Reading done on January 4 2018

"Understanding Photographic Representation : Method and Meaning in the Interpretation of Photographs"

  • by Gerald John - 1992
  • PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) thesis, University of Iowa.

According to Gerald John (1992) photograph reflect a vision of the world but not the world itself (iv abstract). John (1992) claims that the creation and appearance of a photograph is a manifestation of its ideological function serving the interests of a particular power (9-10). And through the intentionality of the photographer the role of that photograph is to make that particular world available to the viewer (John 1992, 26); John (1992) claims this to be a controlled, representational process (41). Donald Brook (1986), an artist, art critic and theorist, who recognizes a photograph to be “an object of human creation and thus, an intentional construction” (282) (John 1992, 33-34). John (1992) claims that those who speak of the subjectivity of the photograph “emphasize the ultimate content of the photograph itself, its pictorial and expressive qualities, its production by human hands and for human purposes and the concomitant responsiveness of the medium to a multitude of manipulative practices” (39). Moreover, John (1992) refers to Vera L. Zolberg, a sociologist, who claims that in order to interpret a work properly, it is essential for the observer of the work to have a particular “sensitivity” (71) - the common language conveyed by the “artist/photographer” and that of the viewer. John (1992) raises the question of the existence of a “referential world which the artist and his audience share? (72).

To explain ideology in relation to a group in power, John (1992) alludes to the sociologist, John B. Thompson, in Ideology and Modern Culture (1990), who claims that the analysis of ideology is “concerned with the ways in which meaning is mobilized in the social world and serves thereby to bolster up individuals and groups who occupy positions of power (74).

This to say that according to Janet Wolff (1981), ideology is “mediated by the aesthetic code” (John 1992, 76). Wolff furthermore claims that the perspective of an “individual is not only biographically constructed, but also the personal mediation of a group consciousness (119)” (John 1992, 76). Moreover, John (1992) claims that “the critique of ideology emphasizes the primacy of political and economic structures in the generation of meaning” (77) -which according to John Tagg, a professor of Art History, reflect the interests of the particular institution (John 1992, 82).

“In his analyses of Russell Lee’s “Hidalgo County, Texas,” (1939) and Jack Delano’s “Union Point, Georgia” (1941), Tagg emphasizes the necessity of interpreting the image as a whole and the inter-relation of each element within it, a characteristic shared with an aesthetic approach. It is necessarily a part of any view of the photograph as in some sense a statement or a presentation of a point of view” (page 85).

“understanding (interpretation of a text) begins with a meaning based in our practical experience of the world and the pre-conceptions with which we approach a text. There is no separation here of understanding from the time and place within which we encounter it and the perception or “world view” with which constitutes the ground of our everyday experience” (page 161).

Next, the authors attempt to explain the reasons why the internet has become the favourite medium for terrorism in 21st century (Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, and Carleton University 2006, 4). The first reason stated is the fact that these groups have they lack the physical geographic space to operate effectively, consequently, they have found their virtual territories in the cyber world (Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, and Carleton University 2006, 5). Additionally, this cyberspace has provided a decentralized system consisting of a virtual community created to networking that is guided through the association of believes to vitalize operations of basing, planning, coordinating, and carrying out the groups’ agendas (Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, and Carleton University 2006, 5, 8).

“The activism of terrorist groups, the most prominent being Al Qaeda and its affiliates, demonstrates this trend. The use of the internet to spread disinformation, to deliver threats intended to instill fear and helplessness, and to disseminate horrific images of recent actions and attacks (videotaped executions of foreign nationals and aid worker hostages; attacks on US armed forces etc.) are all part of a deliberate campaign of psychological warfare, conducted openly and widely in cyber-space” (Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, and Carleton University 2006, 6).

This paper claims that the internet is a medium that allows non-state actors to play an international role, influence public opinion, and foreign policy decisions (Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, and Carleton University 2006, 6).

To add, along with psychological warfare, through the internet comes the ability to have a direct control over the publicity of the group and the spread of its propaganda without having to depend on traditional media (Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, and Carleton University 2006, 6).

The internet also allows terrorist groups its usage for data-mining, through which terrorists gain valuable information about anything such as transportation facilities and how to make explosives (Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, and Carleton University 2006, 6). And through data-mining, they can create manuals, instruction, and other useful materials (Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, and Carleton University 2006, 6).

Additionally, according to authors, the cyberspace is essential to receiving funding for terrorist groups’ activities as it provides “secrecy” and “global reach” (Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, and Carleton University 2006, 7). To support this, the authors give the example of Al Qaeda and its affiliates, who depend heavily on donations obtained through “a global fundraising network of charities, non-governmental organizations, and other financial institutions that actively canvass on the internet through websites, chat rooms, and forums. Groups make bank account numbers and banking information publicly available on their websites and those of their associates where sympathizers may anonymously show their support through monetary contributions” (Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, and Carleton University 2006, 7). Furthermore the author institutions claim that terrorist groups use modern software in order to capture internet user demographics to identify sympathizers to a related cause or issue, then these people are individually contacted by email to make donations to organizations with no direct ties to the terrorist group itself, or for recruitment and mobilization purposes (Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, and Carleton University 2006, 7-8). Moreover, there are online chat rooms and cybercafés, post messages on online bulletin boards, where recruiters look for receptive individuals and vulnerable youth to join a particular terrorist group (Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, and Carleton University 2006, 8)

In their conclusion, Tombul and Akdogan (2016) claim that the law enforcements should be careful in keeping a balance between democratic rights and values and security without neglecting the rights of citizens such as freedom of press and freedom of the expression (13). And most importantly, they urge law enforcements to stand “one step ahead on the use of technology” in order to succeed against the fight on cyberterrorism (Tombul and Akdogan 2016, 10).