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McKinnon de Kuyper
Dr. Hoare
Understanding Media
1 April 2013
The Effects of Photographing Death
Throughout the evolution of journalism ethics, the debate behind If it bleeds, it leads
has exhausted media producers who argue for or against gruesome details about death in the
news (Lester). When photojournalism experienced its Golden Age between the 1930s and 1960s,
the field faced the same question: is it appropriate to photograph and broadcast death? The
question became mainstream in World War II, when images of concentration camps horrified
western media consumers. Since then, disturbing photographs, ranging from victims of lynching
in the 1950s to starving Sudanese in the 1990s to casualties of 9/11 in 2001, have appeared on
our televisions and internet homepages. The effects of viewing these images in our homes have
been long criticized as desensitizing the public, especially younger generations, to the tragedies
depicted. These photographs of death lead, but due to the negative self perceptions, emotional
after effects, and dehumanization they inflict, evidence shows that laws allowing news outlets to
broadcast these images should be revised to better regulate their frequency.
In his essay about images of death, Horrific Blindness: Images of Death in Contemporary
Media, David Campbell notes, How those photographs are used, and what context is chosen in
which to deploy them, is vitally important (61). During the mid-twentieth century, white
supremacists exemplified a detrimental use by abusing the power of an image to reinforce
stereotypes of and normalize acts of violence against African Americans. In their publication that
compiles the history of lynching photographs, Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in
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America, J. Allen and Hilton Als discuss the postcards perpetrators in the South created to
circulate the United States in the 1950s (Chura 459). The photographs, printed on the front of the
postcards, eventually reached mainstream media. Even today, these photographs are published in
secondary school textbooks. In reflection of their current presence in todays media, Hilton Als
reveals the personal affects the photos have had on his own self perception:
...these pictures are documents of Americas obsession with niggers, both black
and white. I looked at these pictures, and what I saw in them is the way in
which Im regarded, by any number of people: as a nigger. And it is as one that I
felt my neck snap and my heart break (Chura 462).
Although we often argue that learning history is essential to human civilizations
evolution, Hilton Als argues the photographs of lynching are reminders of our shortcomings, in
reference to the once accepted oppression of African Americans. Furthermore, instead of
learning a lesson from our mistakes, such grotesque images reinforce stereotypes that build racial
tensions (in this example of African Americans and southern White males). In addition, the
publication claims that graphic photographs discourage self-worth by re-creating detrimental self
perceptions and racial slurs. Therefore, these images hinder the process of of reconciliation for
those who are victims of acts of injustice. In regards to history outside of the US, this social
construction encompasses the Jewish who were persecuted by Nazis, Bosnians executed by the
Serbs, and Southern Sudanese who were starved to death by their own government.
In Kevin Carters Pulitzer Prize award-winning photograph The Vulture, a vulture is
captured stalking a near-death Sudanese child. The childs frail bones are curled into fetal
position, struggling to catch her last breaths. The photograph is said to be a metaphor for how the
rest of the world disregards Africa. Those who live beyond its borders standby, they observe and
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exploit (historically and currently) the continent, but do nothing to aid the impoverished. In later
reports, Carter shared that he waited nearly an hour in the blazing sun until the vulture was
within close proximity of the dying child to capture the most visually appealing image possible
(Macleod). In regards to popularity, it was worth the wait, and the shocking image dispersed
across the western world. Foreign onlookers were overwhelmed with sadness, but not to the
extent the photojournalism himself endured.
A year after he captured this iconic photograph, Kevin Carter committed suicide. He left
behind a note that read, I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings and corpses and anger
and pain ... of starving or wounded children, of trigger-happy madmen, often police, of killer
executioners (Macleod). In addition to the difficulties that victims of photographed oppression
face, as referenced above, photojournalists themselves experience challenging emotional after
effects. In Kevin Carters case, he was so overwhelmed with guilt, for not helping this child and
giving an image to a horrifying metaphor of humankinds selfishness, that he ended his life.
Although an extreme example, Kevin Carters story suggests that the work that photographing
death entails is damaging. It forces the photojournalist into the position of capturing an
individual at the moment of their death, which objectifies them as part of a tragic photo, instead
of celebrating them as a living, breathing human being.
Media consumers expressed this exact complaint when photographs of World Trade
Center employees jumping to their deaths were broadcast after 9/11. The day after these
photographs were released, Charges leveled against the papers implied that publishers had
exploited the situation for sensationalistic purposes, stripped the subjects of their dignity,
invaded their privacy, and turned tragedy into leering pornography (Kirouac-Fram 131).
Furthermore, the debate arose whether it was legal or not to publish a photograph of an
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anonymous someone at the time of their death, since neither they nor their loved ones are able to
provide consent. By showing these photos, the individuals are dehumanized and the act
amplifies a sense of their powerlessness: the photographer has caught them unaware, helpless to
refuse at the very private moment of their deaths (Kirouac-Fram 132). Therefore, according to
this reporter, photographing death does not just objectify the subject and inflict emotional
turmoil, but it manifests into legal disputes as well. According the United States law, it is legal to
photograph any person in a public place for private use (U.S. Code of Federal Regulations), but
there is no policy addressing whether photographing a person at the time of their death is
appropriate or not for public broadcast or commercial photography.
On the contrary, researchers argue that iconic images capturing death have bettered
society. Whether raising attention to acts of injustice or recording historical moments,
photographs are impactful. Despite this positive evidence, Susan Moeller warns, threatening
and painful images cause people to turn away, and since the media prioritize bad-news images,
this tendency may partially account for Americans compassion fatigue (Kirouac-Fram). It is
true that photographs of death lead, but due to the negative self perceptions, emotional after
effects, and dehumanization they inflict, laws that allow news outlets to broadcast these images
should be revised to better regulate their frequency.


Works Cited
Campbell, David. "Horrific Blindness: Images Of Death In Contemporary Media." Journal For
Cultural Research 8.1 (2004): 55-74. Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Mar. 2013.
Chura, Walt. "Postcards From Lyncherdom." Contemporary Justice Review 11.4 (2008): 459-
462. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.
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Kirouac-Fram, Jaclyn. "The Most Disturbing Aspects." Radical History Review 111 (2011): 131-
137. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.
Lester, Martin, Dr. "Photojournalism Ethics." Photojournalism Ethics. Department Of
Communications- CFSU, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2013.
Macleod, Scott. "THE LIFE AND DEATH OF KEVIN CARTER." THE LIFE AND DEATH OF
KEVIN CARTER. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2013.