Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/07/08
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Mark, In what genre is photgraphy so weak? Reportage? If so, could it be the stability of times? Compared to the 30's, 40's and 60's, nothing is really polarizing this country (USA). A good economy? Not terribly interesting! Wars, civil rights movements, arms race, etc., those days are gone for America. Perhaps photojournalists are bored? If I recall correctly, the best picture awards over the last few years have been shot in places other than the US. Maybe there are too many PJ's at home and too few abroad (or editors'/readers' lack of interest in foreign matters) ! Cheers, Arturo REPLY: If the above is the general view of life in the USofA, then photo journalism, or journalism in general, is failing and failing badly. It is certainly true that the days of riots, mass protests, the emergence of the "counter culture" are far distant - the days of "f 8 and be there." However, while the economy is undeniably in great shape, making the contrast between the haves and have nots all the more stark. Yes, crime is down, but police brutality is reportedly up. Conditions in most urban schools are deplorable. The rural poor are still the rural poor. Are conditions for the American "under class" even comparable to those of poor in the rest of the world? No. Americas poorest citizens would seem solidly middle class in many African nations and in many nations elsewhere in the "Third World." But the contrasts here are stark, and we're not seeing a lot of that reflected in most journalism, photo or otherwise. (And, of course, there are major exceptions to this blanket statement.)