"Urgent… Have possibility of taking photos… Send film" -Auschwitz 1944

March 19, 2013 4:40 AM

Is looking at photographs like those of the bloody birth of Bangladesh (possibly NSFW? one photo is of corpses) "an ethically and politically necessary act that connects us to our modern history of violence?" In The Cruel Radiance: Photography and Political Violence, Susie Linfield challenges the idea that photographs of political violence exploit their subjects and pander to voyeuristic tendencies. An excerpt.
posted by spamandkimchi (3 comments total)

Awesome, thanks for the info on this book, it's in my Amazon cart!
posted by Mikon6 at 7:13 AM on March 19, 2013

Is it "an ethically and politically necessary act that connects us to our modern history of violence?"

I'm not overly deep with my understanding of the Partition, but I have been seeing a lot of Syria pics lately and, I'm not sure, but I think it is a politically necessary act to get the pics out there.

I hate looking a pics of bodies, or parts thereof, but there's something oddly "beautiful" about the first pic linked, pf B&W bloated bodies.


I never want to see it again, but it is a stunning shot.
posted by Mezentian at 7:51 AM on March 19, 2013

Thanks for posting this - have bookmarked the excerpt to read later.
posted by harriet vane at 1:37 AM on March 20, 2013