Can Photographs Change the World?

To answer the question, “Can photographs change the world”, yes, they can. However, not directly or literally. A photograph will not cure world hunger. A photograph will not stop a war. A photograph will not stop pollution. But a photograph might affect someone’s attitude on an issue; it could inspire concern for a situation; or it can reveal a part of the world that was once unknown to someone. Anyone once of these instances could end with that, or they could lead to a domino effect that could indeed change the world. A revelation takes a life of its own when it is shared with others and acted on.

Many people argue that words have more power. Would they actually, if they were not seen or heard? Would Darwin’s Theory of Evolution changed people’s understanding of the world if it was never published so that it could be shared? Of course not. Neither pictures nor words directly have an effect on anything. What causes change is the ideas that these tools spark in the minds of men. I agree with Jonathan Klein, of Getty Images, when he said, “It’s not the photographer who makes the photo, it’s you. We bring to each image, our own values, our own belief systems, and as a result of that, the image resonates with us.” What we think about an image is what drives us to make the decision that something needs to be addressed.

One picture that I think reflects this idea is the photo of Anne Frank. Viewing the picture without any context would not mean anything. However, knowing that this was an intelligent girl who might have had a lot of potential in life, and that her life was unjustly caused to end because of the Holocaust, the viewer has a different reaction. There is now a face attached to the story, making it more personal. As quoted in the introduction to Life’s 100 Photographs That Changed the World, a fan, Jacob Meade argues, “The poignancy of her gaze haunts the world to this day, pointing up the horror of Hitler’s genocide and making us wonder how many brilliant young women such as herself were lost.” So the photo itself has not changed anything, but it will make someone think about how horrible peoples can act toward each other, the consequences of our actions, and the limits that man creates for himself by ending the lives of those who could have made great contributions to our world. This will, hopefully, prevent us from making the same mistakes, and cause us to consider different solutions to problems.

Image Source: https://www.tes.com/lessons/xXCY8zOZxgn4LA/introduction-to-anne-frank 

An important thing to consider when realizing that a photograph itself does not change the world, is the fact that, many photographs are censored and kept away from the public eye, and so, will never have an effect. For example, when photos of war were shown on the news during the Vietnam War, there were many protests and public reaction forced the government to pay attention to the people and alter its course of action. Unfortunately, there are less protesters and many pay less attention to the wars America is currently engaged in. There is much less personal connection. Americans are not exposed to the suffering of those in other countries like they were during the Vietnam War. Photos from current wars are viewed by the government before being shown to American citizens. As Ted Rall puts it in his article, “Censorship of war casualties in the US”, “images from these ‘real’ wars have been studiously sanitised to the point that a well-informed news consumer could be excused for thinking that their country's latest wars are virtually bloodless.” There is much less personal connection. There is less evidence provided that would normally cause outrage, and in effect, change.

Another limit to the potential of photographs is media consolidation by big businesses. What this means is that any actions for issues that might conflict with corporate interests will never be started, simply because these corporations will prevent anyone from even being exposed to them. As described by Ashley Lutz, of Business Insider, 90% of American media is owned by 6 companies, meaning “232 media executives control the information diet of 272 million Americans.” This should worry Americans because while they think they could be getting news, what they are really getting is, in reality, propaganda for whatever these companies think is important, or for their affiliates. This is directly influencing what Americans perceive as truth.

All in all, photographs only change the world when they are viewed and reflected on by a person. A photograph that has an effect on me is “Perak Ladies at Thikse Monastery”. It makes me wonder what this culture is like and how these women live. It changes my idea of travel, appreciation of different ways of life, and inspires me to think outside of the box for my goals in the future.

Photo By: Jimmy Nelson

Image Source: http://www.jimmynelson.com/artprints/all/186