I know this photo is old but I wonder what others think about this.
Words fail me.
http://paulagortazar.blogspot.com/p/ethical-limits-in-documentary.html
Words fail me.
http://paulagortazar.blogspot.com/p/ethical-limits-in-documentary.html
The Ethical Limits of Photo-Journalism
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I think if your art is more important to you than your humanity, you're doing it wrong.
That said, I don't know what was going through Kevin Carter's mind, and I cannot and will not judge him or his decisions, because I wasn't in his shoes.
That said, I don't know what was going through Kevin Carter's mind, and I cannot and will not judge him or his decisions, because I wasn't in his shoes.
We each have a duty to help each other. This is the central truth of our condition as human beings. We spend our time hiding ourselves away from the horrors and suffering of the world to trick ourselves into feeling better about shirking our duties. We find reason to exclude more and more people from the set of people we consider humans just like us, until that set is an echo chamber of our economic and sociological circumstances. We blind ourselves. We look away.
When we see pictures like this, we are reminded of our duty. Yet, if this photographer had helped the girl, there would be no photograph, and we would continue in our self-imposed moral torpor of blindness and exclusion.
It's a moral conundrum. I find myself both grateful for the photograph and horrified by it.
Thanks, for posting this, OP.
When we see pictures like this, we are reminded of our duty. Yet, if this photographer had helped the girl, there would be no photograph, and we would continue in our self-imposed moral torpor of blindness and exclusion.
It's a moral conundrum. I find myself both grateful for the photograph and horrified by it.
Thanks, for posting this, OP.
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How I feel as well. If he had done what we all think he perhaps should have done, we never would have gotten to see it. Fascinating story.
You have to remember that photojournalists and camera-operators are conditioned to "keep filming no matter what." If there's gunfire, keep filming. If there's an actual fire, keep filming. If you're running for your life while a rabid lion chases you across the Serengeti, keep filming. I'm sure I'm not the only one who remembers watching a NYC news crew take refuge in an elementary school on 9/11, and all the while, the camera never stopped rolling... even when the camera man zoomed in on "debris" falling from the roof of one of the towers and realized he was filming people falling to their deaths.
It's entirely possible that the photographer in this case was in shock and his training took over -- get the shot, no matter what. Granted, 20 minutes to line up the photo when you know an emaciated child is trying her best to get to a food station is beyond the pale to most of us, but sadly seeing that kind of horror on a daily basis can desensitize you to its magnitude. It's also possible that he thought an image like this one could have a greater impact down the line.
The child did make it to the food center, btw. He did eventually chase the bird off and she walked there under her own power, but that was the last anyone ever saw of her. He also committed suicide 2-3 years later, and I have no doubt that his decisions where this child were concerned weighed heavily on him after he'd processed more than the film.
It's entirely possible that the photographer in this case was in shock and his training took over -- get the shot, no matter what. Granted, 20 minutes to line up the photo when you know an emaciated child is trying her best to get to a food station is beyond the pale to most of us, but sadly seeing that kind of horror on a daily basis can desensitize you to its magnitude. It's also possible that he thought an image like this one could have a greater impact down the line.
The child did make it to the food center, btw. He did eventually chase the bird off and she walked there under her own power, but that was the last anyone ever saw of her. He also committed suicide 2-3 years later, and I have no doubt that his decisions where this child were concerned weighed heavily on him after he'd processed more than the film.
One of the hardest things about journalism - photo or print - is maintaining the observer role. Far too many "journalists" become advocates or provocateurs instead of letting the facts speak for themselves. This photographer did remain the observer, allowing things to play out long enough to get a good photo (good in that it showed the facts of the situation best). Only after he had done his job did he allow his "humanity" to take over and chased the bird away.
There is a lot of horror in the world - the job of journalists is to present the facts of those horrors. The less the manipulation and interference, the better those horrors are presented and the harder the impact.
There is a lot of horror in the world - the job of journalists is to present the facts of those horrors. The less the manipulation and interference, the better those horrors are presented and the harder the impact.
I believe that things like this need to be seen and the part of me particularly repulsed by this, also understands that since such scenes are often rare in occurrence and perfect presentation when most needed, many times the compromise is that they often have to be staged.
What bothers me is that in addition to chasing the vulture away twenty minutes after, could he not have:
Taken her hand and helped her at a slow gait, hobble towards the center or hobble into view of some other concerned adult who may have reacted with more urgency in trying to help the child.
I do not forget that this is a little girl, traditionally assigned a more vulnerable status by modern society when in a state of emergency. I would have helped were it a girl or boy. It was a helpless little individual.
Africa is punishingly hot, and so, that could have been the problem here. Could he not have escorted her to beneath the shade of the nearby tree to give her the chance to cool down?
Even if he didn't have a cracker, did he have a little water? Anything!
So, he turned his back and walked away never being certain afterwards of the fate of this particular child.
This outrageous dismissal of human suffering is one of the most depraved cases of criminal negligence that I have ever seen documented.
Why?
I remember years ago here in a well-fed western nation when I was talking to friends by the gate of a public event, when a boisterous little girl dashed from between her mother's legs and was in the middle of the street before anyone could grab her. Accompanied by her mother's wild scream, so many people were galvanized into an instinctive reaction and followed. I was the one closest and grabbed the child and returned her to her mom unharmed.
I don't think that there is anything that I could have said to convince any adult then present, that I was in the right, if the situation had ended tragically.
We have a responsibility to the young, above even older children and adults.
5 years ago I walked into the middle of local traffic and put up my hands because my neighbor's 4 months-old kitten had made her way across the street into an opposing residence and was circling with indecision as she tried to get back to where she knew she was safe.
I am thankful also to everyone who stopped their cars as I coaxed her back home. She must have learned her lesson for she grew up to be a prized pet of her owners and has been keeping watch over her own little kingdom for many years now.
What bothers me is that in addition to chasing the vulture away twenty minutes after, could he not have:
Taken her hand and helped her at a slow gait, hobble towards the center or hobble into view of some other concerned adult who may have reacted with more urgency in trying to help the child.
I do not forget that this is a little girl, traditionally assigned a more vulnerable status by modern society when in a state of emergency. I would have helped were it a girl or boy. It was a helpless little individual.
Africa is punishingly hot, and so, that could have been the problem here. Could he not have escorted her to beneath the shade of the nearby tree to give her the chance to cool down?
Even if he didn't have a cracker, did he have a little water? Anything!
So, he turned his back and walked away never being certain afterwards of the fate of this particular child.
This outrageous dismissal of human suffering is one of the most depraved cases of criminal negligence that I have ever seen documented.
Why?
I remember years ago here in a well-fed western nation when I was talking to friends by the gate of a public event, when a boisterous little girl dashed from between her mother's legs and was in the middle of the street before anyone could grab her. Accompanied by her mother's wild scream, so many people were galvanized into an instinctive reaction and followed. I was the one closest and grabbed the child and returned her to her mom unharmed.
I don't think that there is anything that I could have said to convince any adult then present, that I was in the right, if the situation had ended tragically.
We have a responsibility to the young, above even older children and adults.
5 years ago I walked into the middle of local traffic and put up my hands because my neighbor's 4 months-old kitten had made her way across the street into an opposing residence and was circling with indecision as she tried to get back to where she knew she was safe.
I am thankful also to everyone who stopped their cars as I coaxed her back home. She must have learned her lesson for she grew up to be a prized pet of her owners and has been keeping watch over her own little kingdom for many years now.
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You have absolutely no way of knowing this is true in any capacity.
The child was resting. Her parents were there, and were in the process of acquiring food. The bird was not "stalking" her, as is often cited; it was one of several scavengers hanging out near a food source (the food center) the same way seagulls will cluster on trash cans behind seafood restaurants.
Yes, she's absolutely malnourished and likely starving, but she was also not in imminent danger. The photog took the opportunity to craft a shot that would strike an emotional cord in order to illustrate the plight of those in need of food and aid. The fact that he shooed the bird away contradicts the idea that he turned his back and left her. She was seen going to the food center, where she most likely got something to eat, something to drink, and went back to her parents.
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Think about what wasn't in focus. He wasn't walking across an abandoned field when he spied one lone child. There, then, she wasn't. I guarantee, the only emaciated child or person there.
In addition, if photojournalists, or journalists in general, working in areas of conflict, strife, suffering, stop and help everyone they see in trouble, they couldn't do their work. Their work is to observe and document for the 99% who don't see what they do. They can't stop and help, because you can't help everyone and then how do you decide who to assist? I'm not criticizing people in the field who do, on occasion, step out and do something. Everyone has their lines and their breaking points, but I'd not ever criticize someone for not, when their job is, basically, to not.
Would I run into traffic to save a kitten? Of course. If I were a photojournalist documenting the plight of strays, would I? Of course. This may be why I'm not a photojournalist documenting that.
Ditto. And apparently Carter was haunted by it afterwards. I know I would be, if I had taken it.
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Carter's photojournalist friends wrote a book in the aftermath of his suicide - it's called The Bang Bang Club (I believe it was made into a documentary as well). The vulture photo is only one incident in the book, and it revolves around them during their time documenting the end of apartheid in South Africa. It's not an easy read, and I'd say that haunted is a mild term to describe Carter, but it's a pretty compelling picture of the life. It honestly reads like the other authors just wanted the things they remembered out of their heads. It's an incredibly difficult life and the people who take those pictures often have vastly complex reasons for doing so in terms of what they think the world has a right to see. I admit that I tend to romanticize it heavily though - Carter in particular fascinated me so much that I wrote a book where the MC was inspired by him.
The blessing on hindsight is it permits those who were not there to muse over and critique the actions or inaction of those that were and woe betide them if they don't measure up to our judgment.
Kevin Carter came across a scene of sheer horror in what was surely one of the greatest photographs even taken. It is terrifyingly simple in its ugly beauty and cleaves the soul to the core. Carter was reportedly told not to touch the child out of fear of spreading disease. When armed men with guns and itchy trigger fingers tell you not to do something, are you going to do it?
What would you do? What could you do?
Nobody knows what happened to the little girl in the picture. Is she alive? Is she hale and healthy after being immortalized? We don't know. We do know Kevin Carter didn't make it and in part the misery he felt following the way his life was altered by his Pulitzer Prize-winning photo was due to how severely he was called out as an inhumane monster for maintaining his professional emotional detachment to get that shot. TIME did an in-depth piece on Carter's swift turnaround from unintentional celebrity to suicide risk.
Carter did his job and got hammered for it. He saw more death and destruction than most people could bear. We can debate whether he should have put the camera down and picked the girl up, but standing in judgment of Carter is not ours to do.
Kevin Carter came across a scene of sheer horror in what was surely one of the greatest photographs even taken. It is terrifyingly simple in its ugly beauty and cleaves the soul to the core. Carter was reportedly told not to touch the child out of fear of spreading disease. When armed men with guns and itchy trigger fingers tell you not to do something, are you going to do it?
What would you do? What could you do?
Nobody knows what happened to the little girl in the picture. Is she alive? Is she hale and healthy after being immortalized? We don't know. We do know Kevin Carter didn't make it and in part the misery he felt following the way his life was altered by his Pulitzer Prize-winning photo was due to how severely he was called out as an inhumane monster for maintaining his professional emotional detachment to get that shot. TIME did an in-depth piece on Carter's swift turnaround from unintentional celebrity to suicide risk.
Carter did his job and got hammered for it. He saw more death and destruction than most people could bear. We can debate whether he should have put the camera down and picked the girl up, but standing in judgment of Carter is not ours to do.
What's it feel like to be perfect, Errant Lobe? What's it feel like to be able to stand and exert your moral superiority over a dead man?
Photojournalists don't just risk life and limb. They lose life and limbs and even more. They lose the peace of mind that comes from being exposed too long to the evil humans do to each other. You don't have to be thankful they see and record things too terrible to be seen, but there is something distasteful in calling out photojournalists for doing their jobs sometimes too well.
You ask "why?" Because we need to see that which is hard to see. And unsee.
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I won't pass judgement on Carter.
My partner spent a few years as an NGO clerk in the Horn of Africa, and he's battled PTSD for quite a while. It's quite something to wake up to a grown man crying in a corner. Here's the thing about work as a clerk in a medical charity in the middle of a war- or disaster zone: sometimes you have to choose who lives and who dies, and the choice can seem entirely arbitrary. Yes, your actions and decisions will condemn certain people do die in suffering. Often kids. But not doing that means that you spread yourself too thin and condemn everyone you try to help to death and suffering.
You'll spend the rest of your days questioning whether you made the right decision. Could you have saved this one? That one? If you'd only done this or that? That's why I don't judge Carter, because I have no clue about how to make such a decision.
My partner spent a few years as an NGO clerk in the Horn of Africa, and he's battled PTSD for quite a while. It's quite something to wake up to a grown man crying in a corner. Here's the thing about work as a clerk in a medical charity in the middle of a war- or disaster zone: sometimes you have to choose who lives and who dies, and the choice can seem entirely arbitrary. Yes, your actions and decisions will condemn certain people do die in suffering. Often kids. But not doing that means that you spread yourself too thin and condemn everyone you try to help to death and suffering.
You'll spend the rest of your days questioning whether you made the right decision. Could you have saved this one? That one? If you'd only done this or that? That's why I don't judge Carter, because I have no clue about how to make such a decision.
I visited the Atomic Bomb Museum in Hiroshima recently.
According to the museum (paraphrasing, might have details slightly wrong), there's really only one good photograph from the aftermath. A photojournalist hiked into the devastated city to try to document what had just happened. But after he saw the absolute horror in the aftermath, he only took five pictures, and couldn't bear to take anymore. The museum said he couldn't bear to make the victims his subjects.
I think anyone would feel this way. I think it's human.
At the same time, my understanding is that it's incredibly important to many Japanese people that the world not forget what happened at Hiroshima. It's important to many citizens of the world.
If we had more photographs, it would help us remember.
I don't think there's a good answer.
According to the museum (paraphrasing, might have details slightly wrong), there's really only one good photograph from the aftermath. A photojournalist hiked into the devastated city to try to document what had just happened. But after he saw the absolute horror in the aftermath, he only took five pictures, and couldn't bear to take anymore. The museum said he couldn't bear to make the victims his subjects.
I think anyone would feel this way. I think it's human.
At the same time, my understanding is that it's incredibly important to many Japanese people that the world not forget what happened at Hiroshima. It's important to many citizens of the world.
If we had more photographs, it would help us remember.
I don't think there's a good answer.
Thank you, for being this kind of person. I have seen too many instances of boggling animal brutality to defy all human reason.
I recall an instance many years ago when I was visiting a relative's newly purchased home and witnessed a critical case of animal brutality. It was a puppy tied to tiny dog house with a piece of wire by the neck. I was so angry that I stood by the fence staring at the dog until the sub-human owner came out the back door to look at me.
He wouldn't look me in the eye. I wished the fist of God had come down from the heavens and slammed him. The dog was struggling to breathe.
I was so torn apart inside. I wanted to leap the fence and take the dog right there and then, and dare him him to try and stop me. I could not afford a cell phone then. But, I remembered that he had rights.
What had alerted me to the plight of the creature was the smell of something dead. And I followed the fence until I saw the shocking image of a young 4 month old pup struggling to breathe around a loop of wire that had been snug once but was never loosened as he aged. The pup was in such a bad state that it had long ceased to cry out. It stood mute and trembling looking for the help that it knew would never come.
I am a male and I still hate that son-of-a-bitch.
While I watched the fly larvae were dropping from the infested wound of this poor animal. That was the source of the stench. The wound was raw and encircled the neck completely. I could see down into the muscles.
And while I watched, this man brought out a saucer of dog food and sheepishly put it under the face of the pup!
He wouldn't look me in the eye. I wished the fist of God had come down from the heavens and slammed him. The dog was struggling to breathe.
I was so torn apart inside. I wanted to leap the fence and take the dog right there and then, and dare him him to try and stop me. I could not afford a cell phone then. But, I remembered that he had rights.
What had alerted me to the plight of the creature was the smell of something dead. And I followed the fence until I saw the shocking image of a young 4 month old pup struggling to breathe around a loop of wire that had been snug once but was never loosened as he aged. The pup was in such a bad state that it had long ceased to cry out. It stood mute and trembling looking for the help that it knew would never come.
I am a male and I still hate that son-of-a-bitch.
While I watched the fly larvae were dropping from the infested wound of this poor animal. That was the source of the stench. The wound was raw and encircled the neck completely. I could see down into the muscles.
And while I watched, this man brought out a saucer of dog food and sheepishly put it under the face of the pup!
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Liosse de Velishaf
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It's hard to judge the guy. Even if we knew exactly what happened to the last detail. If there was a responsible party around, and the child was not in imminent danger, I can see someone making the decision he did.
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