Chapter one:- Can Photographs Change the World?

         Photographs are one of the many ways that the world could be influenced. The photo that I choose that had affected me personally was an image by Laurent van der. The photo is after the attack on the city of Mosul which left numerous people dead. This photo captures a family after one of the numerous attacks that left the city in ruins. I choose this image because it hurts to see innocent people having to watch their loved oned die or not knowing when their next meal or clean water will be from. Through photography, the world gets to see what they go through and just how they could assist.

Photo by Laurent van der

Image source https://www.daysjapanphotoawards.com/2018-1-laurentvanderstockt

       Through photojournalism, people all over the world can understand and visually place themselves in the scenarios of the images. Due to this, I believe that photojournalism can change the world. The photograph I choose to illustrate my reasoning is that of the 2013 Boston marathon bombing. The photograph which was taken by Aaron Tang moments after the attack shows the police as well as civilians assisting those who were injured. The photo shows how bad the attack was with blood smeared all over the floor. This event is the reason why more security measure is in place during large gatherings and why the police have to go through more training in the case of such a scenario.

"Photo by Aaron Tang Image source: https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-03-25/solving-triple-murder-case-might-have-prevented-boston-marathon-bombings

       After watching Photograph of Boris Yeltsin dancing, I believe photojournalism has the power to change people's opinions. In the video, the narrator explains that after the photograph which was taken by Alexander Zemlianichenko was taken, it had convinced the Russian public that the president was healthy enough to run for another term and helped tipped the election in his favor. This explains how powerful photojournalism is and how it assists in changing the mindset of the viewers without them realizing it. The ability to change the mind of the citizens in this situation is a good thing. In the absence of photojournalism, it will be difficult for the government to change the mind of the citizens. In the video Do Photographs Change the World? professor Nordell also explains the impact of images on society and how in the absence of such images, it will be difficult for the world to know what is going on.
          The article Big Media Companies And Their Many Brands by Alina Selyukh also gives an insight into why photojournalism is so important in our society. If not for photojournalists, information such as this will not be given to the society. Writer Alina explains this in the articles that the research, of course, will not cover everything. We stopped short of delving deep into the world of publishing, news and television broadcasting. The article Censorship of war casualties in the US by Ted Rall also explains how the government takes advantage of photojournalism because they are well aware of the effects it will have on society. In the article, it explains that The Times published only a handful of photos of dead and dying soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. Compare that with other countries, where pictures of the war dead routinely appear in print and on the air.