Steven Karetzky Reveiws“100 Photographs: The most Influential Images of ALL Time.” A Time special edition, Dec., 2018
A Time special edition, Dec., 2018. It has been published in two other forms over the past few years, e.g., hardcover and has received rave reviews.
I reviewed this special issue of the magazine Time, published last month,as well as the book from two years ago with the same content.
This is the paperback edition of a volume issued two years ago, more than enough time for it to have had its numerous factual errors corrected. Unfortunately, Time has not done so. Perhaps it assumes this to be unnecessary since three-quarters of the Amazon reviews of that edition gave it five stars. Apparently, these reviewers, like those at Time, know nothing about the history of photography or the U.S.A. The main critique of the book on Amazon was that it contains too many depressing photos.
As stated on the cover, these photos have been extremely influential. The problem is that “The stories behind the pictures” noted on the cover are often erroneous and will merely augment the influence of the bogus photographs. I will deal with only a few of the most egregious of the work.
The famous “Migrant Mother” by the notorious Dorothea Lange, is a prime example. The viewer is supposed to pity the Depression era migrant worker who is meant to represent the dreadful sadness of all of them. Dorothea Lange had promised the woman when she took the photos of her that they would not be shown to anyone. She lied. Copies soon appeared in newspapers around the country, infuriating the “migrant mother.” In truth, she had been playing with her six children and had merely sat down for a moment to rest. As one of the New Deal’s left-wing photographers, Lange’s primary interest was to shake up the American public to gain more support for Depression era federal projects and to show what a horrible country the U.S. was. According to Frances Thompson and her children, she had a joyful family life and lived until the age of eighty.
Another photograph and the “story behind it” that had a negative influence on America was the photo of General Nguyen Ngoc Loan shooting his prisoner in the head after this Vietnamese terrorist, wearing civilian clothes, had murdered a married couple, their six children, and the children’s grandmother during the Tet offensive. Not noted is the fact that Eddie Adams, the photographer, regretted taking this photo for the rest of his life because its widespread publication decreased many Americans’ support for this war.
The editors of the collection also buy into phoney photography allegedly showing workmen enjoying their lunch on a steel beam, eight hundred feet above the street. In actuality, this was merely a stunt since there was a net twenty feet below them. Another photo in this book shows a photographer walking on a similar beam with his camera. Does Times truly believe that this individual—untrained in such a dangerous endeavor—would truly risk his life?
It is relevant that Confucius (Kung Fu Tzu) did not say that “A picture is worth 1,000 words,” as is frequently declared,” but “One look is worth 1,000 words.”
I could go on and on. Readers should realize that “Fake Photography” is an integral part of “Fake News.”
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