Vampires in Nairobi (Photojournalism and Voyeurism)
14th February 2008, in General (2 Comments)
I met a “hard-news” photojournalist the other day, and he showed me his portfolio. This consisted of several hundred very disturbing photos from the chaos that engulfed Kenya in the beginning of this year.
There were several sequences that ran thus:
- person is marked by a squad of thugs,
- person running for his life (very literally),
- person surrounded by thugs, weapons raised,
- person’s body on the ground, lifeless.
One picture struck me more than the rest – an extreme close up of the head of a policeman who’d been stoned to death; his face twisted into a macabre grin by the force of the blows that killed him, framed by a halo of blood and rubble.
This world of ‘hard-news’ journalism is a far cry from the nice (living) people, makeup and lights that I’m used to – and it made me wonder about the voyeuristic nature of photography (emphasis on photojournalism).
And by voyeur, I’d like to use the definition: “an obsessive observer of sordid or sensational subjects”.
During the chaos, there were a lot of foreign photojournalists in the country – having a field day, competing with one another to get the most horrific shots. They did the same in Rwanda and Sierra Leone and all the other conflict-ridden countries. Flying in like spiritual vampires who feed on bloodlust.
Is it hypocritical to criticise the people who profit from all that is ugly about us as humans (and in such a direct manner, too – the most horrific shots fetch the highest price, obviously)?
And, I wonder what does being routinely in the presence of such flippant evil do to a person?
Read further:
2 Comments
October 27, 2008 5:40 am
Pierre Alozie
I am afraid to say that even if I respect all of your opinions voiced on this commentary box it is easy to see that no one has had the experience and the journalistic duty to report what is happening. As photojournalists we are bound by an unwritten code of duty to report on all the human and other activities that take place and that influence us. Be it death or birth what we do is to document what the human species are doing to each other, to other species and to the world. As documentation for the future generations to come, so as they have an inkling of the goodness and madness of their forefathers.
2007 : 87 Journalists killed
The person who risks his life for the right for the public to get information is not your simple backyard voyeur.
It takes dedication, compassion, strength in character and a conviction in your beliefs, in order to go into situations where the chance of death sometimes very unclear.
This is to provide truth about the situation on the ground, to bring back the truth and its usually at your peril….
Please also read this article on http://www.epuk.org/News/
and the site http://www.trentkeegan.com/
Peace
Pierre Alozie
October 27, 2008 5:45 am
Eric Gitonga
As a photographer, I just cannot bring myself to raise my camera to capture something that is negative. Meaning anything that I wouldn’t want to see a picture of, especially so the actions of many during the chaos earlier this year. Like one of those that commented above, anytime I got email with images from the chaos, I deleted it even before getting to the message. I’m doing the same with the emails coming forth from South Africa. If there are others that can photo such scenes, let them do so. I just know I won’t be among them.
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