit the relationship between the African American society, and the stereotypic African American society.
"A picture is worth a thousand words," we say. From the eyes and mind of the archivist studying the pictures of Robert Ross' experience with war, they are worth a lot more. The photographs in the epilogue of Timothy Findley's "The Wars" play an important role in Findley establishing both a trust with the reader, and a sense of realism to his war story. This satisfies the need for realism in his tale. The result of this image that is brought forth through the medium of the photograph, is that we are forced to see the "before" and "after" of Roberts "experience" and figure out our way through what is deposited in between: the cause and effect.
Williams’ begins the article “Here I Am Taking My Own Picture” with a description of a young female college student who is taking her own photo for her social media page. She tries out several poses in her pictures. Instead of taking the photos in front a mirror the woman takes the photos in front of a webcam. Williams leads out of the
Every time a terrorist attack happens the media jumps all over it, and puts their own twist on what had happened. “Thus, the media has a strong potential to influence how the public thinks about social problems like terrorism, especially because most people only experience terrorism through mass-media accounts...This research also finds that media portrayals of terrorism increase anxiety among the viewing public.” (Chermak, 2006) The media is one of the leading causes of stereotypes, and what influences our beliefs today. When you think of a terrorist, you may think of either a middle aged muslim male or a middle aged white male with some sort of mental or social disorder. This isn 't always the case. A terrorist can be of any race, age, and social class. Due to the media 's influence, we all believe in the same stereotypes and imagine the same description of what a terrorist may look like. This is one of the main reasons behind racial profiling.
The documentary, “Unforgivable Blackness” directed by Ken Burns casts light on the extraordinary life story of legendary boxer Jack Johnson. The documentary is about the barriers Jack Johnson had to overcome to satisfy his hunger for becoming the best and living “The American Dream.” Johnson had humble beginnings in Galveston, Texas and it was in those beginnings that glimpses of his bright future were slowly but surely beginning to show. Through out his life, he showed independence, relentlessness, ability to improvise, call attention to himself and get around rules meaning to tie him down. Jack Johnson was a self made man who had the drive to go forward and achieve what he wanted to achieve through hard work, patience and all the skills he was blessed with.
“…it is said that there are inevitable associations of white with light and therefore safety, and black with dark and therefore danger…’(hooks 49). This is a quote from an article called ‘Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination’ written by bell hooks an outstanding black female author. Racism has been a big issue ever since slavery and this paper will examine this article in particular to argue that whiteness has become a symbol of terror of the black imagination. To begin this essay I will summarize the article ‘Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination’ and discuss the main argument of the article. Furthermore we will also look at how bell hooks uses intersectionality in her work. Intersectionality is looking at one topic and
The silhouette is known as the Atlantic slave trade and Kara does not seem to shy from the pictures that are so to say pronographic to the viewer. Therefore, the message she wants to pass across is that slavery, racism, and sexual exploitation done on the black was real. She lets out the viewer think about the role they are playing in ignoring or supporting racism.
In her article "Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination" bell hooks argues that the distance between the white and black races created a tense relationship between the two. This tension caused a multitude of problems that are still present today including systems of domination, stereotypes of one another, white naivety of their privilege and fear of white individuals. Similarly, Ruth Frankenberg 's article "White Women, Race Matters" discuss these issues but from the perspective of a white feminist. Many of the same points can be connected to hooks ' arguments because the main aspects with races focus on the idea that whiteness is a perspective in which we see ourselves, others and society and also that whiteness continues to remain
...can also be applied to other groups. She focuses on the experiences of black women as they respond to this limitation, but her underlying ideas can be used to discuss other peoples’ experiences as well, especially in terms of how they define themselves in relation to the controlling images associated with them. While Skylar is not part of the demographic Hill Collins discusses explicitly, she does illustrate the interaction between controlling images and self-definitions, including resistance, and using dialogue and concrete experiences to determine whether knowledge claims are accurate. Most people, regardless of their place in society, experience controlling images, or someone else’s “first impressions” of them, with consequential limitations imposed on their abilities to be who they really are. Thus, it is important to examine how to confront and challenge this.
In an excerpt from Janell Hobson’s “Venus in the Dark: Blackness and Beauty in Popular Culture” Hobson argues that the “image of black women’s bodies in culture are distorted in a way resembling the morphing of a person’s figure in a carnival mirror,” a term she coins as “un-mirroring.” She continues this metaphor by saying black women artists must “fight against this process by challenging dominant culture’s representation of black women’s bodies as being grotesque and changing the discourse to being one of beauty.” One may argue that black women are too diverse to be represented by one image, rather that they should fight to be regarded as individuals devoid of stereotypes and negative historical connotations. Stereotypes, which are too broad to be accurate, have negatively affected the image of the black female body in culture. To change the trajectory of this idea in the future, the discussion must be aimed towards persuading society that stereotypes are superficial judgments, and that black women should be regarded as a diverse group of individuals, not individual elements of a stereotype.
Still based on these calls and their own speculations, News 13 start creating a fear of terrorism to their audience without acknowledging about the sexual orientation of the victims of this massacre. According to Hyman, Ira, psychologist professor of the Western Washington University, said “the people that focused on terrorism rarely say anything about the sexual orientation of the victims of this massacre.” Most of the victims at Pulse were LGBT individuals in a gay nightclub; primarily young, gay, and Hispanic men. News 13 focused on terrorism and forgot about the other possible reasons for his actions. There was no point during the coverage where they seemed comfortable exploring in depth the motivation of homophobia or the history of violence he had. The reporters only appeal to their beliefs and emotions and not to other possible
The Civil War was the first major conflict to be documented by photography. At the time of the Civil War, it was vital to have public support on both the North and the South side of the dispute. It is also said that if war efforts do not have complete support of its’ citizens that it will not result to any benefits. Photography was one way that was almost guaranteeing support of citizens on the homefront. Photographers had power within their photographs, toying with the pathos of the civilians, and causing them to feel whatever the photographers wanted them to. This power was abused at time by manipulating people’s opinions towards the war. There were pictures coming back from the warfront one after the other which made it impossible for people to feel an emotional connection to the soldiers at war. These photographs allowed events happening miles away to feel like they were closer to home causing people to support the war efforts more heavily. Instead of people having their own opinions during the war, photographers used manipulative
In their eyes, even though clearly victims, exist strengths and hopes for the future. The photos indicated that they could and did create their own culture, both in the past and present. From the same photos plus the texts, it could be gathered that they have done things to improve their lives, despite the many odds against them. The photographs showed their lives, their suffering, and their journey for better lives, their happy moments, and the places that were of importance to them. Despite the importance of the photographs, they were not as effective as the text in showing the African-American lives and how the things happening in them had affected them, more specifically their complex feelings.
My thoughts on my photograph being taken in particular have changed drastically over time. When I was younger, I literally gave no thought to my photo being taken, I barely even remember them being taken. When I look at the photographs of my childhood, I remember the moment in which they were taken, but I don't remember the photo actually being taken. Now I always know when someone is taking a picture of me, sort of like a sixth sense. I think the reason behind that is that when I was younger I loved my photo being taken and now I hide from the camera. Mostly because of insecurities and knowing how quickly a photo can travel now through the internet and social media.