RE: [Leica] some new snaps, a propos

["B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>]

Of course events are staged. But that's hardly a new phenomenon, nor is
it one confined to the West Bank - certainly as early as the early 1960s
people with causes were aware of how to manipulate reality for the
visual media- the march on Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham - fire hoses,
dogs, etc.? - was planned with the leaders knowing precisely how Bull
Connor would overreact, and precisely how that overreaction would look
on television and in publications such as Life Magazine. The reality was
that very few people were seriously hurt in that confrontation -
including those menaced by dogs. There's a fascinating discussion of it
in, if I recall correctly, John Lewis's Walking With The Wind - although
it might be in Carie McWhorter's "Carry Me Home." But there is even some
discussion about the fact that the teenagers involved thought the whole
thing was a giant lark. (NO - I am not suggesting that Bull Connor and
his men were being playful, nor am I suggesting that the cause and use
of demonstrations was anything other than a life-and-death matter.) But
those particular demonstrations were, in effect, staged. And they were
VERY effective.

Similarly, those of us old enough to remember the cry of 'Chicks up
front!' from the anti-war demonstrations of the 60's, know that one
reason for tactic was the usually naïve belief that the cops would go
easier on the 'chicks' if they were the shock troops, but the other was
that demonstration leaders were all too aware how the public would react
to shots of 'chicks' with bloodied heads.

So are Palestinians and Israelis doing the same kinds of things? Does
the presence of TV crews and 'visiting' photographers color, if not
create, events? Sure.



- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us] On Behalf Of Emanuel
Lowi
Sent: Saturday, November 08, 2003 10:11 AM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Leica] some new snaps, a propos


From what I've seen in Gaza and the West Bank, there are a rather fair
number of events staged for the media, even respecting the working hours
and travel needs of the photogs who travel in and out of those areas
from the safety of their hotels (and hotel bars) in Israel proper. So
few of the correspondents and pj's spend a night in those areas or spend
time with "ordinary" people -- it's mostly a herd following each other
from one "event" to another, with lock-stepped steps and lock-stepped
minds. Beware of what you read and see from that conflict. Nothing is as
simple as it seems.

Emanuel Lowi
Montreal
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