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Ethical Implications of Digital Manipulation in Photography

Dec 14, 2022 | 0 comments

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Dec 14, 2022 | Essays | 0 comments

Question 1

The concept of the public sphere by Jürgen Habermas is a realm within the social life where public opinion can be created and accessible to all. According to Habermas (1989), engagement within the public sphere is blind to the connection between activities and class positions in the public sphere (Habermas, 1989). Similarly, Habermas (1989) described the public sphere as a social life area in which people freely come together to identify societal problems, and political action is influenced by that discussion.

The most contemporary conceptualization of Habermas’ public sphere encompasses different meanings, and it implies the social sites, a spatial concept or arenas where meanings are negotiated, distributed, and articulated. The internet has changed the ways of communicating information. Applying the concept of the public sphere, people nowadays communicate, discuss and influence public opinions using the internet on different platforms such as blogs, social network sites, and YouTube (Habermas, 1989).

A blog is a journal of information found online about a certain topic. The blogger who publishes posts on the blog can influence many people’s opinions depending on his articles, and people can also interact by commenting and discussing. Other social network sites include Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter. People use these social network sites to discuss and interact online using videos, posts, and articles, which can influence public opinion.

Question 2

The trend of digital manipulation of photography using computers has raised some ethical concerns. “The Orange County Register,” the prize winner of Photographic Pulitzer, digitally manipulates all the areas of the sky in its photographs to what is known as “Register sky blue,” which Harris (2009) termed as wrong. Harris (2009) pointed out that the color lab superintendent of “The Orange County Register” leaves out the yellow and red in the skies since sometimes the skies tend to muddy up.

Harris (2009) indicated that it is wrong to change the color of the skies in pictures because it can lead to problems; for instance, if the lab were to manipulate the photograph of a traffic accident scene that occurred during a foggy day, to make it appear blue in the sky. This ambiguity between what is done and what is stated is part of the problem of digital manipulation. It leads to a “slippery slope” in making decisions ethically.

I do not think there could be an instance where digital manipulation should be encouraged or acceptable. This is because it is an intentional misrepresentation of facts, making it unethical, deceptive, and dishonest. I will support my argument with the photos below:

The picture above of The Economist on 19th June 2010 showed President Obama standing alone, his head down and looking forsaken at Louisiana beach. However, the original photograph was of Obama standing next to Charlotte Randolph, the local parish president, and the coast guard.

Question 3

According to Graham (2001), the most ethically significant point about films or reports that makes free use of sexual or violent images is their failure to engage the interest of the audience to deepen their understanding. The argument of Graham (2001) targeted representation that violence and sex, both in film and reporting, cause harm. He argued that it is highly debatable for all people except a few that watching such programs will establish and cultivate these tendencies of being violent. Furthermore, Graham (2001) indicated that even if harm was to result from such programs, this alone should not legitimize censorship.

I disagree with this claim of Graham since it is evident that our journalistic and artistic communities are failing us. Gratuitous use of sexual or violent imagery, especially among children, inculcates violent tendencies and sexual immorality.

References

Habermas, J. (1989). The structural transformation of the public sphere: An inquiry into a category of bourgeois society. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.

Harris, C. R. (September 01, 2009). Digitization and Manipulation of News Photographs. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 6, 3, 164-174.

Graham, G. (2001). Evil and Christian ethics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

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