Can A Photograph Be Tragic?

Submitted By mollyp0cket

Words: 509

Pages: 3

Open Document

Can A Photograph Be Tragic?

When contemplating whether or not a photograph can be tragic in the way that literature is, I cannot help but think about the photographic media frenzy that occurred after the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 in New York City, New York. The images, are almost all the same; depicting destruction, death, fire and smoke. Not only were the photographs of 9/11 large in number, but also, the way they were circulated was without concern. Every website, newspaper, magazine and television channel contained them and circulated them profusely for months, making it impossible to escape a constant mental replay of the turmoil. However, are these photographs as tragic as say, Hamlet or Antigone? I’d say yes. I think that a photograph is as tragic if not more tragic than writing or literature. A photograph is often a depiction of a reality. Regardless of whether or not the things in the photograph are true or not, the photograph is real. Literature is almost always fiction, inside and out. Although when performed the work may be tragic and heartbreaking, the audience eventually gets up and leaves and the production is over. A photograph sticks. I’ve read and seen plenty of Shakespearean tragedies on the stage; Hamlet, King Lear, etc. However, once I leave the performance, I comment on how sad it was or how good the actors were and how I enjoyed the experience, but once I do that, I stop speaking about it. The meaning of the tragedy, or the tragedy at all doesn’t phase me. Maybe it’s because the literature is so dated, or maybe because compared to what’s going on around me while I see or read a play, I can’t connect in a way that makes the work seem even slightly tragic at all. I keep coming back to these photographs of September 11th. They stuck with me. Maybe it’s because the event directly impacted my life, or because the event

Brown Coal Tragic Events

The tragic events that affected the Brown Coal community have shone a light on the Brown Coal Primary School’s ability to help the children with their transition back to school. Disasters such as fires can be can be particularly traumatic for many children as they typically affect entire communities. (Childhood Trauma Reaction: TM 2011, page 4) Research shows that perceptions of threat during a traumatic event differ from one child to another. For some children after a tragic event has occurred the…

Words 598 - Pages 3

Paper 3

com is a physical likeness or representation, it can also be an idea. As explained in Nora Ephron’s “The Boston Photographs” an image can also depict an event, however an image alone can be meaningless such as in Errol Morris’ “Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire.” These two essays both discuss the power of a photograph. There is a saying that a photograph can have a thousand words, but what if it has no words, no title, or description. A photograph alone can show emotion or evaluate a situation. However if…

Words 985 - Pages 4

Indexicality In War Photography

realism to the war. This is what is happening on the ground and the this is what you get in these photos. He also interestingly puts war photography in a spot that because these images are so crucial, they must be able to portray both sight and sound of the war in order to take the audience into this real world of war. It is definitely not the ‘melodrama of Versailles and the Louvre’ but war photos, as mentioned by Marwil, show the ‘terrible reality and earnestness of war’ (36). The absence of sound…

Words 1233 - Pages 5

TAPR Memo Essay

outraged by the publishing of these photos. In Morris’s essay he explains to true and false pictures and how they cannot be described in this way. Without a caption the picture does not truly “say a thousand words.” Only speculations and a guess can be made as to what is in the picture. He uses the example of a ship that looks similar to the titanic but is actually of the Lusitania. The picture contains only a title and no information on when it was taken. You can imagine it might have even been taken…

Words 503 - Pages 3

Hopeless and Homeless: The Despair of the Great Depression Essay examples

and everyone lost everything. Today, we can get a feel for what it was like by studying some unique yet tragic photos taken during this time. There are many photos that marvelously capture the essence of the Depression but the image, “Children of rehabilitation clinic in Arkansas” is particularly riveting. It seems most people forget that children were hit just as hard, possibly even worse, with the then new state of the country. The two boys in the photo are dirty, worn and with no shoes. Their…

Words 554 - Pages 3

Glancing At Images Of Myself And My Family

Glancing at photos of myself and my family, I was never the kind of person who would be looking over albums of my family or spending a lot of time with them. I was the one who wanted to do everything by myself and be myself for much of the day. Growing teens and young adults don’t know what to do a lot of the time; they make some bad decisions and are hitting the stage where they have to do a lot themselves. Looking back when you were younger, your parents, grandparents, siblings or whoever was around…

Words 1152 - Pages 5

Elie Wiesel's Night: A Thousand Lives Of Children

event so tragic that almost everyone of age has heard of it. The Holocaust was a result of the one sided conflict against the Jewish people by the Hitler commanded German army. It represents a tragic story on how many lives were toyed with and ended – all on the whim of one man’s orders. The chosen picture is that one of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp that captures the life of the captured Jewish children, a life not worthy for children of any race or status. If a picture can tell a thousand…

Words 459 - Pages 2

Pooper: A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila and Paul Walker Essays

the former model turned reality star, yes, she is still around—and apparently she's gone a little wacko and a lot anti-Semitic, judging by her recent, nearly incomprehensible Facebook posts. On Sunday night, Tila posted the following rant about the tragic passing of actor Paul Walker, as well as the mysterious death of 21-year-old Canadian tourist Elisa Lam at a hotel in downtown LA: The post, via Tila's Facebook: I know who killed Elisa Lam. The Mysterious Video of the Girl in Elevator who…

Words 906 - Pages 4

Sexting Among Juveniles

primarily amongst juveniles. Of these epidemics, sexting, the act of “sending nude, sexual or indecent photos (or ‘selfies’) using a computer, mobile phone or [any] other mobile device,”2 has made it’s way to the top of the list of commonly committed wrongdoings amongst juveniles. Also included along side the sending of these explicit photos via sexting are, “written messages or even videos,”2 that can be construed as another form of sexting. Many individuals believe that sexting…

Words 1166 - Pages 5

Why Do Women Wear Corset?

they look. Many women today seem to have an hourglass shaped body. What is considered an hourglass body? Essentially it is defined as a curvier figure with a defined waistline and a fuller lower body (Udorie). There are various ways in which women can obtain the hourglass shape. Many simply use diet and exercise while others utilize a corset and then some women go to the surgeon for help. What is a corset and how do women use it? A corset is a tight piece of clothing that generally goes around the…

Words 1258 - Pages 6