For your third blog assignment, review the selection of photographs by Sebastiao Salgado (link to D2L by clicking the image above) and read the introduction and image descriptions to "Migrations: Humanity in Transition" in the course reader. Referring to pgs. 28-29; 34/35 and 116/117, address the following:
In his introduction, Salgado writes at one point of his experiences documenting displaced persons and exiles:
"This experience of Latin America made the sprawling cities of Asia seem strangely familiar. There were differences: Sao Paulo and Mexico City are more violent places, but environmental degradation seems even worse in Asia. Yet at times I would forget where I was. Cairo? Jakarta? Mexico City? Everywhere there are those same islands of wealth amid the poverty..." (CR: 173)
1. How does Salgado's choice of medium (photography) support his narrative of "sameness-in-difference" that he uses to connect diverse migratory experiences from Mexico/US, Croatia and Spain? Provide two examples from the images on the pages listed above.
2. In your opinion, is photography an adequate medium for documenting migration in our current era of globalization? Provide at least one pro or con. How does Salgado's photojournalistic aesthetic and his approach to global migration highlight current globalization debates concerning homogeneity vs. heterogeneity?
Salgado's work with photography in his travels throughout intense poverty stricken parts of this world, are part of his overriding theme of 'sameness in difference.' I believe that to mean that although these people come from completely different worlds and cultures, these people have common ground and have indeed, suffered some very similar unfortunate circumstances, no matter where in this world they are. Salgado talks in his article about how many of these people have been forced from their homes and countryside areas to more densely populated areas for political reasons, they have become exiles, trying to get away from certain governmental practices etc., and he began to move throughout all these populations, taking photographs all along the way. A particular set of photos demonstrating his point of sameness in difference, are the images from P.29 and P.116-117. On P. 29, we seen the great wall of China, and what appears to be either someone who has either collapsed, or could in, be dead. In the distance, the silhouette of a man walking away from the scene, to me conveys the same feeling of intense confusion but need to survive that I see in the picture of the little boy, alone in a large field on P. 166-117. The innocence of the images are the same, while both carrying very complex meanings, dealing with realization of what life is like for these people and wondering just what these people will do to survive. You feel that these two people are alone, but quite aware pf what is going on around them, knowing that it may or not eventually get better for them. To me, Photography is an excellent medium for capturing the point that Salgado is attempting to reiterate. It captures subtleties that film, radio, sound etc. just can not replicate. Photography is also a medium that everyone in this age of major media globalization is familiar with, and has an interest in seeing. The photographic work compels to seek out more and understand the situation at hand in the photo. It takes the reality of the situation and freezes it in time, unlike a film, which would have a overriding theme, or message that the editing would produce, this is much more bare bones and direct to the point.
ReplyDeleteI find that the photographs represent the narrative of sameness-in-difference through the fact that each member, whether it be in Mexico, Spain, or Croatia, is being separated through means of a wall, hazardous boat trips, or trains. These people have all been forgotten and separated because they weren't wanted. These photos as a whole prove that photography is an adequate medium for documenting migration in our current era of globalization because they can express a truly powerful emotion i one shot. Salgado shows through his photos and the journalistic captions that these humans are being thrown out of their countries and are being separated because countries such as America and Serbia have a very strict homogeneity policy.
ReplyDeletePhotography is, at its very base, the process of exposing a single frame of film to the events happening in front of the camera, producing a still image of those images. An interesting side effect of this process is the stripping the image of all context- without any captions or intimate personal knowledge of the subjects (whether they be people, architecture, landscape, or otherwise), it is impossible to place the action (unlike the mediums of film or audio recordings, where the addition of elapsed time allows one to glean more of the surrounding circumstances without any additional context). The images on pages 28 and 29 of the wall are prime examples of this- while the actual location may be difficult to determine, the circumstances and humanity in view are universal.
ReplyDeleteWhile I say that photography strips the context, that does not mean that I feel it is an inadquate medium for documenting migration in any era. Any medium is sufficient to capture the depth of humanity and circumstances necessary to convey an idea, as Salgado's images easily prove. As he stated in the introduction to his book, and as is evidenced by his photographic aesthetic, things- economic situations, enlightenment, horror- are nearly without fluctuation heterogeneously un-homogeneic.
All of the photographs in Sebastio Salgado’s work seem to all have a common focus on poverty, overpopulation, and borders—perennial themes in human history. This, I think, is at the heart of Salgado’s statements on ‘sameness in difference.’ He travels the globe, photographing the weak, the impoverished, and the suffering. His collection of images comes from all different corners of the world, but they, again, have a common theme, sameness in difference. His thesis being that this is not just an American problem, or an African problem, or a Spanish problem; but a human problem. In “Migrations: Humanity in Transition,” Salgado has many poignant representations of this idea through the medium of photography, one in particular was the shot of a young boy in a car that seemed to double as his home (page 46/47). This, to me, conveys the displacement that can happen when a political body forces its people to migrate to its urban areas in order to survive, consequently fueling the fire of degradation. The boy seems to be at ease with his situation, portraying how the rampant chaos in these areas of the world can fade into normalcy for those subject to it for long enough. Another powerful Salgado work appears on pages 25 and 27; these are of desperate people hanging on the outside of a train. These people are searching for a place to conducive to survival, quite literally clinging to the one thing that might save them. Personally, I think Salgado’s images are much more powerful than they would be in film or any other medium. The black and white, washed out images absolutely relate to the themes he loves to explore allow the viewer to make their own decision about their meaning, whereas a film almost always has some sort of message to give, albeit intentional or not. Photography is timeless, and that is what makes his work so powerful.
ReplyDeleteFilm 301
ReplyDeleteSaldago’s choice of medium supports his narrative of “sameness-in-difference” though a variety of camera angles, close-ups, and a variety of main focuses in the photographs. An image in itself express more than what at times is intended, here Saldago depicts displacement by showing the more depressing consequences of migrants trying to reach a life of solitude. The pictures and their subjects all share the same feeling of displacement and utter disappointment of settling for the next best thing. The photographs in relation to the United States Border Patrol and Mexico portray the deepest desire to search for more opportunity on the other side. Photographs of those sleeping and creating temporary homes along side the border show the extremity these migrants would go to in order to taste what it might be like to have such a desire. As for Spain, migrants were lucky enough to find a way there by boat, however majority of the time they were lucky enough to make it to the end. The picture on page 37 shows the depressing outcome of what happens to the majority, the shipwreck on a barren beach gives a dead and dreary aura. Where the other pictures actually shows the travesty of the migrants drowning and falling in despair.
One of the more unfortunate aspects of today’s society is the fact that we are more technologically based than ever before. Still images and paintings since the beginning of their time have conveyed all types of perspectives, whether historical or abstract emotion they stand still and capture time. In comparison to film, radio, tv, and video and image can only be seen and viewed for a very short amount of time. In other words, the true purpose and perspectives that could be drawn cannot be; thus less dwelling on the emotions and actions depicted. Film and video too often exaggerate what truly in portrayed in reality. Photography has the ability to be dramatized through a black and white negative, however, for both moving picture and photography both have the ability to be alter to an unnecessary extent.
Film 301
ReplyDeleteSalgado’s choice of photography is used to show a story of why migration occurs and how similar it is in every part of the world. It shows the similarities of migration such as people having to escape immense poverty of their home though often dangerous and illegal ways, as shown by the handcuffed illegal immigrant and people riding on top of cargo trains. It shows how a quest for a better life has people turn to dangerous transport routes in order to escape. Numerous pictures show that nations are unwilling to accept these people, who they view as a burden even though they have the courage to risk their life to ensure a better life for them or their families. Photography, even in our era of globalization, is an incredibly effective way for showing migration and its causes, as a single captured moment of a life of those seeking a better life is enough to identify the emotions and the willingness of these migrants to follow through on dangerous, illegal and often unsuccessful attempts. The addition of black and white adds a sense of antiquity to these images, which in turn may express the fact that even in our modern age people still live under these conditions, and may as well reference the fact as to how behind those countries are. One is unable to tell if those pictures were taken in modern times, or 40 years ago due to the lack of technological progress and allow us to see the widespread decay around those parts of the world.
Christopher Poff, Film 314
ReplyDelete1. On an inherent visual level, the technique of photography employed by Salgado creates a visual connection between the photos from the different settings by setting them in the same tones of sepia and gray. The set of still photos also create a connection between the events because, unless one is using the caption guide directly, it isn't necessarily apparent that the next photo you move to is from a different part of the world.
This is especially true of the point Salgado makes with regards to how the refugees stick together in groups, by necessity perhaps but together nonetheless. For me, the most direct comparison comes with the picture of South American migrants huddled on the carriage link (pg 25) and the picture of North Africans packed into a small boat in the straits of Gibraltar (pg 39). While in pure compositional terms, the two photos have relatively little in common, they both illustrate the same activitiy -- a treacherous illegal migration -- both communicate the intense lack of privacy and safety involved, and yet both suggest that human nature still allows perfect strangers to come together and trust one another to make such a risky journey to a new land.
America as the end of the migration is a unifying theme between the photos of the Russian and Vietnamese migrations as well, in spite of the fact that the photos in the former generally offer hope while the latter show more despair. In particular resonance are the photos of each group on planes (pgs 53 and 70). The Russian immigrants who board the planes are essentially guaranteed their arrival in the US, but the Vietnamese are shown on the plane in the process of being returned to their original country and the conditions they sought to flee. While the contrast of hope versus despair is evident, there is still much similarity to be seen in the desperation both groups express.
2. I think photography is still a powerful medium for expressing the nature of migration in the era of globalization. With newer media, the bells and whistles -- "true to life" color, advanced video editing, even just audio -- can serve as a distraction because the audience might focus on what they see as different -- the color of someone's clothing or the impenetrable barrier of a language that is completely foreign to one's ears -- and overlook what is the same.
Salgado's photojournalism takes the debate to a visceral and personal level that many people ignore (sometimes intentionally). It's easy to talk about the adverse effects of illegal immigration and globalization in sterile, statistical terms -- crime rates, death rates, economic impact -- but that can hide the real human cost -- as well as the humans themselves -- for which these things are their lives, not merely profit projections or budget statements.
Saldago’s use of photography backs up his narration of “sameness in difference” very strongly. He is showing different photos of migrants trying to reach their destinations in very different places, yet they are somehow in the same situation. Saldago’s use of black and white leads me to think he is taking multiple different areas and linking them by not being biased with the use of color. He is somehow trying to portray that these very different areas of the world and these situations are both linked. In the pictures on pages 28-29 of Tijuana it shows two migrants trying to view their future or what the dream of being their future. The only difficulty is this giant wall that is holding them back. It’s a very similar scene in pages 34-35 where Saldago has photographed boats leaving the Morrocan coast to head to Spain. The boats filled with migrants have the thoughts of reaching their new destiny the only thing in their way is the Straight of Gilbraltar as well as a massive thunder storm seen brewing above. Not only are the migrants dreams linked but in both pictures the migrants are in different places but completely linked by their obstructions to their believed dream.
ReplyDeleteI believe photography to be a great medium for documenting migration in our current era of globalization. It’s a medium that is taking one snap shot. Photography can be biased but its much more difficult to portray a biased then a film. It more or less documents a moment in time, there is no editing or narrating that can portray the viewers thoughts. It’s a singular image that holds a moment in time. If one were to take one frame from a film they could have a completely different thought on that frame then the message trying to be portrayed in the film. As I said earlier Saldago uses black and white which is a great idea because it not only links his images together in a unity but it also reminds me of the phrase “there it is in black and white” a phrase stating that this is the fact, its right here, make your own judgments.
Salgado is an artist who uses film as his preferred medium to convey a message. In his works, he says that there was amount of “sameness in difference”. What he means by that is that while cities may be different in their cultural differences and physical locations the events that he was witnessing and the things that he saw where very much the same. There are many photos that he took of shanty towns in different places, and while the place may be different, the living conditions looked very much the same.
ReplyDeletePhotography is an adequate medium for documenting migration and our era of globalization. A picture is something that can be worth much more than words, you can imagine something from a description of words. You can hardly ever get an accurate mental portrait of what is happening. A picture, is something that may be open to interpretation, but that is the beauty of a picture, because there is nobody giving you any biased opinions about what something means and how you should interpret it. Interpretation of a photo is in the eye of the beholder, and if you have somebody describe something that they saw, you only get their view of something.
Salgado uses photography to display his narrative of sameness and difference. The fact that every photo is taken in black and white on a similar film stock helps to show the parallels in all the situations. Even though the photos are taken of many different nationalities and cultures, many similar themes run through them. Waiting is a big theme. The people in line at the airport on page 54 are not so different than the man waiting in his car on page 47. Also, fear runs rampant through most of these photos. Fear of getting caught, fear of the unknown, fear of a world where everything is different.
ReplyDeletePhotography is and is not an adequate medium to capture migration in the current era of globalization. It is sufficient because it is able to capture people in the act. However, I don't think that it delves deep enough into the experience of migration. It scratches the surface, gives us a hint, but it does not tackle the issues of displacement that these people feel; nor can we fully understand what they are feeling through the picture. A more adequate form might be an interactive website that is always changing just like a migrant's life. Because of the constant change that comes with migration, photography is two static, too unmoving.
1)Salgado’s choice of medium support a greater element of “sameness” than difference. The two photos portray similar content. For example, they both contain, an image of a child, a small horizon, no locational information, and photograph in black and white. In both photos the child is represent as seemingly, dirty, tired and alone. The images are powerful because they embody a helpless emotion, but I wonder if it makes us think about migratory experiences from Mexico, Croatia and Spain. I would argue it doesn’t, however does it speak to a non specific idea on migration?
ReplyDelete2)I do believe photography is a useful medium for documenting migration in our current era of globalization. However, photography alone is not suffice; it must be attached to another medium that can distribute the image around the world. For example, the success of a motion picture often relies on the way its distributed (advertised). The impact of Salgado’s photos must be considered the same way. Today we have many useful, and free mediums that can create global awareness. In my opinion the pros to Salgado’s photojournalism is that photography is still a trusted medium, despite todays world were we are creating an image hybridity with programs like photoshop.
Through the photographs taken by Sebastiao Salgado we, the audience, are able to get a sense of sameness breaking through the differences, or indifferences felt by these subject matters. In his travels to lands that are very much different from one and other Salgado is able to capture connections that share a striking resemblance. In his writing we learn that Salgado spent some time in small eastern Croatia train camps, experiencing the horrors that they must go through on a daily basis. On pages 118 and 119 we notice a small boy staring hopefully into the camera, and the audience is able to get the sense the abandonment that he feels. While on page 28 we see the same feelings of anguish as two men look through the steel wall built in order to keep them from reaching their dreams. All of these people seen in Salgado’s photographs have been forgotten and left there in the worst possible ways, the only thing that is different is the area that they happen to be dropped in. By using photographs, which are the same format for the most part, Salgado puts emphasis on this thought of “sameness-in-difference”. However, in this day of ever increasing technology and over used photography, the simple snap shot may not be enough. Something like the "Alladeen" site gives much more of a hands on approach to the matter, and because of that we get a more personal touch. Through other media devices we could get a more intimate connection to the subject matter at hand.
ReplyDeleteMatt Bozora- Film301
DJ Tate
ReplyDeleteFILM 301
He uses photography to show how bad it is in some places. I personally don't care for it, seeing as how all i hear about now days is dieing people in other countries. i mean sure it sucks, but i think i would like to get our country in good shape before we care about all the other stuff. I think it helps with the photos that shows that there are poor people everywhere, even in the U.S., but weird that those aren't pictured at all.
I guess photography is an ok medium to do it in, but i would be expecting it to be a film seeing as how its a film class. i think the pictures show that there is suffering/poverty in the countries. it shows that in some ways the countries are connected, but they are all suffering in there different ways. i think...
Karch Schwake
ReplyDeleteFILM 301
So to me this is basically the same thing we have been talking about everyday. I didn't know the class was purely on globalization, and it gets very repetitive. i didn't really know what was going on in the beginning of the class, and we are talking about the same stuff now. I get there are people in other countries that are poor and stuff, but i don't want to hear about it every single week. The pictures to me are nothing special, thats all you see in the news and crap anyways. I'm pretty sure i'm one of the only republicans in the class, so this to me is just nothing. I don't appreciate when people in class cut down America, because my grandfather died for this country so they could have the freedoms they have. i know you have to talk about that stuff, but i feel like thats all we talk about ever. i know its a film class, but it doesn't seem like one at all. And i'm not knocking your teaching or anything, so please don't take it like that.
Kawika Kakugawa
ReplyDeleteFilm 301
1) I believe that photography is a better medium for showing sameness in difference. Salgado uses the photography to show migrants of different forms in different places as he explains in the introduction. These migrants are all in the same situation of being, impoverished, humiliated, and determined to make life better. This can be shown by Saldago in his photography because its black and white and barely shows any text. This makes it so the viewer doesn't know where the subject is from, but the viewer can see that these migrants are in almost uninhabitable settings and suffering. One example can be seen in Salgado's p.28 and p.29 compared to p.116 and p.117 . The pictures 28-29 are of people of Mexico at the US Mexico border, and p.116-117 are of a Croacian child with a train behind him blocking what seems to be a path. So even though these people are from different places and of a different ethnicity. They are in the same blocked off homeless situation.
2)I think photography works well for what Saldago is trying to convey, which was the situation of the migrant around the world.This works well with photography because the photos can't talk so the viewer has to interpret the image of suffering migrants.I think that this piece shows qualities of globalization, because these people from different parts of the world are moving about bringing their culture where ever they may end up. These migrants are in the same situation of being exiled.
1. In this series of black and white photos, Salgado tells the same story about the futile struggle for upward mobility in the poorest communities in the world. The use of borders like rivers and fences, and hitched rides on trains on a series of stills from around the world give the spectator a sense of movement to nowhere.
ReplyDeleteOf globalization, Salgado writes that “As one problem feeds on another, a chain reaction takes place. Everything becomes linked and no problem can be solved on its own” (c.r. 172). All his subjects exist in a temporary, fragile state that is causing them to either come or go. There are no homes for these modern day nomads, in search of sustenance and peace. The man bathing by the railroad (p. 26) is a perfect metaphor for these transient subjects, yearning for dignity somewhere on the planet. The photo of travelers’ shoes resting on the connection between train cars (p. 25) matches the temporaneous quality of his other subjects. For now they are physically moving, but they do not have even that much power over where thy are moving to. So they sit on the train and hope for the best.
The medium is clear cut, and does not give the viewers a lot of hints about the specific locations of these photos, whereas video would immediately cue viewers in on a specific language or region. It also attributes a matter-of-fact, lack of emotion to the subjects, capturing them doing nothing spectacular while basically fighting for their lives every minute of every day. A National Geographic photographer documented refugee camps in Sudan a few years ago in black and white, saying that color can easily distract the viewer. Salgado’s black and white pictures allow one to see past the bright clothing or green fields and into the mundane and hardscrabble struggle of his subjects.
2. As far as the medium being adequate, I can say that it would be, but some of these pictures are rushed and not visually striking. I think sometimes, with the pictures of handcuffs and border fences, the series becomes a bit overwrought. I wanted more detail, more portraiture. I wanted to see the effects of globablization in people’s eyes. I already know the problems with the border and constricting people’s movements in the modern day. I did enjoy the landscape of what looked like an island burning (p. 34 and 35), but other long shots do not have the same spectacular quality; they are too close to something I would see on the news.
Page 46 and 47 photograph, however, really stands out as an excellent argument. The man in the picture is poor, but there is a little bit of distance and antiquity that makes the viewer a bit more comfortable and allows us to really study the subject’s surroundings. He is poor; he is in a car that is not moving, and he is shirtless. This reflects the sameness as far as poor people go. The metaphorical and physical struggles are both present, but the uniqueness of his shelter is what stands out, and this photograph begins to tell a rich story that a lot of photos in this series simply do not contain.
Salgado's "sameness-in-difference" concept comes across in many of the images. The photographs from P.28 and P.29 are a good example of this. Obviously, the first one is the U.S./Mexico border and the other is Croatia/Spain. These are two completely different regions of the world, each rife with its own social geograhpy and issues. However, this idea of the border and the people who may want to cross it is totally universal. It appears as though the people in the first image are looking and waiting for a possible chance to cross without being caught. In the second, there appears to be two people laying on the ground right next to the border, also waiting. The cultural differences in these two regions of the world makes no matter when it comes to a concept such as the border. People, regardless of where they are from, can feel isolated and shut out - as a result, they perhaps develop a desire to try and overcome that isolation or that obstacle which stands in their way. And I'm sure with both U.S./Mexico and Croatia/Spain, there are many who do make it across the border for whatever purpose but at the same time, there are probably just as many people who fail and are sent back, thus reinforcing the feeling of isolation.
ReplyDeleteI think that photography is an adequate medium for documenting migration. However, I think that there are many more ways of doing this (and some that may be better than documentary). But photography does have the ability to capture a single, absolute moment in time and hold it forever. The people in the image will always be there. This is effective for the kind of work that Salgado does. The people in his pictures have realism to them. The photos don't seem staged (though they might be). But that, combined with the minimalist black and white approach, allows certain emotions and cultural difficulties to be conveyed. With the frozen images from P.28 and P.29, we really get a sense of almost desparation from these people who clearly devote great deals of energy and time to the border (whether it is just simply contemplating it, or actually crossing it). A con to photography would perhaps be that it only delivers one moment - and only from one perspective, that of the photographer. We don't really get a sense of the bigger issue. With a film or documentary, though, many perspective can be shown (such as interviews with locals who have more knowledge of what it is like to experience a border than any photographer or filmmaker ever could).
Sean Harrison
Film 314
Christian Bojar
ReplyDeleteSalgado tries to show the struggles that these exiled people had to endure. His theme of sameness in difference is shown in his photos. All these people who come from different parts of the world all share the same problems. I think photography is a descent way to portray globalization in our era, but not quite as good as video. Pictures leave a lot more room for interpretation for the viewer. I think a video with narrative would be a much better medium. Video can provide the intended information that a picture might not fully accomplish.