Reflection
In revising my concept map, I wanted to look deeper into the ability of technology to change the meaning, and therefor the value, of images. More specifically, I looked into some of the ethical considerations we need to be aware of when it comes to all the things technology can do to modify images. Some aspects of technology are desirable, such as the ability to disperse images more widely and therefor disperse ideas more widely through technology like the Internet. However, technology has also given us the power to manipulate and change images to mislead people. So, while technology has allowed us to share images more freely, technology has also given us the ability to manipulate these images we are sharing. We spoke in class about how a photograph depicting a man being attacked by police officials went viral (due to twitter, which is a technology), but it was taken in a different location then it was believed to be in. This is a situation where social upheaval can be intensified because of a controversial picture, even though the picture was not in the correct context. This shows how technology can change the value of an image by misleading people about the context in which the picture was taken. In expanding my concept map, I made sure to connect this idea by adding more about how meaning is defined, more specifically, that it is subjective and based off of context through culture, positioning, and location.
Through outside research, I came across another situation in which the context of a photo was changed by technology, where an Austrian newspaper published a “faked dramatic photograph of a family fleeing Syria's civil war-torn city Aleppo.”[1] Somebody had taken a picture of a family and used Photoshop to change the background, thus making it look like the family was scurrying out of a war zone, when in reality, the people in the photo were simply walking down a street. The article shows the original photo and the Photo-shopped photo, which I though was very interesting. The power of technology to change pictures in such a believable way is truly amazing. While the newspaper apologized for using a doctored photograph, some defended the use of the photo claiming it was “a journalistic device of a photomontage for the purposes of illustration.” If this was the case, they should have made it clear to readers that they were viewing a false photograph. However, they did not make it clear enough, and therefore the photo was misleading. On the other hand, is it ok to use Photo-shopped photographs to try to bring about social change? Sometimes you need to draw attention to a crisis in order to spark positive social change. Would it be ok to doctor a photo to make it appear more dramatic, if the end result was something positive that helped people? This is one of the ethical battles technology sparks.
I also found an article[2] that shows how technology that manipulates images can change meaning through changing the color of an image. The article brings up technology’s ability to change scientific photographs, more specifically, of stars in the night sky. I am in an Astronomy course right now, and have been learning about different forms of star clusters and interstellar objects and the identifying colors they give of. This article shows that by using Photoshop, one can easily manipulate images of stars to be a different color. We use these images to discover scientific truths about the universe around us, so the ability to change them posses significant threats to the credibility of our scientific discoveries. Because of technology, we cannot believe everything we see!
The examples above show the power of technology in changing peoples opinions and ideas about science and social events. I expanded my map to include this, because I think that in answering the question “how does technology affect the value of an image?” one must realize that an important part of the value of an image comes from it’s ability to persuade and inform. Technology has given us the ability to deceive and persuade people of false facts. I think that this is one of the main challenges society faces when dealing with technology and images – we must be able to trust what we are seeing in order to form our opinions and beliefs.
In conclusion, expanding and revising this concept map has made me more aware of how much power technology has. In a world flooded with images and technology, one must be hypersensitive and question the legitimacy of what they are seeing in order to make good judgments and form ideas.
Sources Used:
Lodriguss, Jerry. "The Ethics of Digital Manipulation." The Ethics of Digital Manipulation. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. <http://www.astropix.com/HTML/J_DIGIT/ETHICS.HTM>.
Wolf, Richard. "Austrian Newspaper Apologizes for Fake Syria Photo." Austrian Newspaper Apologizes for Fake Syria Photo. N.p., 9 Oct. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. <http://www.imediaethics.org/News/3284/Austrian_newspaper_apologizes_for_fake_syria_photo.php>.
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