An Open Letter to News Outlets

 Dear general news outlets,

as a teenager who looks at the news occasionally, I feel that should speak on the issue of the use of violent images in the media. I personally think that violent images should be used when the topic discussed requires it. I would say it’s required to show the true nature of certain situations, such as war or human rights violations or disease outbreaks. I would say that these images are very necessary, in depicting events that should be taken seriously. I myself have seen how easy it is to downplay these things in our own minds. Although we all understand that violence exists, not all of us understand the real-life repercussions and horrors of things like this. For a more modern example, COVID was a pretty serious thing, and it was downplayed a lot in some places, and that was at least a hindrance to stopping the pandemic. It’s just so easy to sit back and say “Wow, that sucks…anyway-” and not truly considering what it means to see violence. “How can we refuse to acknowledge a mere representation—a picture—of a horrific event, while other people are forced to live through the horrific event itself?” says Christopher Bangert*. I will not deny that I haven’t seen a lot, being young, and that I myself prefer not to see these images, as I have a very good memory. But that also happens to be the point of the use of such images. They’re sticky, in that they’ll stay in your mind for a little bit. It’s in this way, that images should be utilized to emphasize the importance of violent situations.

Sincerely,

JW.

 

*Why Violent Images Matter, Time

Comments