"Images of Crisis"

One's position in the world can shape the way in which he or she might feel about identity, society, and culture. Take the example of "images of crisis." Images of crisis are powerful images portraying the devastating aftermath of such events as earthquakes and tsunamis, as well as footage of bombings, terrorist attacks, and wars. These photos by professional and amateur photographers, paparazzi, and passerby are meant to tell a particular story about a certain crisis in its one frame. However, depending on the perspective of the scene, the picture could tell a completely different story, while different people could also view a particular photo in different ways. People directly affected by these terrible events tend to show negative views toward photographers who try to capture their suffering. And the photographers on the other hand, see the need to share the story with others around the world and to pass down history to future generations. Viewers of the pictures have mixed feelings of the pictures, with varying opinions of the pictures being too gruesome and unnecessary to opinions that the pictures are simply conveying reality and that people need to know the truth. Despite, photos capturing the truth, it is only the truth at one moment in time. The moment in time at which the photographer takes the photo could tell a completely different story of the same event. Also, the motive of the photographer could change the meaning of the photo. A photographer wanting to capture the reality of the devastation of the aftermath of a hurricane and a photographer wanting to capture the glimpses of hope for revival after a crisis will have completely different photos to share with the world. Pictures are objective in that the people taking the picture, the people in the picture, the people viewing the picture, and everyone else affected by the picture have different perspectives on the identities, societies, and cultures portrayed in the pictures and therefore have different feelings about them.