It is true that a photograph is worth a thousand words. I believe that a photograph acts as an effective, attention-seeking device and provokes a reaction in people. As said by Jonathan Klein, “We bring to each image our own values, our own belief system and as a result of that the image resonates with us.” The nature of human beings is that we do not believe anything until we see it. An image acts to serve as a person’s eye and lets them be acquainted with the ongoing events throughout the world. I am a dog lover. My love towards dogs developed partially due to my religion. We worship them and this is partially due to their kindness and love towards humans. While I was going through my Facebook news feeds, I came across a picture about the Yulin Dog Meat Festival in China. This photograph provoked an instant anger in my face and urged me to react.
Therefore, I tried to get more information about this festival. In many cases, these dogs are burnt alive and put in boiling water. In this 10-day festival, about 10,000 dogs were killed. Selling dog meat for human consumption is legal in China, with an estimated 10 million dogs killed for human consumption every year. To many such pictures on the internet, people reacted and put pressure on the Chinese government to stop such torture to animals. However, the Chinese government does not officially organize this festival. There was backlash from many people throughout the internet. As Professor Nordell said, “The government of China censors websites and what their citizen can look at.” This means people did not get to see many other horrifying images about the horrible treatment of dogs. Different governmental and non-governmental agencies are working to rescue these animals and there are laws to prohibit slaughtering dogs in public, but it is not yet completely banned.
Photographs have always played a significant role in effecting people’s perspective. As mentioned in the course module, the iconic photo of Boris Yeltsin dancing, taken by Alexander Zemlianichenko, helped to make people believe that he is healthy enough for his job and to get him elected. A similar thing happened in Egypt in 2015, but this time it was to take down the three-decade long rule of President Mubarak and modern advancement in technology played a huge role. The revolution began through a photograph of a victim beaten up by a policeman. June 8, 2010, has secured a rightful place in history. That was the day Wael Ghonim, a 29-year-old Google marketing executive, was browsing Facebook in his home in Dubai and found a startling image: a photograph of a bloodied and disfigured face, its jaw broken, a young life taken away. That life, he soon learned, had belonged to Khaled Mohamed Said, a 28-year-old from Alexandria who had been beaten to death by the Egyptian police. At once angered and animated, the Egyptian-born Ghonim went online and created a Facebook page. “Today they killed Khaled,” he wrote. “If I don’t act for his sake, tomorrow they will kill me.” It took a few moments for Ghonim to settle on a name for the page, one that would fit the character of an increasingly personalized and politically galvanizing Internet. He finally decided on “Kullena Khaled Said” — “We Are All Khaled Said.” This stands as an example for citizen journalism. As a result of such images and widespread support from all around the globe, President Mubarak banned the use of social media like Facebook and Twitter. It was done in order to diminish the effect of such photos on common people as mentioned in the course content about The Bush administration censoring the images of flag-draped coffins arriving at Dover Air Force Base, a dignified rite that was a familiar sight on the evening news during Vietnam.
The article about Ferguson in the course content also describes citizen journalism. Citizen journalism has been going on for years in many places including Iran, Egypt, Occupy Wall Street and Syria. However, the videos, blog posts, tweets, and photos have complemented the work of the traditional journalists on the scene – and have reminded us of what is becoming a civic duty in today’s America. I believe photographs have changed the way I see the world and evoke emotion based on my own experiences, beliefs and values. As long as we live, these photographs will always play a vital role in shaping our perception. It will act as a means to convince people to protest about ongoing injustice. As long as we use our perceptions about these photographs in positive way, it will continue to bring positive change in the world.
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