  |
| National Geographic's controversial 1985 Afghan girl found 17 years later. |
But more importantly, I'd like to explore how we form associations with certain symbols and appearances. What makes the above photos so compelling? Is it the Afghan girl's bright green eyes, her curious innocence? Or is it the fact that she's wearing garments so concealing that we'd consider her to be oppressed? It's probably a combination of the two, but there must have been something that brought the turmoil in Afghanistan to the American spotlight after years of its existence. I think the overarching eye-grabbing attribute of any photo is, simply put, 'mystery.' It comes down to what we know, what we don't know, and what we want to know more about. To most people, the Islamic veil portrays a lack of freedom. While this may be true in certain scenarios where wearing a type of head covering is mandated, in others it is quite the opposite - the veil serves as a channel for self-expression. In a western, liberal mindset, it is hard to fathom more female clothing as being expressive; men lust for short skirts and low tops. The American narrative urges us to uncover the veil and seek out whatever secrets are hidden underneath. However, the actual justification for the veil is to keep a woman pure for her husband and to prevent herself from distracting other men. It makes sense if you think about it...
 |
Time Magazine’s cover photo of Aisha, an 18-year-old Afghan woman whose nose and ears were sliced off in 2009, under orders from a local Taliban commander.
|
I'm so glad you tackled this Time cover in your blog! Truly interesting stuff. I think the power of the image is truly incredible. You nailed it when you talked about this idea of mystery, and how people are compelled to know more about what they see. Do you think if the girl was wearing the same clothing, but didn't have the piercing eyes, or soft features, that she'd be on the cover? In my opinion, doubtful. Her story, or lack of it, is so appealing because her physical features are valued in Western society. It boggles my mind that so much attention was drawn to her, and yet the photographer knew not a thing about her. Goes to show how misleading photos can sometimes be. People called asking about how to help her, where to donate, etc. etc. - but for all they knew she could have been fine and well off (and not oppressed but potentially expressing her own freedom how you had mentioned). An image is worth a thousand words, but the problem is, everyone reads the words differently.
ReplyDeleteJosh I second that, I'm very doubtful that without those distinct features the girl would be on the cover. As you said, it may have been possible that the girl was completely well off. With the mystery factor, viewers start imagining. And imagination stretches further and further. Everyone reads the words differently, but when people don't know the full story, they often assume the worst. If National Geographic/Time's main goal was to raise money and support for the Afghan cause, I guess they did achieve it, only in a clever manner.
DeleteJosh brings up an interesting point here. Some pictures are often so mysterious that readers choose to assume the story, they make it up. The idea of making the cover photo mysterious is to sell copies and get people to read it, but how does this impact the people that choose not to read? What about the people that choose only to read the headline and look at the cover? What do they think? They are misled, and of course to a fault of their own. In an ever changing world where people are often too impatient to read articles, and they look for superficial summaries and headlines, people are very likely to make incorrect assumptions from images they see. The media must change the way they portray images. Mystery can no longer be used. The media's primary job is to inform the public, while the secondary job is to make money. The media has a duty to change its ways.
ReplyDeleteI agree, people who don't read the articles tend to make assumptions. For example, if I just saw that Time cover I would've thought, "Well, the Afghani government clearly likes to cut women's noses off." But on the flip side, I think this mystery factor is beneficial in gaining readers. Although it may strike the wrong message to some, it also incites other to read further. If there was just a landscape picture of Afghanistan and a caption that said, "Women in trouble," I'd be willing to bet that less than half as many people would've read it.
DeleteRohan, well done in tackling the issue straight on. But to the point that Harrison brought up, indeed the methods of the media does need to change to inform first, and then seek to make profit from it. But we live in a society where wealth has taken greater precedent than truth and true intentions. Corrupt leaders of government are examples of such. But creating a sense of mystery can also create a sense of curiosity, inciting a on-looker to read the article. There is such a wide audience: those who will read articles immediately, those who will simply look at the picture, those who will read the article based on how much the picture grabs their attention, and the list goes on. But the media has to tailor to all these audiences and seek to get the most people they can to read their item. They must strike a balance of true reporting and business, something all media venues face. But the challenge comes in establishing the value of the reporting more than the value of the money.
ReplyDeleteRight on, Shawn. Media needs to find that balance. However, I don't think that only the media is to blame for more business over reporting. I think we have evolved into a fast-paced culture where we want to seem as knowledgeable as possible in the least amount of time. We live off the headlines.The media is just doing its job and adapting to its consumers.
DeleteVery interesting, Rohan! I think the photo of the Afghan girl became so famous for several reasons. As you said, both her bright green eyes and her head scarf are areas of interest in the photo, things which intrigue a viewer. Another compelling aspect of the photo is the girl's beauty. Her face is truly striking and definitely catches a viewer's attention. If this girl had the same striking green eyes and head scarf but were not as beautiful as she is, would this image have become as famous?
ReplyDeleteI am very interested in what you had to say about mystery as the compelling force in a photograph. I think this photo creates the perfect balance of what we know and what we don't know - what is commonplace and what is mysterious to us. The girl looks foreign but not too far from what we are used to seeing. She is just mysterious enough for a viewer to be interested in her, but she is not mysterious enough for a viewer to be scared away.
Zoe, I like how you described the balance of mystery in the photo: "She is just mysterious enough for a viewer to be interested in her, but she is not mysterious enough for a viewer to be scared away." I'm kind of curious though, what would scare readers away? For one, I'd guess not having a caption, or any sort of hint as to what the picture entails, might make it lose attention because readers have nothing to associate the image to. I'm not sure if there's an extent to which a picture can be too gory. If her whole body was burnt completely, and there was no caption, I may not have been inclined to read the article.
DeleteMy question is are these assumptions made by us, or by the media? Are we making these assumptions because it is our nature to do so, or is it because we see pictures that make us inclined to do so? I believe that we are shown these visuals with a clear intent: to sell more copies. I believe that the assumptions are already made for us before hand.
ReplyDeleteYou're right in that the media controls a lot more of our thought than we think. But ultimately, we are the judge of our own ideas. It is our nature to make certain assumptions based on how an image is framed, but it is possible to make an active effort NOT to jump to conclusions and investigate these ideas further. The choice is ours.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete