Honest Photography?

            http://crcc.usc.edu/initiatives/impa/ “Reading an Image in the Other Context: A Visual Essay by Paul Jenkins.”

            This video essay was very eye-opening. The thing that stood out the most to me is that as a Western society we always assume things that relate to our own society and culture, but that often, this is an incorrect view. The stories from the pictures taken in other cultures can reveal much more about the lives of the people to us if we know the history and context. Pictures can easily create a stereotype because of the often western mindset and manipulation of the photographer and viewers. Mission’s photographers must be especially careful not to distort the culture and needs of the people they take pictures of, but instead offer an honest representation. By not giving an honest snapshot of the people they are representing, when campaigning they can be deceptive in their request for money and also ingrain the stereotype that the missionary is “helping the poor people.”