SAP

Have you met us? From 8pm on, every show on television we watch begins with an internal tracking shot of a gaping wound above someone’s left eye, pulling out only to reveal half a hooker in a Dumpster discovered by a child on a bicycle. You know what we call it? Primetime.

…Personally, the best reason in my mind for releasing the pictures is that we’ve been fighting this war for nearly ten years: thousands of U.S. deaths, tens of thousands of Iraqis and Afghans have died, and we’ve seen nearly zero photographic evidence of it. Remember how long the media had to fight to show military coffins returning from overseas? You probably dont’t remember, ‘cause you saw pictures of it the day they won the case, and not since.

Maybe we should always show pictures — bin Laden, pictures of our wounded servicepeople, pictures of maimed, innocent civilians. We can only make decision about war only if we see what war actually is — and not as a video game where bodies quickly disappear, leaving behind a shiny gold coin.

…By the way, the White House today decided to not release the bin Laden photo. Instead, to keep it a secret, they’re going to airdrop it into an affluent Pakistani suburb, so it won’t be found for years.

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JON STEWART, reacting to the Obama administration choosing not to release photos of a dead Osama bin Laden because they are too “gruesome,” on The Daily Show.

Something to think about.

(via inothernews)

I felt pretty strongly about this until I read Stewart’s words. As part of a larger argument, I certainly makes sense to use the unique power of the photograph to reveal the truths of war. We think people have become desensitized by graphic television and film, but people might be surprised by their sensitivity to the realities of war. Within that context, the image of Bin Laden along with other gruesome photos might be worth making available. Of course, that would also require Obama to make the philosophical point explicit, since people obviously can’t be relied on to understand without guidance.

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JON STEWART, reacting to the Obama administration choosing not to release photos of a dead Osama bin Laden because they are too “gruesome,” on The Daily Show.

Something to think about.

(via inothernews)

Posted 9 months ago 201 notes