Two videos about combat photography that jibe
in a funny way. First, an expose of how combat photojournalists engineer dramatic scenes for their audience. (Online Working From Home
conflict-photos-are-staged/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+PetaPixel+%28PetaPixel%29″>via)
Second, a trailer for a videogame called “WarCo” in which the player is a combat photojournalist who gets points for engineering dramatic scenes for their audience, without irony. (via)
I don’t mean to endorse the level of cynicism about photojournalism (or Palestinian activism) that the first video
implies. What’s interesting to me about both of them is the degree of public voyeurism about conflict (as opposed to professional voyeurism by photojournalists) that they imply. The market for dramatic war photographs may be explained away as a desire to know about current events and to have an eye for refreshing images. That seems fine, I appreciate the people who take on that job and I understand that some games may sometimes get played while doing it because it is, after all, a job. But the market to pretend you are a war photographer … that feels different. What is this drive to feel inovled in conflicts that we aren’t invested in?
Actually, I’m not all that interested in the subject of photography. Once the picture is in the box, I’m not all that interested in what happens next. Hunters, after all, aren’t cooks.
– Henri Cartier-Bresson
Mm! That was good!
I am reading this on the day that we learned Gadhaffi had been “blessed and released” back to wherever he came from….there will, no doubt, be lots of photo ops for this historic event. I don’t think I will be tuning in, however. Though I wonder if this business of presenting war to the average Joe isn’t, at some level, a rather important work to do. I have difficulty wrapping my mind around what it is to be directly involved with war. I choose not to go there, but do have an appreciation for those who do.
Whenever I see an individual in uniform, I tear up and often feel compelled to approach them in order to express gratitude…probably embarrassing for both parties. Oh well….
I will have to consider the ideas offered here…