"How Photography Exploits the Vulnerable"

[Donald]

Hot on the heels of Trev's thread asking why we take photos, there was an interesting piece in the August 31st edition of the New York Times. It was titled, "How Photography Exploits the Vulnerable" and is a discussion about photojournalism and the "opioid epidemic" in America. Worth a read. It's at:- https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/31/o...gtype=Homepage

[Manfred M]

Good article to read Donald. Thanks for posting.

Emotional impact is something that good photographers strive for and the impoverished or the unfortunate have always been a target of photographers. Dorothea Lange made quite a name for herself taking pictures during the dust bowl in the Western USA.

This phenomenon is not new. I’ve seen some work where the photographer has treated these people as vulnerable human beings and those images were very effective. Just photographing people who are down and out is effective and easy. Doing so while respecting their dignity is much more challenging but much more effective. It’s too bad so few photographers that do this type of work; most seem to look down on their subjects.

[LePetomane]

Donald, thanks for the link. Interesting that there is no mention of the most commonly abused drug in this country, alcohol.

[pendennis]

Good article to read Donald. Thanks for posting.

Emotional impact is something that good photographers strive for and the impoverished or the unfortunate have always been a target of photographers. Dorothea Lange made quite a name for herself taking pictures during the dust bowl in the Western USA.

This phenomenon is not new. I’ve seen some work where the photographer has treated these people as vulnerable human beings and those images were very effective. Just photographing people who are down and out is effective and easy. Doing so while respecting their dignity is much more challenging but much more effective. It’s too bad so few photographers that do this type of work; most seem to look down on their subjects.

As you mentioned, Dorothea Lange made quite a reputation for herself during the Great Depression. There remain questions, to this day, just how Lange's, Evans', et al, photos were actually used. There are still those who insist it was journalism per se. However, there are a huge number of people who believe, that since they were contracted to the U.S. Farm Security Administration (FSA), the photographs were more propaganda to hype government relief programs than pure journalistism.

The journalist/photographer only documents the event(s). Taken in its most basic form, the photographer is a "Johnny Come Lately"; they record the aftermath. They neither cause, nor affect, the phenomena. If it happens in the public arena, it's fair game. Shooting up beneath an overpass, or dying in the gutter, is a very public affair.

In the 19th, and well into the 20th centuries, drug usage was well-known in even the most tony areas of New York City. Yet, only the poor, and those in the opium dens were ever photographed. Is that exploitation? By one standard, yes; by another it is the only opportunity for the journalist/photographer. I doubt that few, if any, ever allowed photographs of drug usage in their Park Avenue townhouses.

Crime photographers, "Weegee" among the most famous, certainly were exploitative, going so far as to rearrange the bodies for photo purposes. However, Weegee never put the gun or lead pipe in the hand of the killer(s).

[DanK]

Donald, thanks for the link. Interesting that there is no mention of the most commonly abused drug in this country, alcohol.

I agree that the statistics show that alcohol is one of the most abused drugs and that alcohol causes huge harm, e.g., motor vehicle deaths, but there are good reasons to focus on opioids. The biggest reason is the slope of these curves (courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control)



The CDC estimates that opioids caused over 42,000 deaths in the US in 2016, and as you can see, the death rate is soaring. And this is the tip of the iceberg. It doesn't begin to cover the other vast harms: people who can't hold jobs, prenatal exposure to opioids, unacceptable home environments of children of many addicted parents, thefts by addicts who need cash for drugs, etc. It is no exaggeration to say that this is truly a public health crisis.

[pendennis]

I agree that the statistics show that alcohol is one of the most abused drugs and that alcohol causes huge harm, e.g., motor vehicle deaths, but there are good reasons to focus on opioids. The biggest reason is the slope of these curves (courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control)...

The CDC estimates that opioids caused over 42,000 deaths in the US in 2016, and as you can see, the death rate is soaring. And this is the tip of the iceberg. It doesn't begin to cover the other vast harms: people who can't hold jobs, prenatal exposure to opioids, unacceptable home environments of children of many addicted parents, thefts by addicts who need cash for drugs, etc. It is no exaggeration to say that this is truly a public health crisis.

While the opioid is a major health concern, there is very little to be done in the way of curative measures. Opioids actually change the chemical structure in the brain permanently, unlike drugs like cocaine and methamphetamines. Alcohol, after a period, is so addictive, that the body can rarely get its fill before death occurs. It's one reason why alcoholism is so dangerous.

A number of years ago, while a Junior Achievement advisor, we had a number of people who represented all types of local industry in the organization. One of the fellows was a postal manager. He brought a film which was used to educate employees about the dangers of alcoholism. In it, the host told the viewers that people could drink and do a certain amount of damage to their bodies. If they stopped at that point, further damage was avoided. However, if they started drinking again after, say, ten years, the damage continued as if the person never stopped drinking. This is still true today.

The cost of treating people with opioid and alcohol addictions is completely prohibitive. There's not enough money in the economy to treat, or even house those unable to exist independently.

[DanK]

The cost of treating people with opioid and alcohol addictions is completely prohibitive. There's not enough money in the economy to treat, or even house those unable to exist independently.

To meet all needs, perhaps, but where do you get the numbers showing that some treatment isn't feasible? For example, the recent tax cut channels nearly $70 BILLION per year to households earning more than half a million per year. That would pay for a hell of a lot of treatment.

I'm bowing out; this isn't about photography anymore.

[rpcrowe]

Getting back to photography as our subject, I just wonder if we couldn't say that Dorothea Lange exploited the vulnerable in her coverage of the Great Depression, especially the dust bowl migrants heading to California. However, we never ever say that, DO WE?

[John 2]

A worthwhile read Donald and so thanks from me also for the post. It raises the dilemma that exists between recording the vulnerable poor for the sake of sensationalism on the one hand and the need, quite properly, to heighten awareness in the world at large. He makes a good point in delineating the differences between the well off and the poor although I guess you would also have to recognise that the well off are relatively less "vulnerable". However, in terms of what we are about on this site or its equivalents, and other none journalistic outlets (phot clubs etc), it also raises the question in my mind whether images of those in crisis for whatever reason, have a place. A question that has to be considered in the context of the fact that we are posting to a fairly restricted audience and therefore less able to draw on increasing awareness as a justification. I have never fully answered that question satisfactorily and so generally, have erred on the side of not recording the more vulnerable in their day to day life. Others may have a different view.

[Donald]

A question that has to be considered in the context of the fact that we are posting to a fairly restricted audience and therefore less able to draw on increasing awareness as a justification. I have never fully answered that question satisfactorily and so generally, have erred on the side of not recording the more vulnerable in their day to day life.

I think that is the most important statement on this thread.

If we are able to have our images shown to the world, or a good part of it, then we have justification. We know that photography can create the mood for change.

However, if our aim is only to make images that satisfy ourselves, then I think that erring on the side not shooting the frame is the right way to go.

[pendennis]

Getting back to photography as our subject, I just wonder if we couldn't say that Dorothea Lange exploited the vulnerable in her coverage of the Great Depression, especially the dust bowl migrants heading to California. However, we never ever say that, DO WE?

As I mentioned in an earlier post, there are a huge number of people who believe the "Okies" were exploited by the Roosevelt Administration's FSA to lend credence to the need for huge social spending programs. The rural poor weren't the only ones, though. Thousands, at least, of images taken of the urban poor in soup and bread lines, along with those hurt by bank collapses, were front page news in large city newspapers for years. In the 1970's, I spent two semesters of political science and economics immersed in the study of the Great Depression. Not a publication nor book was studied that didn't have numerous photographs taken of the effects of the era on the poor.

A number of years later, and this treatment is not unique, there were dozens of stories done about the poor in Appalachia. Those stories still have the same questions asked about the use of photographs to exploit the poor for exploitative purposes.

This has always been the case. Illustrators, long before photography became really portable, used the poor to narrate the story of their plight. Photography just changed the medium.

It's very difficult to separate the journalism from the politics of using the poor for other ends.

[Shadowman]

Donald, thanks for the link. Interesting that there is no mention of the most commonly abused drug in this country, alcohol.

Paul,

Its there, it just gets blanketed along with DUIs, hit and runs, and Leandra laws. There was a recent news piece where a state changed the rule for school bus drivers, "no alcohol within 8 hours of your shift", increased from 6 hours.

Only comment I have on the article is that the author shouldn't just single out photographers, news outlets do a more glaring coverage of the drug epidemic especially during sweeps week.

[rpcrowe]

I have not had a drink since 1984. My first wife had come down with cancer. She was always adamant about not riding in a car with me if I had even one drink and I never wanted having a drink to prevent me from driving her to the hospital or doctor whenever she needed.
A few weeks after I made that decision, I was driving home along a wooded road in the failing light of the evening. A young boy rode his bike out of a shadowed driveway and I almost hit him. I realized
1. if I had had a few drinks, my reflexes might not have been fast enough to stop in time
and
2. if I had hit him, even though it was his fault, alcohol on my breath would have made me responsible.
That really shook me to the bone and I never drank again!
A few years later, I attended the Navy Institute of Substance Abuse Studies and became a Navy drug and alcohol counselor, I spent my last five years in the Navy in the recovery field. I then worked in as a civilian in a relatively effective drug and alcohol recovery program where I was involved with attempting to help some pretty hard core cases including at least one bank robber and men and women who had been convicted of many different crimes which they had committed as a result of their alcohol/drug addiction.
However, as much deprivation as the use of drugs and the undisciplined use of alcohol has caused. There are more deaths and serious health problems directly related to another addicting habit: smoking. Of course, often smoking goes hand in hand with the abuse of other chemicals...
I stopped smoking in 1980 because I went on Navy flying status as an aircrewman and I had to pass the water survival test. It was extremely important for me to become flight qualified because I had been invited to return to the Unit I had served in during the Vietnam War and being fight qualified was a requirement. It also paid me a couple of hundred dollars a month extra. That was very important to me because in 1980 a hundred dollars was worth a LOT more than it is now. I knew that I would have a hard time passing the underwater swim portion of the test so, I decided not to smoke for a while so I would have a better chance of passing. I began to feel so darn good that I never reverted to smoking.
So in a period of 4 years, beginning 38 years ago, I stopped both smoking and drinking. I have been alcohol and nicotine free for just about half of my life. I am pretty sure that those decisions have contributed to me being able to wake up on this side of the grass every morning at age 78; instead of sleeping under a stone like so many of my Navy buddies of about my same age are doing...

[pendennis]

I have not had a drink since 1984. My first wife had come down with cancer. She was always adamant about not riding in a car with me if I had even one drink and I never wanted having a drink to prevent me from driving her to the hospital or doctor whenever she needed.
A few weeks after I made that decision, I was driving home along a wooded road in the failing light of the evening. A young boy rode his bike out of a shadowed driveway and I almost hit him. I realized
1. if I had had a few drinks, my reflexes might not have been fast enough to stop in time
and
2. if I had hit him, even though it was his fault, alcohol on my breath would have made me responsible.
That really shook me to the bone and I never drank again!
A few years later, I attended the Navy Institute of Substance Abuse Studies and became a Navy drug and alcohol counselor, I spent my last five years in the Navy in the recovery field. I then worked in as a civilian in a relatively effective drug and alcohol recovery program where I was involved with attempting to help some pretty hard core cases including at least one bank robber and men and women who had been convicted of many different crimes which they had committed as a result of their alcohol/drug addiction.
However, as much deprivation as the use of drugs and the undisciplined use of alcohol has caused. There are more deaths and serious health problems directly related to another addicting habit: smoking. Of course, often smoking goes hand in hand with the abuse of other chemicals...
I stopped smoking in 1980 because I went on Navy flying status as an aircrewman and I had to pass the water survival test. It was extremely important for me to become flight qualified because I had been invited to return to the Unit I had served in during the Vietnam War and being fight qualified was a requirement. It also paid me a couple of hundred dollars a month extra. That was very important to me because in 1980 a hundred dollars was worth a LOT more than it is now. I knew that I would have a hard time passing the underwater swim portion of the test so, I decided not to smoke for a while so I would have a better chance of passing. I began to feel so darn good that I never reverted to smoking.
So in a period of 4 years, beginning 38 years ago, I stopped both smoking and drinking. I have been alcohol and nicotine free for just about half of my life. I am pretty sure that those decisions have contributed to me being able to wake up on this side of the grass every morning at age 78; instead of sleeping under a stone like so many of my Navy buddies of about my same age are doing...

I had a brother who was career Navy, was both air and surface warfare qualified and was a NC1. While he remained sober to work and fly, he was a night-time alcoholic, suffered from depression and chronic asthma, and was a smoker. He retired in 1992, after serving on a frigate during the first gulf war. The Navy really cracked down on drug use in the 70's. I was a reservist, and we had guys booted out who got in the suds on drill weekends.

His alcoholism and chronic asthma followed him into retirement, and he died from an aortic aneurysm in 2006, no doubt brought on as a result of alcoholism and the asthma.

You're to be commended for your service, and your care about yourself.

Fair winds and following seas.