One of the extra credit assignments for my Art
Appreciation class was to write a response to Bill Jay's essay, The
Photographer as Aggressor. I decided to share my response with you all.
Please comment and tell me what you think about this issue. Below
is a link to the pdf version of the essay and a link to a clip that I reference
in my response. Enjoy!
In his essay, The Photographer as Aggressor, Bill Jay paints a vivid picture of how and why the act of photography has come to be so closely associated with acts of aggression and violence. His essay is broken into two sections. One covers the beginning of photography while the other discusses the fictional manifestations of the aggressive photographer. Jay describes how the invention of the camera divided society into two main groups: 1) the well-mannered citizens, and 2) the barbaric photographers. He states that the photographers’ obsession with the picture has made them a nuisance and danger to society because they will put benevolence and morals aside to capture a great photo.
The thought that arose while I read this essay was concerning how much value people put in pictures. What does it really mean to have a photograph of a thing or person? I kept trying to figure out why it mattered that a photographer asked for permission to take a picture. The most I could come up with is that a picture makes an introduction that the pictured has no control over. A person’s character and personality may be compromised and damaged due to the viewing of an obnoxious image.
There is a scene in the movie A Walk to Remember that illustrates this concept perfectly. Protagonist, Janie Sullivan, is a Christian high school student who always dresses modestly to speak for her character, which includes highly valuing faith and abstinence. She is often teased and ridiculed for her lifestyle but she does not allow that to deter her. In a lunch scene, her best friend walks her into a cafeteria full of laughing students who have all seen the joke. Someone took a picture of Janie and put her head on the body of a voluptuous super model wearing only a bikini. The caption read, “Virgin Mary?”
I believe the uproar over unsolicited photography is all about losing control over what one’s image may accomplish. Each of us dress and act a certain way on purpose because these things send a message about who we are. If Jay had taken time to develop this aspect of the issue, assuming that he could have done so, his essay would have been that much more valuable to me.
Nevertheless, I found myself mostly agreeing with Jay while reading his essay. I share his position concerning the photographer as being a person who has lost his sense of community to an aggressive desire to capture everything in a snapshot. My concern is with the way people manipulate cameras and editing tools to violate others' right to their own image. Further, that the person pictured may have no knowledge of what their image is doing to their character annoys me.
We no longer have full rights to ourselves. A picture can be taken without our knowledge and on the internet in a heartbeat! We are losing the reigns over controlling what our image does for our reputations and towards testifying of our character and personality. I completely agree with Jay when he says that the photographer must change his motives and actions for the world to feel safe.
Bill Jay The Photographer as Aggressor Essay
A Walk To Remember - Lunch Scene
In his essay, The Photographer as Aggressor, Bill Jay paints a vivid picture of how and why the act of photography has come to be so closely associated with acts of aggression and violence. His essay is broken into two sections. One covers the beginning of photography while the other discusses the fictional manifestations of the aggressive photographer. Jay describes how the invention of the camera divided society into two main groups: 1) the well-mannered citizens, and 2) the barbaric photographers. He states that the photographers’ obsession with the picture has made them a nuisance and danger to society because they will put benevolence and morals aside to capture a great photo.
The thought that arose while I read this essay was concerning how much value people put in pictures. What does it really mean to have a photograph of a thing or person? I kept trying to figure out why it mattered that a photographer asked for permission to take a picture. The most I could come up with is that a picture makes an introduction that the pictured has no control over. A person’s character and personality may be compromised and damaged due to the viewing of an obnoxious image.
There is a scene in the movie A Walk to Remember that illustrates this concept perfectly. Protagonist, Janie Sullivan, is a Christian high school student who always dresses modestly to speak for her character, which includes highly valuing faith and abstinence. She is often teased and ridiculed for her lifestyle but she does not allow that to deter her. In a lunch scene, her best friend walks her into a cafeteria full of laughing students who have all seen the joke. Someone took a picture of Janie and put her head on the body of a voluptuous super model wearing only a bikini. The caption read, “Virgin Mary?”
I believe the uproar over unsolicited photography is all about losing control over what one’s image may accomplish. Each of us dress and act a certain way on purpose because these things send a message about who we are. If Jay had taken time to develop this aspect of the issue, assuming that he could have done so, his essay would have been that much more valuable to me.
Nevertheless, I found myself mostly agreeing with Jay while reading his essay. I share his position concerning the photographer as being a person who has lost his sense of community to an aggressive desire to capture everything in a snapshot. My concern is with the way people manipulate cameras and editing tools to violate others' right to their own image. Further, that the person pictured may have no knowledge of what their image is doing to their character annoys me.
We no longer have full rights to ourselves. A picture can be taken without our knowledge and on the internet in a heartbeat! We are losing the reigns over controlling what our image does for our reputations and towards testifying of our character and personality. I completely agree with Jay when he says that the photographer must change his motives and actions for the world to feel safe.
Bill Jay The Photographer as Aggressor Essay
