Images Have More Power Than We Think

The documentary "Consuming Images" although made almost 30 years ago, was still extremely relevant to what is happening in our current media environment, perhaps even more relevant. One of the things that struck me was some of the images/music were familiar to me, and sparked memories from my childhood. It made me realize just how powerful an image can be to shaping our perceptions, our memories, our attitudes, etc. Now more then ever we are inundated with images at every turn. From billboards on the road, to advertisements in magazines, and a constant stream of persuasive imagery on the web. Every area of our lives is saturated with imagery that we neither created, and sometimes, have no control over. Without pictures from journalists, for instance, we wouldn't have an image to cling to when it comes to understanding war, poverty, and violence in other parts of the world. These images give us a starting off point for shaping our attitudes towards the world around us. I have chosen two images to discuss in this post. The first is an advertisement from The Advocate, a print magazine (also online) that discusses current politics, and social issues pertaining to the LGBT community. The second is a picture of Syrians in a refugee camp and is from an online news source, hudson.org. 

                                                       

This image is for Tylenol PM, an over the counter pain reliever, and depicts two women snapping a "selfie" together on what appears to be a rainy day. But not too rainy to leave the umbrella to the side, implying that Tylenol PM makes you so fancy free you could care less about a few drops of rain in your hair. It appeals to women, specifically gay women.The women look to be about in their early 40's, conservatively dressed, white or possibly Latina. The woman on the left holding the umbrella has an eyebrow ring,which I found sort of interesting, and it's another clue that this article is meant for those in Generation X. I assume Tylenol, which is a partner with HRC, knew the demographic it would be advertising to in this magazine: White, middle class members of the LGBTQ community, in their mid 30's or above. If a person reading The Advocate sees an advertisement for a product they are already familiar with, but didn't know supported the community, then they might be more inclined to buy it. 

This image was found online atop an article entitled "The US and UN have Abandoned Christian Refugees." This image is from 2013 and was taken on the Syrian/Turkish border by Bulent Kilic. It has an image of tents provided by the UN, and the article is very critical of their treatment of religious minority refugees. The purpose of this image is context, but it is also there to evoke sympathy. Woman are holding the hands of their children, everyone in the picture looks serious and somber. In the background we see more tents and refugees milling around them out of focus. The image is not one of children running and playing, they're parents laughing and talking as they go about their daily tasks, they are in complete survival mode. Today we see more and more images of the Syrian refugee crisis. These images are not new but journalists must continue to show them in order to shed light on the crisis there. Unfortunately we see two main depictions out of the Middle East, either the image of a terrorist or terrorists, or the images of people living in poverty or despair. It is a confusing dichotomy of representations and I think it is no mistake that often when we hear the word Muslim, we in turn think of the concept of terrorism, whether we intend to or not. This image above is more humanizing, even though it is not a positive one, and appeals to Westerners that can relate the feeling of wanting to provide for their children. 

Image Source: https://hudson.org/research/12903-the-u-s-and-u-n-have-abandoned-christian-refugees

Proposed Legislations

Almost every time I turn on the news I hear about a new bill of some sort or another that is attempting to get traction in government. The media likes to highlight the ones that fit a certain narrative or ones that would cause a great amount of public outcry. On congress.gov there are thousands upon thousands of bills proposed, waiting to be reviewed. I found a lot of interesting bills but a few stood out to me. One bill (HR 1358) aimed to "protect the scientific integrity in federal research and policy making." This bill was backed by over 70 democrats. I was unable to find who was funding it but I imagine industries that are focused on scientific research would benefit from the passing of this bill. Another bill that was proposed by a representative in California, HR 1322 sought to limit restrictions on abortion and a woman's right to reproductive choice. There were 101 cosponsors. Both bills were submitted just a few days ago and there was little information on either one of them, but it will be interesting to see if they get any traction in congress. One particular bill, proposed about a month ago, would limit the amount of legal immigrants entering the United States. This is obviously a very hot topic right now under our current administration. The bill, backed by republicans, would do away with the green card lottery, and severely restrict foreign nationals from obtaining residency through family members. It would also cut the amount of refugees permitted to this country in half. No big deal, people fleeing violence can probably just go somewhere else right? Lamar Smith, a representative from Texas who is backing this bill said the following: "When you have so many immigrants being admitted, they tend to cluster together, they tend to maybe be a bit more slow in learning the English language, to becoming acculturated, to becoming patriotic Americans," Smith says. I tried finding the number attached to this bill but could not. My son's father is an immigrant, and served in Afghanistan with the Marine Corps. His cousin was able to come here because of the green card lottery.The passing of this sort of bill would have an enormous impact on American families, and I doubt it would be for the better. 




Sources:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1322?r=40
http://www.npr.org/2017/02/07/513957928/republican-lawmakers-propose-new-law-to-reduce-legal-immigration
https://www.congress.gov/search?q={%22source%22:%22legislation%22}