Evolution of the Image: Twenty-First Century Iconic Photos

Images have come so far since Niepce’s first photograph in 1826-27.  Now, individuals can take a photo, upload it to Facebook, and print it all in less time than it once took to set up the equipment necessary to produce an image.  Also, while photography used to be limited to a select group of people with specialized skills and enough money to purchase such expensive equipment, now everybody produces photographs on a daily basis on multiple devices. Photography has become instantaneous as people can take photos on their phones and instantly share them with others.  Our culture is surrounded and revolves around images. The media, on television and the Internet, produces and sustains this visual need. Has this desensitized us? Susan Sontag certainly suggests this in her book On Photography, in which she writes that as much as photographs can create sympathy, they also shrivel it. [1]  Iconic images of earlier decades incited much change and discussion. For example, film and photographs from the Vietnam War inspired great protests and demonstrations against the war.  But, what kind of images do we consider iconic in the twenty-first century? What topics do they revolve around and what kind of reactions do they entice?

The Huffington Post has a list of iconic images of the 2000-2010 decade and I have chosen some relating to the United States [2]:

1. Osama Bin Laden Broadcasts

Osama bin Laden is seen at an undisclosed location in this television image broadcast Sunday Oct. 7, 2001. Bin Laden praised God for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and swore America "will never dream of security" until "the infidel's armies leave the land of Muhammad," in a videotaped statement aired after the strike launched Sunday by the U.S. and Britain in Afghanistan. Graphic at top right reads "Exclusive to Al-Jazeera." At bottom right is the station's logo which reads "Al-Jazeera." At top left is "Recorded." Bottom left is "Urgent news." At bottom center is "Osama bin Laden, Leader of the al-Qaida." (AP Photo/Al Jazeera)

 2. Mission Accomplished

In this May 1, 2003, file photo, President Bush declares the end of major combat in Iraq as he speaks aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln off the California coast. The White House said April 30, 2008, that President Bush has paid a price for the "Mission Accomplished" banner that was flown in triumph five years ago but later became a symbol of U.S. misjudgments and mistakes in the long and costly war in Iraq. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

3. Columbia Crashes

Debris from the space shuttle Columbia streaks across the sky over Tyler, Texas, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003. Amateur photographer Dr. Scott Lieberman shot a series of photos showing the break-up of the space shuttle from his backyard in Tyler early Saturday. Space shuttle Columbia broke apart in flames 200,000 feet over Texas on Saturday, killing all seven astronauts just minutes before they were to glide to a landing in Florida. (AP Photo/Dr. Scott Lieberman)

4. Hurricane Katrina

Residents wait on a rooftop to be rescued from the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool)

5. The Falling Man

A man falls from the north tower of New York'sWorld Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, after terrorists crashed two hijacked airliners into the WTC twin towers. Television networks have been reluctant to show such scenes since the days after the attacks (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

These images are just a small sampling of the possible iconic photographs from the first ten years of the 2000's. One of the problems with an increased focus on images in our culture, as well as the ease to produce them, is that there is such a wealth of photos to choose from. If I had included photos from around the world, images relating to the Mumbai attacks, Israel bombing Lebanon, Abu Ghraib, Tsunami victims, the Chinese earthquake, and relatives mourning sailors killed when the Russian submarine Kursk crashed would also be included. Perhaps the strongest example I can give you of just how many powerful photographs exist for these years is when you go to the Associated Press website and click on their showcase of "Photos of the Decade (2000-2009)," there are 162 images. 

Perhaps it is too soon to tell which photographs will be considered iconic for this past decade. However, I think the above images evoke strong emotions. There is also a theme to these works: all of them revolve around a tragedy. Immediate reactions to these images included sorrow, shock, and disbelief, though some reactions are more complex than others. The "Bin Laden Broadcasts" caused widespread feelings of insecurity and anger at the man responsible for the deaths of thousands. The "Mission Accomplished" photo originally evoked joy and relief at the prospect of the end of the war in Iraq, but it has now become synonymous with error, shame, and even anger at the government's inability to bring our troops home. The Columbia Crash was tragic and perhaps now this image and others also evoke a sense of nostalgia for a time when space exploration played a large role in American identity.

In any case, none of the five images shown above or even the ones I searched through for this blog post depicted particularly joyous occasions. In the article, “Looking at War,” Susan Sontag wrote, “The iconography of suffering has a long pedigree. The suffering most often deemed worthy of representation is that which is understood to be the product of wrath, divine or human." [3] Images of devastation, such as the ones shown above, illicit strong emotion as viewers sympthaize and/or identify with the subjects.  We look at images of 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina and compare that fate with our own.  The tragedy in the photographs symbolizes our own sorrow for those affected but the images also allow us to grieve. Through remembering, we honor the victims and feel compelled to make greater strives in our own endeavors so that their loss is not in vain.

 

It is difficult to view images like these with objectivity. However, we cannot allow ourselves to become passive, desensitized individuals. These possible iconic photographs of the twenty-first century, while depressing, must be remembered, just as images of the past need to continue to be analyzed and understood as representations of our complex history and identity. We must be active viewers, ready to question the context surrounding photographs, the role of the photographer, and the subjectivity of the photograph and its caption. It is too easy to take a photograph at face value and immediately jump to conclusions. All of these points are important to consider as the next decade brings about new iconic images of reactionary situations.

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[1] Susan Sontag, On Photography (New York: Picador, 1977): 105.

[2] “The Most Iconic Images of the Decade” The Huffington Post (18 March 2010) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/31/the-most-iconic-images-of_n_407686.html?view=screen.
[3]Susan Sontag, “Looking at War,” The New Yorker (12 September 2002).