Photo Culture

[plumtreeblossom]

Why is it that people have come to expect, and even feel entitled to, photographic evidence of absolutely everything? I'm thinking about it because the recent railing in the streets for photos of dead bin Laden, but that just brought photo demand to the forefront. It seems it's been this way for a while. It's almost voyeur culture. "Pics or it didn't happen" is ostensibly a joke, but a lot of people really mean it.

When someone posts a baby announcement, many people demand photos (and disclosure of the name) before even saying congratulations. Politeness is bulldozed by rabid visual demand. It's not even just big news or events. When I got my hair cut, I really, really didn't want to post a photo because I hate 99% of all photos of me. But between here and Facebook, I couldn't post even on other topics without people stamping their feet for a hair photo, and I finally posted a photo but I should tell you that I did so resentfully, just to shut people up and not because I wanted to. Honestly, it feels like if I fell and got stitches, someone would want a photo. Next time, if I don't feel like posting photos of something I'm talking about, I'm just going to say No.

I believe bin Laden is dead and I need no photos to prove it to me. I am not entitled to photos of everything and anything I might want to see. I wish other people felt more the same way.

Comments

[ron_newman]

Since I feel this is directed at me, I'd like to apologize.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

It's not exclusively you, though yes, you're one of many. It so widespread as to be a culture thing. I mean, everyone loves looking at photos, including me, but none of us are entitled to them. That's how I feel.

[theloriest.livejournal.com]

I agree. The "pictures or it didn't happen" kind of drives me nuts. I am a very visual person, on the other hand. So I LIKE pictures. But I do try not to demand them of other people.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I try not to, as well. I like being in LJ photo communities like food_porn and rural_ruin because its where people post photos because they genuinely want to. Now and then I genuinely want to post photos, too, but often I don't. I just think it should be a fully elective thing.

[thesynergizer.livejournal.com]

speaking only for myself of course, i appreciated that you had prewarned us that you weren't doing it to look good and planned to hate it. if that had truly turned out to be the case, i don't think anyone would have asked you to take a photo of hair that made you cry.

but since you instead came on happily surprised that you DID like it, and telling stories about being whistled at in the streets, and how that hadn't happened in years, it made me deeply curious. i apologize if asking for photos made you uncomforatable. :-(

[bedfull-o-books.livejournal.com]

Yes, this exactly.

[ron_newman]

That's pretty much the way I felt as well. You (Mare) enjoyed the results of the haircut and the reactions it got from people, so we wanted to see it too.

[minkrose]

This sums up how I felt about asking for haircut pictures. Also, since I am very unlikely to see the haircut in person, I really wanted to appreciate and enjoy it!


As opposed to pictures of bin laden, which I would actively avoid. I don't like violent pictures of people I don't know. This is why I don't follow the news. I do like pictures of something new that is causing happiness to someone I know and care about, which is why I read LJ.

[hill-the-khore.livejournal.com]

I don't like violent pictures of people I don't know.

If you're open to violent pictures of people you do know, maybe we can reach some sort of agreement. :-P

[minkrose]

Hmmm, I guess I'm not interested in those either, actually. I guess I'm a blanket no-violent-pictures kinda gal.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

Personally, I don't like looking at corpses, either immediately dead or "cleaned up" or even "shrouded and slipped into the sea". I especially don't want to look at live people transitioning into corpses. I see nothing good coming of that for anyone other than, perhaps, the people who ordered the attack in the first place.

I think people are getting so used to seeing reality Tv that they want to see EVERYTHING in detail. Just wait until some prime time reality TV show has the toilet-cam, picture from the bottom up. Or the sewer-cam. Ik Ik Ik.

[bex77]

Sorry this is bugging you.

I blame the call for personal photos on smartphone cameras and Facebook. I find it much easier to take a photo and post it then write a long post or even a short post. But just because it's easy, doesn't make it right in every case.

I can not explain why people want to see photos of dead bodies. I file that under "there are two kinds of people" and I am the other kind.

[hill-the-khore.livejournal.com]

This entry has now, officially, happened.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Where is that image posted?

[hill-the-khore.livejournal.com]

It's hosted in my scrapbook on LJ. I literally took a screenshot and put it right there. If you'd like me to take it down, I will gladly; the curtness of your reply suggests that it might be distressing. Oh, and the only place this image is posted besides in my scrapbook is in this entry's comments page.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

No, it's fine! You're welcome to post it. I just wondered where it was. :-)

[hill-the-khore.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I realized in retrospect that while most people probably wouldn't be freaked out about an unlabeled image of a small part of their journals posted, even if only reposted to their own journals as a joke, some people probably wouldn't even want the material they write to be copied in any form. In any case, I'm glad that I dodged what was apparently a non-existent bullet.

Does this kind of hindsight mean that I'm growing up? That would be good for everyone.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[kencf0618.livejournal.com]

People expect it inasmuch as we live in an ultra-bandwidth world, but there's a time and place for everything. I used to be surprised at how many roller derby athletes use my shots as their Facebook profiles, for example, but it's really become routine. I put up more photographs on Facebook nowadays than on Flickr.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I assume you know I was being tongue-in-cheek since I'd already seen you in person.

(But the gob of wax from Spatch's ear I really DID want a picture of!)

[oakenguy.livejournal.com]

Heh. When I posted about the hawk nest in b0st0n, including the address, three of the five responses were "Pics please!" I didn't say anything, but the response I wanted to make was "Dudes, it's 40 feet off the ground and the only thing I have to take pictures with is an iPhone with no zoom. BUY ME A CAMERA AND WE'LL TALK."