Mass Photography in the Mass Media and its Impact on the Masses

Throughout modern day history, there are a few images that stand out in our minds as iconic. These images stand out to use because of their political stance and what the picture is actually trying to portray. There’s a saying that pictures are worth a thousand words; but some pictures are worth much, much more. Examples of this would be “The Afghan Girl”, photographed Steve McGurry for The National Geographic magazine in 1985 or the picture taken in the Security Room of the White House while Osama Bin Laden was found. These pictures have been imprinted into the minds of many, but it’s their deepest meaning that gives them more value.

            The woman in the picture entitled “Afghan Girl”, Sharbat Gula, lived in a Refugee Camp in Pakistan when the picture was in 1985. Sharbat was 12 years old at the time of the picture. She was placed with her family in that Refugee camp during a war, and the dirt on her face and the holey rags she is wearing in the picture really show that. But the reason this photograph has become world-renowned is because of her eyes. They are a bright green that almost scarily pop out at you. Your eyes are naturally drawn to them, and similar to the Mona Lisa by Vincent Van Gogh, you make eye contact with the photograph no matter what angel you look at it. Sharbat Gula is a beautiful girl in this picture, but you can see that she does not have great living conditions. You can also see from the facial expression that she is scared, nervous and intimidated. This picture was able to add personality to the political issues in Pakistan. People were drawn to that edition of National Geographic because of this iconic photo, and they wanted to learn more about this girl. People began to have sympathy for the issue in Pakistan, and this picture will go down in history.

            If you type “Afghan Girl” into Google images, you will come across many replicas of this picture. From completely different women, to paintings, to toys, the replicas are endless. And it is this type of reproduction that Benjamin believes takes away the aura of the art-work. The beauty is lessened by this mass reproduction.

            Another picture that comes to mind when thinking about iconic photos is the photo of President Obama with his National Security team inside the Situation Room in the White House. The photo was “taken during the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound, immediately became a photographic “icon”. It drew 1.6 million views in 38 hours on Flickr — making it one of the website’s most popular photos ever” (Iconic Photos). Just by looking at the stoic faces of every person in that room, you can see why this moment changed history. President Obama has an almost crazed look on his face. There are not many pictures of Osama and what happened that night, but this picture explains in all. This picture will be forever remembered as iconic because of the emotion is catches and the importance of the moment behind it; this picture went viral for a reason.

            There are many pictures that we can think of that stand out in our minds. The media has a way of enchanting the public with images, by mass producing and replicating.  But this replication also takes away from the aura of the art. One picture can change the way the world looks at a situation. One picture can leave an imprint in one’s mind. And one picture can become the symbol of an era.

WORKS CITED:

1. http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/01/the-triumph-of-kodakery-the-

camera-maker-may-die-but-the-culture-it-created-survives/250952/)

2. “The Afghan Girl”

3. Chevolution

4. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/03/0311_020312_sharbat.html

5. http://iconicphotos.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/sit-room-obl-kill.jpg?w=700&h=466