Deflection and Selection
There is a long and dignified tradition of documentary work in which writers, photographers, filmmakers, and journalists set out to create records or accounts of events, people, and
There is a long and dignified tradition of documentary work in which writers, photographers, filmmakers, and journalists set out to create records or accounts of events, people, and
places that might otherwise go unnoticed or misunderstood. These records are meant to raise questions and to function as calls to action.
Photographers and filmmakers have contributed to this tradition as
well. In New York at the turn of the century, photographers like Jacob
Riis and Lewis Hine exposed how poor families and their children were
crowded into tenements. Throughout the depression, photographers
like Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange made vivid images of the lives of
the people who were living under harsh and difficult conditions. A
relatively recent example of filmmakers who work in this tradition are
the records – made by both amateurs and professional (e.g. Spike Lee) –
who captured the devastation that Hurricane Katrina wrought on the
lives of ordinary people living in the lower Ninth Ward.Familiarize yourself with these terms and their meaning. You will be revisiting them often these next few weeks. They should become part of your vocabulary. I will ask you to write them out for a homework grade this Wednesday.
Think of selection and deflection as major creative
and ethical issues that authors and image-makers face when
doing documentary work on behalf of others.
o
Selection: What an author (photographer, filmmaker)
chooses to draw a reader’s/viewer’s attention to.
o
Deflection: What an author (photographer, filmmaker)
chooses to push into the background, downplay, or leave
out entirely.ASSIGNMENT: Look at the photo essay and listen to the audio for, “Joshua
Febres: "The Uncertain Gang Member,” one of the entries on the
New York Times’ series “One in 8 Million.” see link below; if it fails, copy and past into your browser. Respond to each of the following questions with a minimum of 75 words, using descriptive details from the images and textual evidence. You should be able to finish this in class today, although I will accept it until midnight for those who, despite their best effort, are unable to finish this. That means no play time! thank you :)One in 8 Million: New York Characters in Sound and Images
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/1-in-8-million/index.html#/joshua_febres
2. Look closely at the images that accompany the audio.
3. What are the consequences of these choices for how we
see the young man at the center of the piece?
1. Discuss how the contributing photographer and journalist told
this story in a way that was respectful of the young man, his
family, and community.
In other words,
what was said and how it was said? What choices did the journalists make
about what they included and how they discussed what
they saw and heard? (selection and deflection)2. Look closely at the images that accompany the audio.
How are those images selected, framed, and composed?
What is the effect of the choices that the photographer(s)
made?3. What are the consequences of these choices for how we
see the young man at the center of the piece?
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