How is the censorship in photography affecting the publicising of images which document reality.?
Posted on September 14, 2010 by Ed
basically, im writing an essay. This being the basic question, im looking to know about peoples thoughts. Sally mann’s work… showing her childrens childhood, people were shocked at the images released. Martin Parr, some of his work showing children at the beach… etc… anyone got anything that i could add to this discussion?
Actually it has become even worse during the last 8 years. Alberto Gonazales made it his "mission" to rid the internet of porn and many Innocent sites got caught up in his fools search. I have been in photography for over 30 years and I have seen quite a change in what people see as child porn. Several years ago a young mother took photos of her son taking a bath for a photography class. Nothing sexual but the developer who processed the film turned her in for child porno. It actually went to court with the state pushing the idea that these photos were consider porno simply because the child was nude (in a bath tube). In today’s word teens who send each other provocative photos via cell phone can be and have been charged with child porno even though they are only taking pictures of themselves.
There is a difference between photos showing people have sex with the children and pictures of nude children. In Europe it is quite common for families to go to nude beaches and take family photos. If those photos get to the US they are deemed pornography even though its not.
You should also read up about the controversy of the photos of Robert Mapplethorpe. While his work is very sexual in nature it is still consider to be art by people who have an actual brain to see past the hypocrisy of the government and churches.
Discussion: 3 Comments
3 Responses to “How is the censorship in photography affecting the publicising of images which document reality.?”
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Lover not a Fighter
- 14th Sep, 10 09:09am
What censorship? Censorship is something that the government does, not something that a magazine editors, and such does (when they limit what they will and will not print).
So (not counting porn, child porn, etc.) I don’t think you can make the argument there is a censorship (at least not in USA).
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By this I mean that in some contries, newpaper editors and such goes to jail for printing unflattering pics of their country leader. We just don’t have that.
Good Luck…
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Slighly Amused
- 14th Sep, 10 09:09am
Actually it has become even worse during the last 8 years. Alberto Gonazales made it his "mission" to rid the internet of porn and many Innocent sites got caught up in his fools search. I have been in photography for over 30 years and I have seen quite a change in what people see as child porn. Several years ago a young mother took photos of her son taking a bath for a photography class. Nothing sexual but the developer who processed the film turned her in for child porno. It actually went to court with the state pushing the idea that these photos were consider porno simply because the child was nude (in a bath tube). In today’s word teens who send each other provocative photos via cell phone can be and have been charged with child porno even though they are only taking pictures of themselves.
There is a difference between photos showing people have sex with the children and pictures of nude children. In Europe it is quite common for families to go to nude beaches and take family photos. If those photos get to the US they are deemed pornography even though its not.
You should also read up about the controversy of the photos of Robert Mapplethorpe. While his work is very sexual in nature it is still consider to be art by people who have an actual brain to see past the hypocrisy of the government and churches.
References :
AGK
- 14th Sep, 10 10:09am
Well there is the whole child-porn thing. I don’t condone child pornography, but the standards for judging what is porn and what isn’t are very blurry right now. What really bothers me is not censorship by external factor’s but self censorship caused by the way our society forces us to see things. For instance half the people with a camera today seem to get very nervous about photographing a child who is anything other than fully covered in clothing from chin to ankle. The other half get questioned by police for photographing their own children at the beach or pool simply because the other parent isn’t with them.
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