The Stories of Those Without a Voice

  Curiosity inspires iconic photographer     

       Images sometimes speak louder than words when it comes to the media. Earlier this week, CNN.com featured a slideshow of photographs and a short article on renowned photojournalist Steve McCurry in which writer Elizabeth I. Johnson commented on the inspiration behind McCurry’s iconic photos. His photos, featuring everything from conflicts to portraits, are based in McCurry’s curiosity of people from all across the world. McCurry relies heavily on translators and relationships in order to connect with these people from different cultures and varying customs. The article portrayed his commitment to traveling to places and working with the locals in order to show the true story of what is happening there. McCurry was quoted saying, “As they explore, photographers are responsible for witnessing events and informing the greater public and for telling the stories of those without a voice.” His hope for global change through an informed public motivates McCurry’s dedication to his work and his responsibility to telling the truth through his photography. 

Afghan girl, Peshawar, Pakistan (Steve McCurry/Magnum Photos)

       In a world with increasing access to new technologies and journalistic methods, photojournalism has been under heightened pressure and criticism in regards to the use of photoshop and the editing of photos. With these new technologies, photographers have more and more methods of manipulating photos and videos to present news events in a certain, and sometimes untruthful, light, which contributes to societal stereotypes or popular opinions. These systems have given photographers increased power in the media, but they also have much more responsibility to present the truth. Because writers can provide certain angles in their writing, the public relies heavily on photos to show them the events, in addition to their reading about them, so that they can form their own opinions. We, as the public, must be able to trust photographers to show world news and situations in a truthful light and not force certain opinions or stereotypes on the audience. Therefore, though this article, it was encouraging to see a renowned photojournalist committed to telling the truth and showing the whole scene through photography.

Click here for a slideshow of photographs by Steve McCurry.

The President of Black America? Or the President of the United States of America?

For President, a Complex Calculus of Race and Politics

       The New York Times published an article last week on President Barack Obama’s difficulties as the first black president of the United States. In the article, Mr. Obama is ridiculed by both supporters and opposers of his campaign as both parties criticize either his favoritism toward the African-American population or his disregard of them. Many of the president’s policies have heavily benefited African-Americans, such as education grants to underperforming schools and the health care bill that will help millions of uninsured Americans. However, many blacks accuse Mr. Obama of not being aggressive enough on race and attentive to African-Americans. This was seen at a meeting with the president’s top campaign donors last year to discuss the administration’s achievements with women, Jews, gays and lesbians. However, there was no discussion of African Americans. President Obama’s reply to all of these accusations was simply, “I’m not the president of black America. I’m the president of the United States of America.”

Damon Winter/The New York Times

President Obama in Iowa last week. As the nation’s first black president, he has walked a careful line on the subject of race.

       This article was interesting, because it showed not only non-African-Americans’ stereotypes of the president as a black president, but fellow African-Americans’ stereotypes of Mr. Obama as a black president as well. Both sides stereotyped him as a proponent and benefactor of the African-American community. Therefore, when he began passing domestic policies, he was already wedged in by pre-held beliefs and expectations for his role as the first black president of the United States. It is disappointing to see that even with such progression as a black president, the American society has yet to let go of such debilitating stereotypes as race. These preconceived notions do not allow for progress and change. They only cripple growth even further, and this groundbreaking change with Mr. Obama as the first black president will forever be tainted by the stereotypes that boxed him in even throughout his presidency. This article simply proves that no one escapes the scrutiny and stereotyping of the public eye, not even the president.

Kay Granger - "The Most Feminine Face"

MARY F. CALVERT

Kay Granger's face is called the most feminine in the House.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/10/13/4333692/if-theres-a-republican-look-she.html#storylink=cpy

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram featured a story Saturday titled “If there’s a Republican look, she has it.” According to this article by Maria Recio, Anna M. Tinsley and Scott Nishimura, U.S. female lawmakers with “stereotypical feminine facial features” are more likely to be Republican that Democrat. UCLA researchers scanned photos of various female politicians, compared them to “facial norms,” and then asked undergraduate students to guess the House members’ party affiliation. The study stated, the students’ “‘judgments were 98 percent more likely to be accurate for women with the highest rankings for femininity.’” In the Star-Telegram’s coverage of this UCLA study, the writers were sure to mention that Fort Worth’s own Kay Granger scored the highest on this femininity test. However, why was this local newspaper so enthralled with and proud of having the representative with the most feminine face? How can a group of researchers even determine what exactly is “feminine” and what is not? Furthermore, why is it important whether or not a politician has feminine facial features? It is important because the media makes it important through its coverage and support of studies such as this one.

In the media, female politicians and women in general are often depicted only in terms of their looks as opposed to their actual political contributions. This trend held true in the early 80’s when the first female Vice President nominee, Geraldine Ferraro, was introduced by a news anchor as a “size 6.” Then again in 2008, Sarah Palin was featured more in the news for wearing a pair of red patent leather peep-toe pumps to the Vice Presidential debate than she was for the ideas she portrayed during the discussion. Still today, as seen in the article by the Star-Telegram, women are continually depicted in the media based on their appearance. It is a vicious cycle in which the media only features politicians in terms of their womanly traits, making that the most important aspect in the mind of the public. Therefore, the result is more public focus on these politicians’ physical features as opposed to their political ideals, as seen in the UCLA research study. When a prominent university then continues this interest through a news-worthy research study, the media features once again solely the “feminine” side of women, and the cycle continues. If the public continues to fuel this stereotype by engaging in and contributing to the interest in mere physicality as opposed to morality, then the media will never cease to sexualize women. If we as the audience wish for better and demand better by refusing to support media that stereotypes women, then we may hope to see some change in the future. Until then, however, we will be caught in this cycle of stereotypes and misrepresentations and a world where our government representatives are judged more by the femininity of their facial features than the merit of their political ideals.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/10/13/4333692/if-theres-a-republican-look-she.html#storylink=cpy

The "Not-So-Sexy" Truth

       First-time voters concerned about student debt, getting jobs after graduation

STAR-TELEGRAM/RODGER MALLISON

Tamika Smikle and Christina Hernandez register to vote with help from Claire Forshey on Tuesday at the TCC Trinity River Campus.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/10/03/4306748/first-time-voters-concerned-about.html#storylink=cpy

       The Fort Worth Star Telegram posted an article on their website Wednesday in which the writer, Diane Smith, commented on the apparent main issues of concerns to college students that will play a factor in this upcoming presidential election. The two main topics Smith focused on were centered around student debt and job availability after graduation. She portrayed other key issues present in this presidential debate, like the economy and healthcare, as “not-so-sexy topics” for “first-time voters” or college students. Smith also reported political experts’ prediction of a significant drop in the number of youth voters and attributed this decrease to the absence of the “cool factor” of Barack Obama’s 2008 “hope and change” campaign. By using such diction as “not-so-sexy” and the “cool factor,” and by focusing almost solely on the issues of student debt and jobs after graduation, Smith tries to appeal to college students but does so in a completely stereotypical and overly generalized manner that actually distances her from this younger generation.

Just as women and minorities are often underrepresented and stereotyped in the media, young people are frequently portrayed in articles concerning either employment or crime. In this particular article in the Star Telegram, the youth is once again present in association with job availability and is actually alienated from more “grown-up” concerns such as health care and the economy. This stereotype, however, completely generalizes college students and neglects many of the concerns that they too may have in the 2012 election. While some students may be focused on the issue of student loans, many university students are not on loan at all and would, therefore, not be as interested in that subject. Also, while jobs after graduation is a concern of a lot of college students face, others may be equality worried about other factors beyond graduation such as health care. Therefore, it is impossible to pin-point the main concerns of “first-time” voters because there are various issue that attain to a wide-range of students beyond the mere two mentioned in Smith’s article. We as college students actually make-up a large portion of the consumers of media content. If the media continues to misrepresent us and place college students into a collectively similar small group, they will begin to alienate their greatest asset and largest audience and gradually ruin themselves until they finally begin to acknowledge us as their most important consumer necessary for the media’s success as an industry. 

To watch an interview with Tarrant County College student, Nathaniel Peoples, click here