I chose a picture that was featured in a campaign add for President George W. Bush in 2004. The photo includes a sea of soldiers all apparently in support for President with a child holding an American flag in the middle of the picture. The soldiers had been copied and pasted so as to cover up the image of George W. Bush speaking at a podium. In this case, the photograph appears much more pure, a pure patriotism in the absence of the candidate that I think can reach deeper than a picture of the candidate himself. Often, valiant, inspiring images are used as a symbol for the candidate and the candidate themselves don't even need to be pictured; instead, their name can be associated with the inspiring image. I chose this picture because its influence was much more than a trivial enlarged cricket, or even the face of a celebrity on a model's body. This manipulated picture holds value, and potentially had the power to affect our country's leadership. While one ad may not have drastically altered the elections, I think that it most definitely could have affected some voters. This was undoubtedly what the editors were attempting to achieve. They hoped that by creating a scene in which soldiers and civilians were showing their patriotism and support for George W. Bush as president, they could persuade some voters that voting for Bush was a reputable choice and highly promoted by our military forces. I think that this manipulation was smart, although I'm not sure I agree with the motives behind it. While I don't think the manipulation was necessarily dangerous, I think that the outcomes could potentially be dangerous because people could be deceived or mislead into voting for someone that may not be the best person for the job. I should hope that the American people however, are not basing their presidential votes on a few images they see. If that is the case, we have bigger problems than a few manipulated photographs in the news.
To view the picture and many other manipulated images please visit: http://news.cnet.com/2300-1026_3-6033210-9.html?tag=mncol
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I agree that this picture could hold a lot more significance for voters than the original picture. It's very intersting that journalists are allowed to do such alterations to pictures.
ReplyDeleteVery true! Its very relevant that peoples ideas could be skewed by this and it could influence such a huge decision as the election.
ReplyDeleteNice Blog Allison. I agree with everything you said. The photo was obviously an attempt to increase the number of voters for the bush administration
ReplyDeleteGreat job, Alsion! And thanks for posting the link because until now, I had no idea what people were talking about! Now I do...and now I realize that some other comment I made might not make sense...hahahaha.
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