I'm on the fence about the release of these images. And images expiating national events becoming public in general. Like the Image taken by Kevin Carter, I feel that it does nothing to help. I feel that instead of taking these images, that money spent to get there and take it could go towards helping. The same goes for commercials. I feel that if the rest of the Abu Ghraib images were released, nothing good would come from it. Yes, it would raise awareness, but what would anyone do about it? I feel that images are becoming less and less influential. Police cameras and even unbiased witness video footage that clearly shows what happened during an event are not taken into account and officers who are obviously guilty of police brutality are walking away with no punishment. Today, we get the most honest news coverage from satirical news stations like The Daily Show and I think that says that something is wrong with our society. I no longer know how I feel about news coverage.
i'm not sure if the rest of the Abu Ghraib images should be released. One on hand, the people responsible for these actions and for giving the orders should be help responsible. And by releasing these images the public would demand justice, it would bring people attention towards the issue and not let it be swept under the rug. Yet on the other hand, I feel that by releasing the images it would further degrade the prisoners being tortured in the photographs. The images would end up being show in the news all over the world for weeks, and on the internet forever. The people being tortured and their families would have to see that and know the world is seeing that. I think that continuing to degrade these people is doing more harm than good. I think there is no good way to go about this.
I feel after looking into the Abu Ghraib photos more and more, I always think about what those additional photographs are going to look like. I saw on a wikipedia page there are photos of U.S. soldiers raping some of the prisoners. I have never seen a photograph of someone getting raped, the could be the possibility of course not having any interest in the subject matter or that there just aren't any photos of rape out there in the world circulating around the internet (at least to my knowledge).
However, if the thousands of images from Abu Ghraib happen to be released I wouldn't have much interest looking at them. Simply because the things going on in these photos are things that I didn't think man was capable of. The thought of seeing an picture of a individual being violated in such ways are almost completely unimaginable. Even with the images that are out now for the public to see I feel as though those are enough for me. Also, I have a feeling that the images will start to circulate around websites that focus on grotesque imagery like BestGore.com where the users seem to take pleasure in looking at dead bodes and people covered in feces. I don't think the images deserve this kind of attention because of the amount of seriousness revolving around them.
I think most of the images I've seen of the Abu Ghraib are censored with the prisoners face blurred out if their head isn't covered with a black bag. This raises the question wether these images will still be censored if all of them become public. If this is the case will we still have interest in these photos?
This blog question makes me think almost immediately about the Susan Sontag reading on Blackboard as it describes that impulse feeling of viewing something so horrific and so negative. I view this question from both points of view as I can go along with each one. Part of me believes that these horrific images should never become exposed. It’s bad enough that we all saw the first few photographs. It’s something I feel as an American that we shouldn’t really be proud of nor find the need to expose more of them in this limelight as we are only just giving them our attention. By showing these images to the public, we are almost praising the people who have taken these photographs, as its attention will instantly rise. We shouldn’t be giving this attention to something that contains disturbing images! However, I could understand how these images could become exposed due to the high number of them. I believe I would want to look at these images if they ever were revealed to the public. It would be considered that “thing” everyone was discussing and I would want to be on the inside of it. It’s as if it was a bad car accident. Even though it has nothing to do with you, everyone finds the need to slow down in order to look at this horrific incident. It could also deal with the matter that it’s not you being a result of the pain as it makes it somewhat easier to view.
It's a tough a call. I think it's important for Americans to realize their own faults rather than trying to hide them. In the media, we often see much of the blame for all the horrors of the world being placed on other countries. Whether it be things like ISIS or other terrorist regimes, we rarely hear about the wrongdoings of our own troops and military leaders. In that sense, I think it's very wrong and borderline hypocritical for these types of things to be kept hidden from the American public. However, it's a very scary thing to imagine what kind of uproar would erupt if these images were to make their way to the public. It's a tough argument and I can see both sides. On the one hand, these images are most likely extremely horrific and unsettling images that most people probably wouldn't even want to look at (Personally, I'm not sure if I would want to look at them, but of course there's going to be that sense of curiosity about them which may lead me to viewing some). But, on the other hand, we can't conceal the truth from people just out of fear of what others will do as a result. It's a tough call.
On the one hand I think that we shouldn't be censored by the government but on the other hand, if the images were released they would be seen everywhere, especially on tv and the internet. The prisoners' family members would have to see the images everywhere they went. And I can only imagine what horrific memes or joke Facebook pages ignorant people would make about the images which would make the whole situation even worse. I think it'd be different if there weren't any images of Abu Ghraib out in the public eye but since there's already some, I'm not sure that we need to see more to know what has happened. I do think that the government should use the photos to figure out who the soldiers were that tortured the prisoners and then punish them. So far the only soldiers who have been convicted were either released or only received a minor sentence. And I'm sure it wasn't just the 11 soldiers that were charged who were torturing the prisoners if there's more photos that haven't been released.
I have been thinking about this for a while now and still dont know if i believe that the photos should be seen. I don't like the fact the the government can decide for us what we can and cannot see, but also in this situation there are good reasons why the photos should not be released. Yes it is important for Americans to understand their mistakes, but at the same time the families of the prisoners should never have to experience the release of those photos. If these photos ever got released i personally would not look at them. The handful of photos that have been released are horrible enough for me to understand the tragedy that happened.
I don't think these images should be seen, because if you asked me if I wanted to look at torture pictures I would not be about it; but the fact that a few have already been released I think that means the government has to show the rest of the images to leave it up to the people to decide where to go from there. My fears are not that people are going to get really angry and start rioting (because they won't) but rather that no one is going to take them serious or even bat an eyelash that they exist because the first ones have been already lost in the massive amount of images on the internet. If you ask the average person they probably know that the US tortures people but not exactly what they did or what any of the images are.
I think that this is a very difficult thing to say one way or the other but I agree with the others that even if the images were released, the outrage and the movement that we would be hoping for wouldn't amount to much. I think the problem in this time period is that there is such a vast amount of images, these images could easily be filtered out. I also think that even if people did see these images, they wouldn't feel directly connected with the problem because it happened out of this country and there has been so little talk about it, that people don't even really know that this is an issue. The government has been hiding these images and information from us for so long, it's hard to keep pressing when we have so little information ourselves. Also, if these images were to be released, they would need to be done so in the proper way and with the proper context so that the mass public understands what is actually going on in these images. People interpret images very different from one another so it needs to be clear what is occurring.
I feel like these images are hard to look at. However, they help with people being able to connect more to the situation. As a society we are not completely aware of what is going on with the government and seeing photographs that show us,it is hard to look at. We should be informed on what is going on but having these photographs up where everyone can see them is not the best idea.
I'm on the fence about the release of these images. And images expiating national events becoming public in general. Like the Image taken by Kevin Carter, I feel that it does nothing to help. I feel that instead of taking these images, that money spent to get there and take it could go towards helping. The same goes for commercials. I feel that if the rest of the Abu Ghraib images were released, nothing good would come from it. Yes, it would raise awareness, but what would anyone do about it? I feel that images are becoming less and less influential. Police cameras and even unbiased witness video footage that clearly shows what happened during an event are not taken into account and officers who are obviously guilty of police brutality are walking away with no punishment. Today, we get the most honest news coverage from satirical news stations like The Daily Show and I think that says that something is wrong with our society. I no longer know how I feel about news coverage.
ReplyDeletei'm not sure if the rest of the Abu Ghraib images should be released. One on hand, the people responsible for these actions and for giving the orders should be help responsible. And by releasing these images the public would demand justice, it would bring people attention towards the issue and not let it be swept under the rug. Yet on the other hand, I feel that by releasing the images it would further degrade the prisoners being tortured in the photographs. The images would end up being show in the news all over the world for weeks, and on the internet forever. The people being tortured and their families would have to see that and know the world is seeing that. I think that continuing to degrade these people is doing more harm than good. I think there is no good way to go about this.
ReplyDeleteI feel after looking into the Abu Ghraib photos more and more, I always think
ReplyDeleteabout what those additional photographs are going to look like. I saw on a wikipedia page there are photos of U.S. soldiers raping some of the prisoners. I have never seen a photograph of someone getting raped, the could be the possibility of course not having any interest in the subject matter or that there just aren't any photos of rape out there in the world circulating around the internet (at least to my knowledge).
However, if the thousands of images from Abu Ghraib happen to be released I wouldn't have much interest looking at them. Simply because the things going on in these photos are things that I didn't think man was capable of. The thought of seeing an picture of a individual being violated in such ways are almost completely unimaginable. Even with the images that are out now for the public to see I feel as though those are enough for me. Also, I have a feeling that the images will start to circulate around websites that focus on grotesque imagery like BestGore.com where the users seem to take pleasure in looking at dead bodes and people covered in feces. I don't think the images deserve this kind of attention because of the amount of seriousness revolving around them.
I think most of the images I've seen of the Abu Ghraib are censored with the prisoners face blurred out if their head isn't covered with a black bag. This raises the question wether these images will still be censored if all of them become public. If this is the case will we still have interest in these photos?
This blog question makes me think almost immediately about the Susan Sontag reading on Blackboard as it describes that impulse feeling of viewing something so horrific and so negative. I view this question from both points of view as I can go along with each one. Part of me believes that these horrific images should never become exposed. It’s bad enough that we all saw the first few photographs. It’s something I feel as an American that we shouldn’t really be proud of nor find the need to expose more of them in this limelight as we are only just giving them our attention. By showing these images to the public, we are almost praising the people who have taken these photographs, as its attention will instantly rise. We shouldn’t be giving this attention to something that contains disturbing images! However, I could understand how these images could become exposed due to the high number of them. I believe I would want to look at these images if they ever were revealed to the public. It would be considered that “thing” everyone was discussing and I would want to be on the inside of it. It’s as if it was a bad car accident. Even though it has nothing to do with you, everyone finds the need to slow down in order to look at this horrific incident. It could also deal with the matter that it’s not you being a result of the pain as it makes it somewhat easier to view.
ReplyDeleteIt's a tough a call. I think it's important for Americans to realize their own faults rather than trying to hide them. In the media, we often see much of the blame for all the horrors of the world being placed on other countries. Whether it be things like ISIS or other terrorist regimes, we rarely hear about the wrongdoings of our own troops and military leaders. In that sense, I think it's very wrong and borderline hypocritical for these types of things to be kept hidden from the American public. However, it's a very scary thing to imagine what kind of uproar would erupt if these images were to make their way to the public. It's a tough argument and I can see both sides. On the one hand, these images are most likely extremely horrific and unsettling images that most people probably wouldn't even want to look at (Personally, I'm not sure if I would want to look at them, but of course there's going to be that sense of curiosity about them which may lead me to viewing some). But, on the other hand, we can't conceal the truth from people just out of fear of what others will do as a result. It's a tough call.
ReplyDeleteOn the one hand I think that we shouldn't be censored by the government but on the other hand, if the images were released they would be seen everywhere, especially on tv and the internet. The prisoners' family members would have to see the images everywhere they went. And I can only imagine what horrific memes or joke Facebook pages ignorant people would make about the images which would make the whole situation even worse. I think it'd be different if there weren't any images of Abu Ghraib out in the public eye but since there's already some, I'm not sure that we need to see more to know what has happened. I do think that the government should use the photos to figure out who the soldiers were that tortured the prisoners and then punish them. So far the only soldiers who have been convicted were either released or only received a minor sentence. And I'm sure it wasn't just the 11 soldiers that were charged who were torturing the prisoners if there's more photos that haven't been released.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking about this for a while now and still dont know if i believe that the photos should be seen. I don't like the fact the the government can decide for us what we can and cannot see, but also in this situation there are good reasons why the photos should not be released. Yes it is important for Americans to understand their mistakes, but at the same time the families of the prisoners should never have to experience the release of those photos. If these photos ever got released i personally would not look at them. The handful of photos that have been released are horrible enough for me to understand the tragedy that happened.
ReplyDeleteI don't think these images should be seen, because if you asked me if I wanted to look at torture pictures I would not be about it; but the fact that a few have already been released I think that means the government has to show the rest of the images to leave it up to the people to decide where to go from there. My fears are not that people are going to get really angry and start rioting (because they won't) but rather that no one is going to take them serious or even bat an eyelash that they exist because the first ones have been already lost in the massive amount of images on the internet. If you ask the average person they probably know that the US tortures people but not exactly what they did or what any of the images are.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a very difficult thing to say one way or the other but I agree with the others that even if the images were released, the outrage and the movement that we would be hoping for wouldn't amount to much. I think the problem in this time period is that there is such a vast amount of images, these images could easily be filtered out. I also think that even if people did see these images, they wouldn't feel directly connected with the problem because it happened out of this country and there has been so little talk about it, that people don't even really know that this is an issue. The government has been hiding these images and information from us for so long, it's hard to keep pressing when we have so little information ourselves. Also, if these images were to be released, they would need to be done so in the proper way and with the proper context so that the mass public understands what is actually going on in these images. People interpret images very different from one another so it needs to be clear what is occurring.
ReplyDeleteI feel like these images are hard to look at. However, they help with people being able to connect more to the situation. As a society we are not completely aware of what is going on with the government and seeing photographs that show us,it is hard to look at. We should be informed on what is going on but having these photographs up where everyone can see them is not the best idea.
ReplyDelete