Pictures Worth a Thousand Words
Many teenagers don't read or listen to much world news.
Who can blame them, really? It's depressing. More so now than probably ever before.
For example, there are still stories all over the news about the Syrian refugee crisis, although that subject reached the apex of emotional overload last year when the images of a dead, Syrian toddler washed up on a Turkish beach went viral.
Many news media outlets were criticized for televising those images, especially MSNBC and CNN, because the common line of thought is that the American people just don't have the stomach for that sort of thing. They might be right.
But, do you think images that are disturbing, shocking and even terrifying SHOULD be made public? I would like you to click on the link below. It will take you to a blog that I follow. The picture I am referencing, about the deceased toddler, is contained within the post. The post itself is interesting, and we probably will talk about it, but for now, you don't have to read it if you don't want to. The picture is disturbing--there is no question about that. You don't need to absorb the finer points of it if you don't want to. There is also a link to an article that talks about why maybe we SHOULD be exposed to stuff that is hard ti look at. Read that and consider the points it makes.
And finally, the question I would like for you to reflect on and write about is this:
Should images that evoke such visceral (this means "of the gut" as in--gut-wrenching) reactions be made public? What are the benefits? The drawbacks?
Click here for the pic: Be warned--it is disturbing.
Who can blame them, really? It's depressing. More so now than probably ever before.
For example, there are still stories all over the news about the Syrian refugee crisis, although that subject reached the apex of emotional overload last year when the images of a dead, Syrian toddler washed up on a Turkish beach went viral.
Many news media outlets were criticized for televising those images, especially MSNBC and CNN, because the common line of thought is that the American people just don't have the stomach for that sort of thing. They might be right.
But, do you think images that are disturbing, shocking and even terrifying SHOULD be made public? I would like you to click on the link below. It will take you to a blog that I follow. The picture I am referencing, about the deceased toddler, is contained within the post. The post itself is interesting, and we probably will talk about it, but for now, you don't have to read it if you don't want to. The picture is disturbing--there is no question about that. You don't need to absorb the finer points of it if you don't want to. There is also a link to an article that talks about why maybe we SHOULD be exposed to stuff that is hard ti look at. Read that and consider the points it makes.
And finally, the question I would like for you to reflect on and write about is this:
Should images that evoke such visceral (this means "of the gut" as in--gut-wrenching) reactions be made public? What are the benefits? The drawbacks?
Click here for the pic: Be warned--it is disturbing.
Images that make people feel sick should be made public in order to raise awareness. It is easy for some people to hear about all the bad things going on in the world, but once they actually see those things it is completely different. The benefits of making pictures like this public are enough to outweigh the drawbacks. By posting a picture like this, people get to see what really goes on in the world because, ¨A picture is worth a thousand words.” By shining light on negative situations, it can help prevent similar situations from occurring. Also, it is easier for people to understand what is going on in the world by visualising it. Seeing these awful things happening makes this topic an unforgettable one.
ReplyDeleteYes. I 100% agree that these "gut-wrenching" pictures should be public just so that we know what is going on around our world and country that we have no clue about. Yes some people wont like it. Yes some people will be disturbed but then again who wouldn't be? Some of us literally are oblivious to their surroundings. Benefits would be making people open their eyes and realize what's going on. Drawbacks? Yes there's always drawbacks in almost everything you do, but there would be the drawbacks of people being very very disturbed by the picture. People would sit back and want to internalize themselves, But yes I agree with having them public.
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ReplyDeleteYes I believe that images that evoke such visceral reactions should be made public, in all honesty how could they not be? Words can only do so much to make a person think but a picture on the other hand literally is worth a thousand words. How can people expect to understand the severity of a situation without seeing what exactly is going on? That is the main benefit of seeing a picture. It hits home and physically pains you causing you to have emotion, a mental picture can literally stay in your head forever. Without emotions to a certain situation it is hard to help spread awareness or truly understand the severity of a situation. Personally I don't see any drawbacks from these pictures being seen by the public. Sadly this is the world that we live in,and if you can't handle seeing that truth then you should stay away from the many platforms of news.
I strongly believe that images, gut-wrenching or not, should be portrayed to the public. I don't think the media should take away from reality. It is important that people visually see the effect of something traumatic, no matter how gut-wrenching and horrible it is. War, abuse, poverty, etc. are all realities and major issues in the world today. A lot of people don't understand the importance of it, or rather even care about it because they are ¨unaffected.¨ I believe that protecting the nation from this kind of reality is quite disrespectful to the people who are affected by it. Coming across images like the one of the dead little boy forces people to accept what is going on. Maybe, it'll even encourage them to spread awareness and stand up for what is right.
ReplyDeleteWhile pictures such as these are heart-breaking and tough to look at, they do pay dividends. Pictures bring awareness and reality to things we try and keep in a closet as a country. People tend to try and not focus on the negative and be ignorant to all the problems that don’t primarily affect them. How are we supposed to fix these issues if we don’t even know what's going on. The severity of the pictures target your heart and really make you feel some type of way. By sharing pictures such as that call people into action, because how are you going to look at a picture of a dead child and not want to do something about it.
ReplyDeleteThe truth is ugly and hard to acknowledge to the point where it hurts, either mentally or physically or both. When I or a group of people see the images of the drowned, deceased toddler, there are no positive vibes that should come off it, unless you're some sort of psycho. But it's something that should be acknowledged. And showing these visceral images to the public should be acknowledged. Like kneeling during the national anthem. Athletes do it to raise awareness to unequal rights for African Americans and police brutality of African Americans, not because they want to disrespect the American flag or the military in anyway. The public should have a right to know about the stuff that's going on around them. It's not done to scare them in anyway at all, it's to show them the truth. And the truth hurts. And for the people that can't handle seeing the images like the drowned toddler, then like is your right to see said images, it's your right to not see them. But hopefully those people will understand why the media shows them in the first place. And the media gets a lot of crap for it too and personally, I think it needs to stop.
ReplyDeleteI think images or videos that are explicit or hard to look at have a huge impact. They show that the world isn't as peaceful as it seems sometimes and that there are major things going on even if it's not exactly in your area. It's shows that whatever is happening in other places could be happening in your area at some point. The good thing about these images and videos is that they raise awareness and encourage everyone to help eachother because the same hard to look at images have make people feel some type of way. The bad thing about them is that if it's a family member or someone that was close to the hurt victim, it can put them in a huge shock.I do think they should be public though because a lot of people don't know what's going around the world unless they see it on social media or the news. If they weren't public, only people in the area would know about situations.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't think images that evoke such visceral reactions should be shown to the public. I believe certain situations are sensitive topics that shouldn't be broadcasted the way they are. Not to say that those topics shouldn't be brought to people's attention but it doesn't have to be so vivid. You can still bring awareness to important events without showing gruesome photos. The reason I feel this way is because people shouldn't be shown in that way. God forbid something like that happened to someone I loved, I wouldn't want them broadcasted In that way for the world to see. I'm not totally against the issue. I do feel like there are benefits. Gruesome pictures evoke emotions that you wouldn't feel if it wasn't shown. It gets people to see what's going on in the world without sugar coating reality. I just think there's a way for it to be done.
ReplyDeleteI think disturbing images should be made public. If these pictures weren’t made public we would have no idea what would be going on around the world. The gut wrenching photos make us realize how lucky we are. How lucky we are that we don’t live in a country where war is happening in our literal backyard. How lucky we are that we go to school every day to get an education instead of hiding from the army and the war. How lucky we are to be able to get buried and have services to be remembered by instead of being laid in the ocean to be wiped up. People don’t like these photos because they’re ‘sad’ and ruin their morning cup of coffee but tough shit, they need to realize their privilege one way or another. The drawback, however, is that we don’t have many outlets to give to these countries because there are simply no people going in and out of the country. Also, we can’t use these pictures for educational purposes until students are at least in 9th grade because they are too graphic for a young brain. But overall, these images are very important to be shown in every platform possible to make aware of what is happening and to push our cushy boundaries.
ReplyDeleteAlthough very disturbing and depressing, these images that evoke visceral reactions should be made public.
ReplyDeleteSometimes with all the issues going on, people do not care about that certain situation as much as they should, simply because it is not them who is victimized by that certain problem even if they hear about it. However, if that person sees a graphic image of someone else somewhere experiencing that problem (ex. 9/11), they would feel terrible, shocked, or horrified and emotionally prompted to do something (unless you’re twisted) because they would not seem to forget that image. For example, it different for a person to hear about sexual assault than seeing a graphic depiction of rape. The graphic depiction of rape is obviously harder to watch, but it makes more people aware of that problem. Sometimes, the reality of certain things cannot be sugar-coated, and seeing this makes people grateful about their lives where these depictions are not experienced.
With that being said, there are drawbacks to showing these disturbing images. There is increased sensitivity to younger children who would be traumatized in viewing these photos, and they would spend their time worrying about that issue happening to them. This could happen to older people as well, especially if one is more sensitive than another person. Another con is how the person victimized by an issue portrayed in a photo is broadcasted for the entire world to see, which could violate their family’s privacy. If these explicit images were constantly portrayed, then it would be hard for most people to watch the news on a daily basis, a reason why some stray from the news.
I think these kinds of pictures should be shown to the public. We're so caught up in our own lives that without pictures like this we dont pay much attention to it. A lot of times we hear about the terrible things that happen away from us but it doesnt effect us so it doesnt stick. We can hear about it but it wont be on our minds all day. But when we vividly see pictures its harder to get out if your head and its taken much more seriously, and I think it becomes more real. The only drawback I can think of would be the family's feelings towards having their child shown washed up. They most likely wouldnt want the world seeing their son like that.
ReplyDeleteYes, these gut wrenching images should definitely be shown to the public. Nowadays the media only shows what they want you to see and hide a lot of the really bad things from the viewers. They tend to sugar code things that happen and bend the truth. I know that some images may be hard to look at, but we have a right to know what’s going on and if that means we have to see gut wrenching pictures, then so be it. The harsh reality of brutal events that go on around the world should be shown to the public because it’s important for us to know what is actually going on. The benefits are that the people won’t be hidden from the truth, we will know how bad something really is, and it will spread awareness to some of the terrible things going on in the world which could lead to more solutions. The only drawbacks I can see are that some small kids shouldn’t be looking at these images and some people will really be emotionally affected. But, gut wrenching images should surely be made public because we have the right to know the full story of the events that go on in the world.
ReplyDeleteWe have to. I do not even believe it is a question of whether we “should” or not. People are suffering. The world IS a messed up place. People are experiencing horrors, like war and disease, that a lot of people consider to be worst-case scenarios, or fiction. I believe it has to do with people’s complacency. Some people do not want to see these images because it makes them feel uncomfortable. If so, you need to ask yourself why it is that you are uncomfortable. Most likely it is because you innately refuse to believe what you are seeing is real. Disturbing and visceral images like these force people to come to terms with reality, and can therefore spur some people into action. Even if they cannot directly help, they can still still raise awareness, or else just be well informed and sensitive. I do not believe there are any drawbacks that can outweigh the benefits, but I guess some viewers (mostly children) may not be ready for this content, which can scare them. As adults, however, this should be a wake up call.
ReplyDeleteWhen viewing any image as disturbing as the one shown above I believe that these pictures need to be made public. These pictures do indeed reflect a thousand words which is even more of a reason to show them. People in this world don't even have a clue of how terrible a place the world they live in actually is. The media will spend the time talking about these topics but will never show citizens the images on television. If people were to see these images such as the toddler washed up on a beach maybe they would actually do something about it and take action instead of just saying "wow that's terrible". These pictures would have a greater impact on news viewers but it could also have some drawbacks. These pictures would definitely take flack from a lot of people. This would start another controversial topic which would only add to all of the ones that already exist on this earth. Also if you share another countries pictures that they don't want released it could also cause controversy. But the benefits do outweigh the drawbacks in the matter that it will have a much greater impact on everyone who sees them. Controversial and gut-wretching pictures should be released.
ReplyDeleteImages that evoke such visceral reactions should definitely be made public. A big problem that this world faces is ignorance. There are people in this world who wake up every morning completely oblivious to the world around them. They are unaware of what goes on in other countries. But while these people stay ignorant others choose not to get involved unless it affects their own lives. If we made certain disturbing but eye opening pictures public they would work as a wake up call to the people. In my opinion hearing about things happening in the world is less effective than actually seeing them.
ReplyDeleteSome images can be traumatizing but these photos do more good than harm. If the world had visuals of all the bad going on today , more people would feel obligated to inform others or try to make a change.
Pictures like this are what make news. What start arguements and controversy. Our media doesn't really show the disturbing images shown in the link above. I really think that there should be widespread media displaying this type of imagery. It puts a physical picture in the viewers head so that you can relate the exact feelings and emotions of a story. With the widespread media displaying pictures like this, the country will start to understand the severity of many things that are talked down apon. People don't realize the severity of things which then causes them to just dismay the subject at hand. With pictures you can detail the severity of situations. But ofcourse there are reasons not to put the pictures up. As to protect privacy or protect the weak of viewing. Also, some pictures can be taken out of context as well. Overall the widespread media needs to start showing and displaying pictures like the one in the link to gain a more detailed understanding and picture.
ReplyDeleteIt’s very important for the media to show people what's really going on in this world. It’s their job to show the bad, the good, and the ugly. Many of them shy away from the horrendous things going on like the syrian refugee crisis. Showing these images will bring attention to the problem because they are not easily forgotten. They evoke emotions that may be difficult to handle but they will open America’s eyes. Without these images being shown people write important issues off because they feel like it doesn't affect them. These are things America needs to be shown. It's easy to pretend things are not going on around us when we aren't exposed to them. How can we help if we are ignorant on these issues? We need to be pushed out of our comfort zones. There are things going on in this world that the media needs to shed light on. They can't continue to tell the sugar coded narrative they think we want. We need real news about real things going on. People need to be educated.
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading this blog, the first thing that came to mind was the phrase, "A picture is worth a thousand words". Although scary and very soul taking, I do think it is appropriate to post disturbing pictures online. If the pictures were never posted then people wouldn't have been able to really understand what the writer was describing, It's sort of like reading a book that's later created into a movie. For example, while reading a book a person will often imagine the characters and the setting but when a movie comes out, it never plays like how you envisioned it to be. It's good for people to see the bad, along with the good in this world. The world is basically based on the ying and yang theory, there's good in the bad and bad in the good. The benefit of posting disturbing images is that you'll get to see what the people who found the body saw. Also, it puts the picture in your mind when you're reading the article. Its sort of bitter sweet, some people will react good and some will react badly. Depending on the person, I say that disturbing photos are necessary for the world to see.
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ReplyDeletePictures such as these are so graphic and disturbing it could give even the strongest people The urge to hurl. But isn’t that the point? Would the picture have been posted if the toddler was running on the beach instead of facedown in the water? These pictures are shown to the public because the people who post them believe it will help their arguement, and that’s exactly what it does. They think that an article about the Syrian refuge situation would simply not do, but a picture of a dead toddler, as a result of this situation, will. These graphic pictures are what move people. Without an “exhibit A” no one would truly understand the caliber of a situation. We are fed gruesome images in the hopes that we will draw personal connections to the matter at hand. For example, hearing that there are hundreds and hundreds of Syrian refugees dying due to the negligence of the United States has nothing on seeing a baby boy, washed up to shore. Mothers look at this picture and think of their kids, kids look at this picture and think of their brothers or sisters. Whoever you are, a picture will move you much more than an article about the hardships of being a refugee. These pictures serve as a persuasive device, and work as such, which is what makes a picture worth a thousand words.
Disturbing images should be made public in order to raise awareness about whatever the image represents. We should not shield the public from things like this because it is real. We cannot pretend that certain things aren't happening because we are scared and don't want to look. Just because you don’t like it doesn't mean it isn't happening. Yes, some images are scary and they force you to learn things you didn't necessarily want to know, but that is a good thing. Everyone should be aware of things happening in the world we share, no matter how horrible.
ReplyDeleteI do think that the disturbing images should be made public. I understand that these pictures may be devastating but if there's one thing this world needs, it's awareness. So although the pictures are hard on the eyes and very upsetting, we need them to understand that there are people and places that need help, and we need to have a visualization that forces us to at least feel some way about it. Disturbing pictures should not only be posted because they raise awareness, but because they are simply news. We deserve to know what is happening around the world and with social media and technology in today's world, pictures are a huge part of the news.
ReplyDeleteI believe that these "gut-wrenching" pictures that are made public should stay public. The pictures are called "gut-wrenching" for a reason, they're hard to look at. The reason I say they should be made public is because they will raise awareness. The pictures shouldn't be looked at to be looked at, they should be looked at to tell a story and their stories say that they need help. The awareness raised would get help for them because of the people who can't stand the sight of people suffering. Especially with how advanced the world is becoming, it wouldn't be hard for people to see these images and get them help right away. So yes, I do believe these pictures should be made public for they do a better job at raising awareness than just telling someone about it.
ReplyDeleteI believe 100% that disturbing pictures should be made public. People need to be exposed to these real life terrors. If the news doesn't show these pictures then they are hiding a disturbing truth. When you see something graphic and hard to look at it has a longer lasting affect. Its something that you will see when you close your eyes or watch the news. Also when you show these gut wrenching pictures you're getting a better sense of the story and realizing how bad it really is. The main problem is say a younger child catches these images. There is a possible chance that child can be scarred from such horrific pictures. With that i still believe its necessary to show these pictures to spread awareness. People are attracted to pictures more than a excerpt from a news paper. These pictures are necessary to understand the whole situation.
ReplyDeleteImages that evoke reactions that make people reconsider life in general should be used in media. The entire point of using these pictures is to evoke a response of sympathy and anger to whomever had caused such horror. Such images are used to inspire people to never let anything like these real life incidents happen again. They are extremely repulsive to look at because you couldn’t imagine a life like that. Yet, you cannot look away because this is real life for someone in the world. The advantage of using these pictures, is that most of the world gets exposed to these problems and eventually acts to stop them. Global health and protection organizations work around the clock to aid in deficient societies, majorly known because of media sources. Also, media takes in constant support for these victims and uses it to pay for additional aid, or set up donation line to established organizations. Disadvantages of using images to describe a current national situation is that there is a stereotype put over whichever event is being covered. People are stuck with the first image that they see of a place or a people. When seeing images such as these for the first time, it connects them with repulsive instincts and acts of aggression. Another disadvantage to this topic is a fairly obvious one, being exposed to the wrong material at too immature of an age. This can cripple not only one person but a society in general. Seeing images like this at such a young age can completely alter that person's mind for the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteI believe that images will make more impact on society than words. Rather than someone talking about the toddler who drowned a picture should be shown. It should shed some light on people who are not aware of the things going on in the world. People should know that they are not going through what the boy and his brother went through. Making these pictures global allows international organizations to step in and help. Some Americans wouldn't be able to stomach this dreadful image.
ReplyDeleteImages like that should be made public. Images like that bring light to things that go on in society and all around the world. People are not forced to look at those images but they should at least be public for those that want to see it. Although I believe that these images should be made i public I also think that it is important that there is a warning on the image before you see it and these pictures should not be plastered right on the top of every article. There's a difference between shedding light and abusing a picture to get a reaction.
ReplyDeletethat picture of the little kid drowned is very disturbing to me. that just had me think about the time that I had almost drowned and my sister saved my life. the picture is very disturbing, but I feel like we need to see this. we want to be able to appreciate the value of life living and being able to do what we want to do. we know people die everyday and we know things go on in the world but do we really. we know people are dying but how did they die why did they die, could it have been prevented?
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