Recently in class we have discussed how pictures have a big impact on the way people see a story even more so than the words written in an article. Two examples, one for the good and one for the bad have arisen recently. After the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan, President Obama said that he was "heartbroken" over the images of the devestation in Japan. More than just having a purely emotional resonse, Obama said that it was the images that really drove him to send more aid to the ravaged country.
The second instance of the impact of pictures appeared in Der Spiegel. The German magazine released photos of United States soldiers in incriminating photos that already have 5 soldiers on trial for murder and war crimes. The photos of soldiers in the 5th Stryker Brigade show them posing and even smiling with dead Afghan civilians. Its photos like those that pit the American people against the troops and the war in Afghanistan. People tend to think that all soldiers must be evil thus making the war evil. Of course both accusations are wrong, but pictures tend to tell a story that otherwise could never be comprehended.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/03/ap-german-news-group-publishes-afghan-killings-032111/
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/14/politics/main20042900.shtml
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