Who knows about the sources of photographs these days? With the wealth of the internet, and the millions of photographs circulating the web, how does one know who took what? Well, in the case of Trayvon Martin, the prosecutor's office would be a good place to start.
Florida prosecutors accidentally released this photo of Trayvon Martin's corpse to a variety of media sources.
Florida prosecutors accidentally released this photo of Trayvon Martin's corpse to a variety of media sources.
This was previously defined as confidential material and as exempt from disclosure during the trial proceedings.
Over fifty, yes, fifty magazine publications requested access to the photographs and details of Trayvon Martin's trial. This added a layer of accountability between the media and the readers, as multiple sources would cover and screen any potential information and photographs released from the trial of Trayvon.
Now I would say that it would be reasonable to trust in a photograph that was declared legitimate enough to use in court proceedings and published in the media, but what if this photograph also happened to be taken by an unnamed witness, who was present at the crime scene at the time of the murder? The ethos of this post-mortem photograph of Trayvon Martin is established through the validity of it's source, a witness who documented the tragic end to the life of a seventeen-year-old African-American boy 56 years after the brutal murder of Emmett Till.
Over fifty, yes, fifty magazine publications requested access to the photographs and details of Trayvon Martin's trial. This added a layer of accountability between the media and the readers, as multiple sources would cover and screen any potential information and photographs released from the trial of Trayvon.
Now I would say that it would be reasonable to trust in a photograph that was declared legitimate enough to use in court proceedings and published in the media, but what if this photograph also happened to be taken by an unnamed witness, who was present at the crime scene at the time of the murder? The ethos of this post-mortem photograph of Trayvon Martin is established through the validity of it's source, a witness who documented the tragic end to the life of a seventeen-year-old African-American boy 56 years after the brutal murder of Emmett Till.
This photograph is, for lack of a better word, incredibly intense. It is emotionally moving, angering, thought-provoking. However, as difficult as it is to analyze anything but the overwhelming emotion that comes with this photo, I think your analysis of ethos was really interesting. I think the fact that it was captured by an anonymous witness adds to the ethos. We are not concerned with the identity of the photographer, or on which side they stand in the case. Rather, we are able to ourselves holistically evaluate the photo. Again, great post!
ReplyDelete-Natalia de Gravelles
I enjoyed your observation that since this photograph was published in so many magazines, this helps establish the photograph's credibility/authenticity to the viewer. Also, it was great that you included the fact that it was used in the trial proceedings. Overall a great argument of the photograph's credibility, despite the fact of the unknown photographer.
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