O. J Simpson Case Study
O.J Simpson, an ex-sports celebrity and a former actor was featured on a cover of Time magazine on June 27, 1994. He was on trial for the murder of his wife Nicole. The same portrait was published by Newsweek magazine but there was one major difference between the two cover portraits. Newsweek used the unaltered photo of Simpson while Time magazine decolored the image darkening his face. Many people claimed it was a deliberate attempt to demonize him. Could this be a show of racism? Such were the questions on everyone’s mind at the time and needed to be justified. This portrayal suggested that he could viewed as a convict even before the trial. Such altered pictures are known to cause much controversy which challenges “The shared belief that
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photographs are objective or truthful records of events” (Struken/Cartwright 17). Such authors as Struken and Cartwright took credit and shared their views as discussed in this article.
Representation was the central issue in the debate. What kind of representation makes a picture authentic? The association of dark skin with evil has had a long history dating back to the early centuries. In modern cultures, dark skin is viewed as less attractive and we have a lot of merchandise of skin lightening creams in the market today. The view or representation of an image is different in many cultures and between different people. This instance centered on a black man highlight how little things can actually change our society regarding racial inequality.
Furthermore, Sturken and Cartwright view representation as more like a perspective of another’s perspective of an object or event.
Images come layered and are not strictly pictures of reality or fact. Therefore, images are not to be used as evidence as they are commonly used. It may be symbolic or manipulated according to the author. He argues that in any case ‘selection framing and personalization’ have always played an important role in photography. He further stresses that a viewer should always take into consideration how a particular scene or image was framed.
In this case of O.J Simpson Sturken and Cartwright further debunk the myth that images are factual. In his case Simpson’s image is viewed as both a hardcore documentary evidence and as a fictional representation of reality. This is what leaves the reader/viewer with a question to answer: Is what am seeing real? With programs like Photoshop, today it’s very easy to alter photographs and create the illusion of factual evidence just as it’s seen in Times magazine which tries to imply that people with dark skin tones are violent with their cover featuring an altered O.J Simpson mug …show more content…
shot.
The author also stresses on the impact of post modernism on its course to destroy assumptions and ideologies that people have.
This is achieved by emphasizing the key ideas of flexivity, irony and parody. Here, flexivity can be described as the nortion of making the viewer aware that they are looking at something that is deconstructed which can take the form of irony, intertextuality or even parody. He gives examples of how post modernism has been used in real life with a close example referring to Kenneth Cole advert in the year 1992 which was used to create awareness of various social
causes.
In conclusion Sturken and Cartwright’s perspective on practices of looking has given us the opportunity to reflect on some serious issues as with visual culture. The main theme in the article is that photographs are not hardcore evidence; they are skewed representation of what has been or might have occurred. In Times case the magazine received a lot of criticism from all quarters about its manipulation of O.J Simpson’s image. Their journalistic ethics were called into question and were guilty of creating their own inauthentic version of it. Whether an altered image is seen as a fraud or rarely as an optimization is a very subjective matter and strongly depends on contextual information. I merely suggest that because credibility is a major asset of photojournalism, it is important for this field to maintain a strict code of ethics relating to photographic truth.
photographs are objective or truthful records of events” (Struken/Cartwright 17). Such authors as Struken and Cartwright took credit and shared their views as discussed in this article.
Representation was the central issue in the debate. What kind of representation makes a picture authentic? The association of dark skin with evil has had a long history dating back to the early centuries. In modern cultures, dark skin is viewed as less attractive and we have a lot of merchandise of skin lightening creams in the market today. The view or representation of an image is different in many cultures and between different people. This instance centered on a black man highlight how little things can actually change our society regarding racial inequality.
Furthermore, Sturken and Cartwright view representation as more like a perspective of another’s perspective of an object or event.
Images come layered and are not strictly pictures of reality or fact. Therefore, images are not to be used as evidence as they are commonly used. It may be symbolic or manipulated according to the author. He argues that in any case ‘selection framing and personalization’ have always played an important role in photography. He further stresses that a viewer should always take into consideration how a particular scene or image was framed.
In this case of O.J Simpson Sturken and Cartwright further debunk the myth that images are factual. In his case Simpson’s image is viewed as both a hardcore documentary evidence and as a fictional representation of reality. This is what leaves the reader/viewer with a question to answer: Is what am seeing real? With programs like Photoshop, today it’s very easy to alter photographs and create the illusion of factual evidence just as it’s seen in Times magazine which tries to imply that people with dark skin tones are violent with their cover featuring an altered O.J Simpson mug …show more content…
shot.
The author also stresses on the impact of post modernism on its course to destroy assumptions and ideologies that people have.
This is achieved by emphasizing the key ideas of flexivity, irony and parody. Here, flexivity can be described as the nortion of making the viewer aware that they are looking at something that is deconstructed which can take the form of irony, intertextuality or even parody. He gives examples of how post modernism has been used in real life with a close example referring to Kenneth Cole advert in the year 1992 which was used to create awareness of various social
causes.
In conclusion Sturken and Cartwright’s perspective on practices of looking has given us the opportunity to reflect on some serious issues as with visual culture. The main theme in the article is that photographs are not hardcore evidence; they are skewed representation of what has been or might have occurred. In Times case the magazine received a lot of criticism from all quarters about its manipulation of O.J Simpson’s image. Their journalistic ethics were called into question and were guilty of creating their own inauthentic version of it. Whether an altered image is seen as a fraud or rarely as an optimization is a very subjective matter and strongly depends on contextual information. I merely suggest that because credibility is a major asset of photojournalism, it is important for this field to maintain a strict code of ethics relating to photographic truth.