A
comment on the Journalistic Image as Visual Sociology
Thwaites, Davis and Mules wrote:
Because
news values tend to emphasis the familiar, the readily (and already) understood,
the primary definition tends to be mythic:
that is, it may simplify what may be a complex set of events down to a single
set of values, and an opposition:
freedom versus tyranny, greedy union versus responsible management,
government versus opposition, us versus them (2002, 102).
With the above statement in
mind, using the journalistic image as visual sociology is questionable. The nature of journalistic photography is
such that photographers go to find a specific image as directed by their editor
without the time or support to gain deeper insight into the situation (Becker,
1998, 86). Thus, the image produced is
representative of the predominant ideology surrounding the subject, rather than
the truth. This is problematic, as context and contemporaneity are required to
appreciate fully the intended message of the image, which ties in with the
narrative surrounding it. However,
according to Becker (1998, 94), years after the story and the image have lost
these connotations, the image can still be useful for
sociological analysis. As Harper states:
Visual
sociologists also study photographs produced by the culture, for example, in
advertising, newspapers or magazines, or family photo albums. Using this approach, sociologists typically
explore the semiotics, or sign systems, of different visual communication
systems (2001,
55).
The question of how media
treats political scandal can be looked at by looking at portrayals of a variety
of individuals involved in such incidents and comparing the images Becker (1998,
94). Another example might be the
representation of group relationships within the media, for example family,
sports teams, political groups or romantic relationships. Therefore, the journalistic image as visual
sociology is valid, as a representation of social constructions and the media
that reinforces them.
References:
Becker, H. (1998) ‘Visual
Sociology, Documentary Photography, and Photojournalism: It’s (Almost) All a Matter of Context’ in Image-based Research: A Sourcebook for Qualitative Researchers.
ed. by Prosser, J. Abingdon:
RoutledgeFalmer, 84-96.
Harper, (2001)
Visual Sociology: Expanding Sociological Vision [online]. Available from < http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~pms/cj355/readings/harper.pdf> [20 April 2012]
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