Violence, Dying And Death In John Berger's Agony

Photographs have the unique ability to document the full spectrum of the human condition. In moments that capture violence, suffering, dying, or death, photographs can create controversy and have their value questioned. The value of photographs portraying violence, suffering, dying, or death can be measured in three ways. Some individuals categorically believe that these photographs are highly valuable because they can effectively stimulate viewers’ sense of morality. Opposing individuals believe that photographs of violence, suffering, dying, or death are harmful and unethical because they can negatively influence viewers or imprison the emotional state of the viewer. Ultimately, photographs of violence, suffering, dying, or death are neither completely unethical nor necessarily valuable. In certain circumstances, these captured moments can be both valuable and unethical for the individual viewer. And, irrespective of

In John Berger’s essay, Photographs of Agony, the writer discusses the negative impact that graphic war photography can have on viewers. Berger implies that photographs portraying “terror, a wounding, a death, [or] a cry of grief” are unethical because they “arrest” or “engulf” the audience with “the moment of the other’s suffering” while imposing viewers with a sense of obligation in a moment “discontinuous with normal time” (Berger 39). In other words, Berger argues that such photography is misleading because it escapes reality while keeping the viewer in place. The writer also adds that such photography is unfair because it confusingly “accuses nobody and everybody” because of the photograph’s ambiguous nature (Berger 40). Berger’s essay reemphasizes that photographs of violence, suffering, dying, or death can be unethical by imposing unrealistic guilt-laden blame on