Can Photographs Change the World

A common question with those who study photojournalism in depth is whether or not photographs have the power to change the world. In my personal opinion, I believe photographs have the ability to change the world. An example of a photograph changing the world would be during Russia's 1996 presidential election when Alexander Zemlianichenko took a photo of Boris Yeltsin dancing at a rock concert which led the Russian's to believe Boris Yeltsin was healthy for another term and essentially helped him win the election. The photo Alexander had published to the world changed the history of Russia because without Boris Yeltsin being reelected, there would have been another president and most importantly, we would never know if Russia would be on the same page as it is today.

There is more power to a photo then most people are capable of understanding. Professor Nordell had an interesting idea on photojournalism, stating " What is reality?, What are our senses? How do we perceive the world? Now lets apply this idea to our study of photojournalism, if a tree falls down in the woods to take a picture of it did the event happen? " Without photojournalist taking photos, how would we possibly know if the event actually happened unless you were actually there, but then again, how would we know it's the truth. Photos unveil this sort of truth. It's as if it were a document without words. But we have to keep in mind, that this document might be altered. The media can be perceived in many ways. Keeping that in mind, that's why the media can be dangerous. According to Business Insider,  "six media giants control 90% of what we read, watch listen to." Whose to say that they are actually telling us the truth? Whose to say that they aren't feeding us what they want us to think? We as the viewers have to realize not everything is as it is. How about when Antonio French according to the guardian said "he and the two professional journalist who were briefly taken into custody after police demanded they stop recording were targeted because they were documenting law enforcement actions." relating to the Ferguson incident. Those police officers that took those photojournalist into custody had realized that those photos taken had so much power and could cause an uprising against the police system.

Photographs can change the world for better or for worse. Jonathon Klein of Getty Images said " the images of Guantanamo had a profound impact, the publication of those images as opposed to the images themselves often caused a government to change it's policy, some would argue that those images that did more to fuel the insurgency of Iraq than virtually any other single act."   It's as if a spark ignited and not only the government, but also everyone who viewed the image had a say. Photographs change the world because it sparks a fuel in people that create action. Those actions can change everything going on and alter everything. With different reactions from everyone, creating their own opinions, photos can change the world because of their response and or action to the photo. If that photo weren't published, then that response or action would have never happened.

One photograph that has affected me personally was the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. This picture stands out to me the most because I remember seeing this photo in my History and my English class and just thinking to myself how destructive it actually was. It was mind boggling to me that the War between the US and Japan was as bad as it was. But more importantly, what really stands out to me besides the explosion in the picture, were all the lives lost after the bombing. Just thinking to myself, how unfortunate that all those lives were lost for something some may not have believed in. That photo is so iconic;I don't think even generations further down the road will ever forget.

Photo by : Courtesy of Library of Congress
Image Source : http://www.american.edu/ucm/news/20150804-Kuznick-Hiros

Photo By : Alexander Zemlianchenko
Image Source : http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/world/europe/24yeltsin.html