[lit-ideas] Re: Censorship Battle Over Frenchman's Face [was War Is War Is War]
- From: David Ritchie <profdritchie@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2013 13:39:00 -0700
On Sep 5, 2013, at 7:37 AM, Donal McEvoy wrote:
>
> http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/04/francois-hollande-photo-news-agencies
>
> Unlike some of JLS' posts, you couldn't make it up.
>
Somewhere in my files I have a good number of negatives that were not published
by the newspaper which employed me. This was for one or more of several
reasons a) the shots didn't support or reinforce the story I was writing, b)
they broke the unwritten rule that you don't mock power without cause c) they
didn't conform to the image vocabulary we've developed d) they were the
photographic equivalent of acknowledging a fart. I have sometimes thought it
might be interesting to print the images and have a show of celebrities'
unguarded moments, but I've been unable to think of a good reason. Can anyone
on the list? What do we learn from the image of Hollande? That in some
moments he looks silly? That gravitas is constructed and we collectively agree
to seeing the clothes we're told to see? That people who make decisions on our
behalf are people, and no more?
David Ritchie,
Portland, Oregon
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