Can Photographs Change the World?

Young man finds out his brother was killed photo credits: Nhat V. Meyer

 This photograph of a young man sobbing and holding his chest after finding out his brother had been stabbed to death during an altercation in San Jose, California, had a great impact on me personally. When I look at the expression on the young man’s face and his body language in the photo, I can picture myself in this position a few months back, when I lost my sister. After hearing from the doctors that my sister had not survived being hit by a drunk driver while she was walking to the store, my family and I were instantly overwhelmed with sadness; an indescribable amount of pain that I have never felt in my lifetime. When I look at this photo of the young man hearing about the loss of his brother, it instantly takes me back to that time; my family and I sitting in the consult room at Baystate Medical Center, having to hear the news about my beloved sister’s passing. This photo did not only impact me greatly; I can feel this photograph.

In June of 1963, Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk Thích Quang Duc burned himself to death at a busy intersection in Saigon. 

Photo by Malcolm Browne 1963

In my opinion, photography does not necessarily change the world. However, I believe that photos can change people’s views on certain things, how they perceive things, bring awareness to issues going on in the world, and impact people emotionally. Photos are much more powerful than words because a photo provides evidence of things that people need to see to believe something. Though the world itself cannot be changed with photography, people themselves can be swayed by a photograph if it greatly means something to them. Strong opinions on certain topics can be formed; any social injustices can be addressed to the world with the power of a photograph.
A photo that had a great impact on the world, for example, is the Burning Monk, taken by photojournalist Malcolm Browne in June of 1963. The photograph shows Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc burning himself to death in the center of an intersection in the busy city of Saigon. This was done in protest to the South Vietnamese Diem regime’s pro-catholic policies and discriminatory Buddhist laws. There was an outrage over the banning of the Buddhist flag as well, causing such negative reaction. Browne had captured the scene in Saigon for the Associated Press, which ended up becoming an iconic photograph and brought a lot of attention.
Many people around the world were shocked by the black and white photograph; it made many feel very emotional, and some angered.  It has also been said that this protest may have been the reason that the United States got involved in the Vietnam War.

What is Photojournalism Exactly?

Don't tell my kids that my profession doesn't exist. They'd wonder what I do all day... (Photo by Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

       Photojournalism defined is the process of using photography as a main story-telling device. The reason why it is considered to be “photo” journalism is because a regular journalist would use just simply pen and paper to tell stories, while the photojournalist uses their camera to capture the visual representation of a story (Icon Photography School). Photojournalism is a very powerful, unique, and interesting form of storytelling. Rather than just reading a words off of a piece of paper or a screen and having to imagine what is going on inside your head, you can see what is going on right in front of your eyes through a photograph. 

Photojournalists usually travel to take pictures for news articles, magazines, social media, etc. These photos can then be used to either tell the stories themselves, or provide visual images that accompany a news article. A photojournalist’s job is much more complicated than just taking photographs. They are also responsible for editing the photos they take and preparing them for publication (Photojournalism: How to Become a Photojournalist). Besides all of this, most of them risk their lives and enter dangerous situations to even capture these visuals just so we can have another important piece of history. However, why are people so interested in studying history? Why is it so important?

Photojournalist of the Year, large market: John Thompson, a close friend of Philando Castile, castigated St. Anthony police for the death of his coworker, a person he called a "brother." Photo by Richard Tsong-Taatarii of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Basically, history is like the window into the past. In order to understand the present, understanding the past is key. History is so important because it allows us to make more sense of the current world. Analyzing history strengthens our critical thinking skills and helps us solve problems in the present by applying information from the past. History also keeps us informed on current events as they unfold. 

History also helps us to appreciate multiple perspectives and interpretations. History offers so much information about how people and societies behave. It gives us an understanding of other people and cultures. History is important in our owns lives personally, too, since learning about events in the past is interesting and gives us the excitement of discovery (Why Study History?). 

Migrant Mother

Migrant Mother, taken by Dorothea Lange in 1936