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Photograph essay
Censorship in media presentation
Photography Essay
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An image has the explicit power of telling a story without saying any words, that’s the power behind a photo. A photo tends to comes with many sides to a story, it has the ability to manipulate and tell something differently. There is a tendency in America, where explicit photos of war or anything gruesome occurring in the world are censored for the public view. This censorship hides the reality of our world. In “The War Photo No One Would Publish” Torie DeGhett centers her argument on censorship, detailing the account of graphic Gulf War photo the American press refused to publish. (73) DeGhett argues that the American public shouldn’t be restrained from viewing graphic content of the war occurring around the world. She believes that incomplete …show more content…
She gives an example by describing the photo Kenneth Jarecke photographed of the Iraqi man burned alive and in which he thought it would change the way Americans saw the Gulf War. (73) But Unfortunately the media wouldn’t run the image because no one knew the true story behind the picture, not even DeGhett and she tried describing her perspective saying, “At one point, before he died this dramatic mid-retreat death, the soldier had had a name. He’d fought in Saddam Hussein’s army and had a rank and an assignment and a unit. He might have been devoted to the dictator who sent him to occupy Kuwait and fight the Americans. Or he might have been an unlucky young man with no prospects, recruited off the streets of Baghdad. Or he might have been an unlucky young man with no prospects, recruited off the streets of Baghdad.” (74) As a result, the media didn’t want to publish Kenneth Jarecke photo because the photo is deceiving plus the media tries to shield the public from grim images of the war. It was possible that viewers would contradict the image. The United States did not people seeing these types of event occurring or the possibility of them thinking it was an American …show more content…
Images can manipulate many scenarios but it’s tactic used to show the realities of our world. Despite what we see, picture taken of the war and events occurring in the war doesn’t mean they aren’t real. We all live in a messy world and history is constantly repeating itself. Pictures are taken to spread awareness and empathy. It is a reason DeGhett argued that the Iraq brunt solider photograph taken by Kenneth Jarecke should have been posted in order for the public to get a sense that the war occurring at the moment is nothing like in the movies. Images are powerful and we must learn to always look closely and
George Gittoes (b.1949) creates works that that communicate the issue of the graphic horror of war. A social realist painter, photographer and filmmaker, his approach to art is that ‘he layers and accumulates material until, out of apparent chaos, there is a synthesis of idea, passion and image’ (Mendelssohn, 2014). As an eyewitness to the world's war zones, Gittoes clearly uses his work as a means of communication to society.
In conclusion, while books, photos, movies and other historical documentation can portray information or a message about wartime events, they will never be able to produce the feelings of those that were personally involved in wars have experienced. Yet, it is incorrect to criticize these writers. The information they reveal is still very important historical information. Even if a reader or viewer of this media cannot feel exactly the same emotions as those involved, they still often experience an emotional connection to the events being depicted. This is important, not only for the historical knowledge gained about wars, but also to understand the nature and futility of their occurrence.
This photograph, taken in 1967 in the heart of the Vietnam War Protests, depicts different ideologies about how problems can be solved. In the picture, which narrowly missed winning the Pulitzer Prize, a teen is seen poking carnations into the barrels of guns held by members of the US National Guard. This moment, captured by photographer Bernie Boston symbolizes the flower power movement. Flower power is a phrase that referred to the hippie notion of “make love not war”, and the idea that love and nonviolence, such as the growing of flowers, was a better way to heal the world than continued focus on capitalism and wars. The photograph can be analyzed through the elements of image as defined by ‘The Little Brown Handbook’ on page 86. There are a total of nine elements that contribute to the communicative quality of an image. The message that this particular image tries to convey is the strong sense of way that conflict should be handled; by way of guns or by way of flowers. The ‘way of guns’ is violence and excessive force which heavily contradicts the ‘way of flowers’ which is a more peaceful and diplomatic way of handling conflict or disagreement. This photograph depicts these ideologies through its use of emphasis, narration,point of view, arrangement, color, characterization, context and tension.
Instead of telling readers what to think through words, readers can form their own point of view from a photo. A photograph that showed different interpretations was taken during WWII after the destruction of Iwo Jima in Japan of Americans soldiers raising an American flag in the ruins. Some viewers may perceive this act as patriotic, and others may have thought it was an act of terrorism and revenge. Either opinion could be argued and the photograph is the evidence. Since photographs can be unbiased, they can also hold truthful detail. For example, one photograph from the Vietnam war depicted a Vietnamese police officer shooting a Viet Cong in the streets. There are a lot of emotion in that photograph that words cannot describe all; which included the fear and hostility that was upheld during the time. Newspapers need to print more of these kinds of photographs to educate people the ugliness of war and death. Ephron pointed out, “throughout the Vietnam War, editors were reluctant to print atrocity pictures. . . That 's what that war was about.” War and its deaths are a part of history too, and history needs to be kept true and unbiased. As long as the photos are not altered nor used for propaganda, they can be
In today's world, photographs are the most form of media to deliver news and messages. They depict the mere fact, but are censored to hide violence. Such an act conceals the reality of life and is unfair. Graphic images must always be exposed to the public as they present the blatant reality and educate people about world crisis.
“One man’s dream is another man’s nightmare”, and perhaps one nation’s war is a potential Hollywood movie. While many Hollywood filmmakers have deemed it their true calling to present the war topic to the public in creating pictures which, according to McCrisken and Pepper, allow them to “critically engage with complicated questions about what constitutes ‘America’ domestically and internationally in the post-Cold War world.” A subject which leaves room for little to no debate is the perception that Hollywood directors, along with their pedagogical and informative topics, usually resort to films in order to convey messages and inform their viewers of the “bigger picture” they might seem to have glanced so quickly at. Such is the case with the two high-profile war movies, which are the subject of debate in this thesis, Oliver Stone’s Platoon (1986) and David Russell’s Three Kings (1999). Upon their release, with the emphasis on the former, they have both created quite a buzz which attracted the attention of many historians and created controversy which would be put under the microscope and thus promoting historical inquiry which the Americans would soon want to unravel (McCrisken & Pepper, 2005). In order to better understand the topic at hand, it is of extreme importance to tackle the perceived motive behind the advancements of the American army in the Vietnam War, and their involvement in the Gulf War. (thesis statement here?)
The mass media carries with it unparalleled opportunities to impart information, but also opportunities to deceive the public, by misrepresenting an event. While usually thought of as falsifying or stretching facts and figures, manipulation can just as easily be done in the use of photography and images. These manipulations may be even more serious – and subtle – than written manipulations, since they may not be discovered for years, if ever, and can have an indelible and lasting impact on the viewer, as it is often said, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. One of the most significant images of Twentieth Century America was the photograph of a migrant mother holding her child. The photograph was taken during the Great Depression by photographer Dorothea Lange, and has remained an enduring symbol of the hardship and struggle faced by many families during the Depression Era. This image was also an example of the manipulation of photography, however, for it used two major forms of manipulation that remain a problem in journalistic photography.
Censorship is a great temptation, particularly when we see something that offends or frightens us. At such times, our best defense is to remember what J. M. Coetzee writes in Giving Offense: Essays on Censorship. "By their very nature, censors wound their own vision when they restrict what others can see. The one who pronounces the ban ... becomes, in effect, the blind one, the one at the center of the ring in the game of blind man's bluff."
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
Fight to end censorship treaded on steadily, until 1971, when it was found out that even the government couldn’t be fully trusted. In 1971, the Pentagon Affair arose. It revealed many abuses in security during the Vietnam War. It thus fell upon them to prove that classified information is essential military, domestic...
Minimizing harm done by journalism in times of war is a difficult task. Naturally, there are bits of information that the government needs to keep secret for one reason or another. There is also the danger of victims' stories being exploited and sensationalized. The SPJ's Code of Ethics recommends that journalists should "treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings worthy of respect" (Society). During the extreme...
However, some believe the decision to not release Jarecke’s photo was less about protecting the readers than preserving the “dominant narrative” of a good, clean war. According to Stella Kramer, freelance photo editor for Life, “As far as Americans are concerned, nobody ever died” (DeGhett 81). Photographs tell stories and Jarecke’s told a story about the effects of combat, and allied air strikes. I believe that photos such as these should be published, if we are fighting in a war we should be able to face the effects of it. War is something that should not be taken lightly, therefore we need to face the devastating effects. These photographs serve as a reminder to those who may not understand the severity of war that people die fighting each day so that we can live in a world of
We use pictures to develop our own views on specific events that have gone on in the world past and present. In the photograph “Napalm Girl”, Associated press Nick Ut captured a story that only him and the people in the photo would know. The picture was captured of a group of children and soldiers getting away from an accidental napalm bomb that was dropped during the Vietnam War. I am going to establish the history of the event. The issue that this photograph was editors from different media companies and all built stories to show the public that the Vietnam war was not under control. All of the newscasting and journalist headlines that were created from the photos were different. This image has drawn many people in society to believing different
Major dying and killing are shown in the mass media to provide awareness to the public of the traumatic events that people are facing, while people may do not want to see this. The news media focus on emotional survivors that show the impact of the traumatic event (Walter, Littlewood & Pickering, 1995). For example, the image of a young Syrian boy’s dead body washed up on a Mediterranean beach showed the refugee crisis. This has shown the awareness of innocent people is dying. It is necessary to view images and videos on sharing sites in order to have the visual information about what is happening around the world. It portrays the humanity of those killed and emotions of those who grieve. It gives people a true sense of what victims are going
Photojournalism plays a critical role in the way we capture and understand the reality of a particular moment in time. As a way of documenting history, the ability to create meaning through images contributes to a transparent media through exacting the truth of a moment. By capturing the surreal world and presenting it in a narrative that is relatable to its audience, allows the image to create a fair and accurate representation of reality.