prepared by; David Doolittleprepared for; Dr Ted WaylandEnglish 102 : MW 10-1140Spring 2014

“Mental Pollutants and Other Connotations in Protest Photography”

If photographs are an illusion, they are the illusion of the photographers composition. From the

invention of the first photographic device the daguerreotype, to modern digital photography, photographs

offer unique insights. One author spent a significant amount of her career committed to discovering the

often under looked facets of photography. The author, Susan Sontag, writes commentary of photographic

principles methods and uses. Her novel, On Photography, was written in 1977. Sontag’s words transverse

generations into the modern era, where they have become potently relevant. On Photography speaks to

the generation of ‘77, flooded by images of the Vietnam War. Sontag believed that this generation was

“Needing to have reality confirmed and experience enhanced by photographs as [is] an aesthetic

consumerism to which everyone is now addicted. Industrial societies turn their citizens into image-

junkies; it is the most irresistible form of mental pollution” (Sontag 24). In the present day these words

speak volumes to the principles, methods, and global uses we have for photographs.

In 2014 it is almost impossible to buy a film camera without going through inconvenient

measures. Digital photography has made photos, once a rare commodity, now invaluable. The modern era

has become inundated with photography. We are ‘addicted’ to an infinite resource of digital photographs

through the internet. Our modern technology, specifically social media and the exponential growth of

global internet users, ignited fuel accelerating this trend. Society generally believes all photos are

incontrovertible truth that an event occurred. A ‘viral’ image (Dictionary) rebukes Sontag's outdated

words in the following passage but still impose a response: “The images that mobilize conscience are

always linked to a given historical situation” (Sontag 17). Our ‘mobilized conscience’ uses viral

photography as situational proofs, addressing an events verifiability. Mathematically analytically and

through scrutiny of the photographs sources, precipitates two forms of a response. They contribute to

societies ‘mental pollution’ of what actually is reality, or convey a vital message.

Reality is constantly being strained by unrest. When social issues overflow becoming flash floods

of riots across the world, viral photographs embody those powerful nature-like movements. Shared

through the internet our conscience mobilizes into action through a collective process. This is the field of

viral protest photography, associated with social media photojournalism. However, Sontag explains: “a

photograph is not just the result of an encounter between an event and a photographer; picture-taking is an

event in itself” (Sontag 11). An event which contributes factors verifying the photographs truth through

mathematical analytical and source identification.

Academic sources will help assess the mathematical and analytical properties associated with the

photographs presented. The first referenced material is Sylvan Barnet's, A Short Guide to Writing About

Art. In the second chapter Barnet perfectly summarizes the analytical factors in examining art, including

photography. “A Model of the Perception of Facial Expressions of Emotion by Humans: Research

Overview and Perspectives” by Aleix Martinez (et all) offers a computational model of facial expressions

that produce emotion. A computer engineer, he relies heavily on the pioneering work of relating emotion

to the facial structure, theorized by renowned behavioral psychologist Paul Eckman. Eckman has proven

certain facial shapes indicate specific emotions. “cross cultural research on facial expressions of emotion

has included Western, non Western, literate, and preliterate cultures” (Rosenburg et all): this broad range

of sources contributed to Eckman and fellow scientist Erika Rosenburgs theory. Mathematical

examination of protest photographs, identifies patterns of geometry including but not limited to; shapes of

facial structures in the photo meant to convey behavior (Martinez et all), inferences made on intentions

from the photographs vantage point, and what the general composition informs us about the photos

subjects (Barnett 70). Analysis exhibits the photos presented information on; color, focus, light, and use of

dimensional properties (Barnett 70). mathematical and analytical factors, support the evidence suggesting

a photograph is; ‘mental pollution’ and or a vital message.

Source is a final factor in confirming the truth in illusions present behind the photograph. Was it

conceived for political gain? Or as a means of propaganda? Maybe the photographer deliberately presents

misinformation, as a form of ‘counter intelligence’ to the viewer? Truth can only be obtained through

questioning the source. Not in a physical confrontation does the questioning occur, but in an invasion of

the content surrounding the photo. Who, what, where, when, and why these are the fundamental

principles in investigating source of a photograph.

Protest photographs circulate misinformation, either intended or not, and generate violent results.

Emboldened populations react in a frenzy of erratic behavior in seeing photograph subjects being; beaten,

pepper sprayed, in imminent danger of harm, or dragged through the streets. This phenomenon is global,

universal, and non identifiable to a single culture. This work aims to examine two separable global

cultures and their protest photography. Egypt and Venezuela’s photographic examples depict

dualistic truths and “mental-pollutants”, present in the use and misuse of modern protest

photography. As a principle Sontag writes photography is “The shady commerce between art and truth “

(Sontag 6).

Sontag continues that paragraph, describing photography by the United States Farm Security

Administration, during the United States great depression of the 1930’s. Their attention was not to poses

in natural superposition, but the whim of their employers desire. The great depression required the

attention of the United States to its internal affairs. In the same way protest photography of the modern

age, asks for the attention of its viewers. July 4th 2011, Egypt was at the height of the Arab Spring. The

Arab Spring was the political movement by Arabic speaking countries to depose their governments and or

demand reform. In the day’s leading up to Egypt's independence, viral photography circulated the internet

bloodstream as if enhanced by a turbocharged caffeinated beverage. Photographs that were metastasized

by the population, depicted brutality by security forces of the Hosni Mubarak’s government. The result

was the independence of the Egypt, and installation of an interim then democratically elected

government. Societal issues with the new government prompted another series of protests. Following the

trend which made the 2011 revolution successful, the protest photography needed to depict immense

violence by the military, to win back the favor of the people.

Supporters of Mohammed Morsi, the democratically elected president, fabricated events to be

photographed. In a surreal video exhibition a photographer dances around a crowd of “crisis actors”

(Luppa et all) taking pictures. The video accompanies several images, used in the 2013 viral social media

campaign to restore legitimacy to the Morsi government. The photographs created support for mass

protests. The first image is an example of the unedited still frames. In one of the photos two men simulate

an injury. One man on his knees, faces his eyes and hands towards heaven (Howerton). Culturally he is

asking God, more importantly the Muslim Umma (the Muslim world), to interject. The other lays

'wounded' his head on the first man’s knees. The photographer takes his images from a hunched position

near the figures on the ground. This emphasizes the attempt for the photograph in use to level the

situation with its viewers. Their suffering is intended to become the suffering of the audience, prompting

the people to act on their behalf. Unknowingly these actors, are giving tells they are participating in a

ruse.

Martinez's model indicates the 'praying man' is expressing a neutral emotion in his face (Martinez

et all 1596). The 'praying man' should be expressing a natural response of sadness or anger to the

situation. The wounded man also exhibits an untended emotion. In “Facial Expression and Emotion“ , by

Paul Eckman, the authors state: “Obigularis Oculi is a muscle that is difficult for most people to contract

voluntarily... it is a marker of enjoyment for most people when it occurs along with contraction of the

zygomatic major (which raises lip corners)” (Eckman et all 52). The 'wounded man' is actually

experiencing then a form of enjoyment as indicated by the slight raise of his right lip. His eyes are closed

so are unable to be analyzed for further expression. Protest photography such as these false exhibitions

inflames the continuation of sectarian violence.

Not all examples of protest photography supporting Mohammed Morsi were created under

untruthful pretenses. Sontag writes “the notions of image and reality are complementary. when the notion

of reality changes, so does that of the image, and vice versa” (Sontag 160). The capability exists for any

person with the internet and a photograph to rile populations into protests. They need to be transparent

with their messages. Our 'praying and wounded man' photograph was an example best describing the

imaged reality as ‘mental pollution’. The second photograph offers the viewer a similar but painstakingly

more complex reality to address.

The next photograph is of protestors supporting the deposed President Morsi. An older male is

framed nearly center. His fist is clinched raised to the sky, his mouth wide open surrounded by a large

aged beard. He is wearing a Kufi, a cap typical to practitioners of the Islamic faith, connoting he is a

spiritual person. To each side of the older male are two middle aged men, and to their sides a middle

ground of barely discernible figures. The background is comprised of a mass of figures rallied behind the

oldest man at the front. Unlike the first photo all the men hold their hands up into the air. The focal

subject solely clinches his fist. It is blatant anger, underlying there are more credible ways to describe his

behavior. Martinez explains that “humans are not as good at recognizing anger and sadness and are even

worse at fear and disgust” (Martinez et all 1592). His description of the subjects behavior could be

“Hatred”. Hatred is described as “a small percentage of disgust and a large percentage of anger”

(Martinez et all 1594). The facial shape of all the subjects mouths indicate an immense anger emotion.

The eyebrows display the underlying emotion of disgust; they are drawn closer to the nose in an arched

position forcing the nose muscles to contract forming wrinkles (Martinez et all 1596). This photographer

is not just calling on the Umma now but all people to initiate a response. This formulates with the subjects

expressing similar emotions with replicated body gestures creating a communal feeling of responsibility.

Interpreting the photographs in three dimensions alludes to its 'viral' message.

The crowd creates a three dimensional arrow shape pointing at the photograph viewer. The old

man is the tip of the arrow, the figures in the foreground form the sides of the head. The arrow’s shaft is

the mass of non discernible figures behind. Its shape produces a intruding feeling as the arrow readies to

launch. The photographer takes the angle of the photo slightly above the subjects. Personifying their

oppression. The blurred focus the photograph has represents culture. Age is a function of wisdom in the

Arabic culture. How the photographer framed this group it appears the oldest wisest person is leading.

This reality can be translated into a solid message. The wisest and the young alike (Egypt), enraged by the

removal of the elected president, are asking for your help to act as part of the arrow to take down their

enemy. What is denoted and what is connoted appears to be factually informative. In context protest

photography can be proof of a justifiable response. By examining other global cultures, the reader can

acknowledge protest photography's universal message is of the two responses.

Additional examples to bolster this hypothesis can be observed in Venezuela. It gained it's

independence from colonial powers in 1811. “The Bolivarian Revolution” of 1998, resulted in the

installation of Hugo Chavez. In 2002, the incumbent President Hugo Chavez, was removed in a coup

d'etat. The President assumed power again through command of the military, forcefully suppressing

oppositions. In 2013 Hugo Chavez died, prompting an election. The election results favored Maduro and

were protested. Maduro's regimes enemy was the same as Chavez, opposition. Running on the success of

viral protest photography in the Arab Spring, the population created social media campaigns.

The most recent campaigns could best be explained as counter-intelligence using misinformation

to direct a response. Counter-intelligence can be defined as; the effort of the enemy to commit sabotage of

an intelligent nature. In creating these social media campaigns, on websites such as Twitter, the people

distributed viral photography of brutal acts by riot police in Venezuela. All of this could have been a two-

fold effort. One, to draw up a response by the people in the country and the global community. Two, to

purposefully 'sabotage' the current government favorable of the previous administration.

One website has comparisons of protest photographs on the social media site Twitter. It

illuminates the viewer to the campaigns non-truthful impositions. This website, Venezuela Analysis,

includes 14 examples of misused photographs in social media campaigns (Dr Dawg). The human error

made forgetting “through being photographed, something becomes part of a system of information”

(Sontag 156). The internet is an immortal entity, comprised of cataloged information. Reuse instantly can

be cross checked, making the success of these social media campaigns baffling. One photograph misused

dates April 17th 2013. The comparison reveals the original source the United Kingdoms Independent

Newspaper, and taken during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution (Dr Dawg). In the photograph a woman is

dragged by her arms. Two armored security personnel move her towards the background of the picture.

The movement pulls her clothes up, revealing a bare stomach. A third security personnel's retracted leg is

in mid flight of stomping on the woman’s stomach. None of the subjects have exposed faces. The

armored personnel are wearing helmets and the woman's head is wrapped inside the jacket shes wearing.

The lack of seeing their faces makes the photograph easily interchangeable. Perhaps this is the reason it

was chosen to represent protest conditions in Venezuela. For whichever reason: there appears to be a

specific reason the poster cropped the photo in its second use.

Cropping the photo focuses the personnel's boot about to come violently down. The Grey boot is

now below the center of the photograph, immediately drawing the viewer to it. The initial message

intended by the photographer was to capture the oppression of the Egyptian people. By using this vantage

point the scene fosters sympathy for the weak. The first angle creates a quicker inferred movement of the

personnel’s boot. Cropped, the boot appears larger and more threatening to the woman's well being. It's

force now breaking her ribs. The dramatic edit alters the message, enhancing severity of imminent

injuries exposures away.

Viral misuse of images could have contributed to riots in Venezuela, causing deaths since 2013.

Sontag's imagined 'Mental-pollution', had again created violence. Similar responses in polar cultures.

Maduro accused the United States State Department of starting the unrest (Usborne et all). It is illogical

examining the evidence provided. Following the photos, civil unrest increased. Social media campaigns

continued from before April 17th 2013 to today (Dr Dawg). Sontag explains: “Photographs can not create

a moral position, but they can reinforce one – and can help build a nascent one” (Sontag 17). Although the

photographs were misused, the images represented the condition the people believed they lived in.

The image examined was a tame example of their beliefs. Many misused images had figures

bleeding out of graphic open wounds (Usborne et all). Maduro reinforced Chavez's Machiavellian

tendencies The apprehensiveness to another Chavez like environment turned the population to viral social

media photographs. Using these photographs may be considered “mental-pollution” but also a vital

message. The message being; we will fabricate the feelings to your understanding to make you act.

Mainstream media acted by coming to Venezuela in early 2014. Venezuela then allowed peaceful

protests. Maduro's government attempted new tactics of indicting protest leaders on charges of treason,

terrorism, and murder. Leopoldo Lopez, the most recent opposition leader, turned himself in during

February 2014 (Usborne et all). Students peacefully protested for his release. According to the United

Kingdom's Independent Newspaper “tens of thousands of supporters... in response to his arrest” (Usborne

et all). During this occupation a photographer took a picture of a lone female protester. Her body is in a

responsive position, hunched on her laurels, ready to spring (Usborne et all). Tracing an outline around

her forms a square. Squares are geometrically stable, an advantage generating safety. A Venezuelan flag

covers her body. Her mouth is taped shut. A taped mouth is a synonymous symbol of the oppression of

free speech. Her eyes gravitate toward the right of the frame, eyebrows in a peculiar position.

The shape of her eyebrows turned completely inward but drawn apart are both characteristics a

face imparts when angered and in fear (Martinez et all 1593). Her fear could be coming from off frame to

the right. Ominous shadows cast lines across her feet. These dark thick shadows become insightful. This

protest happened during early evening or morning when the sun casts lengthy shadows. The shadows

could be out of frame protest police instilling fear with their presence. Speculation is present: her arms

and hands give a less speculative omission. Angled at 90 degrees from her shoulders, she holds her hands

up, palms facing the viewer. Her gesture is ubiquitous with surrender. Suggesting, what she fears is not

photographed. The sole figure provides ample conditions for analysis. In On Photography Sontag explains

when photographed “a person is an aggregate of appearances, appearances which can be made to yield, by

proper focusing, infinite layers of significance” (Sontag 159). Finite information is ascertained from the

mathematical and analytical factors. Using off frame speculative analysis an infinite set of immediate

actions following the exposure. There is the chance to look more inward then just a single subject in

focus at the center of a picture.

If photography is an illusion, does it foster reality worthy of a response? This philosophical

question was addressed many millennium before the first photograph. The philosopher Plato, in his novel

The Republic, writes “the allegory of the cave”. The allegory of the cave depicts a figurative prison where

imaged shadows constitute the prisoners reality. Only after the prisoner viewing the images is broken free,

can he see the shadows were a mere fallacy. In the same way only through looking at protest photography

with an objective approach can we begin to understand its intentions. Sontag's perception of photographs

is not far off from what actually appears flickering on the cave’s wall. “Photography implies that we know

about the world if we accept it as the camera records it. But it's is the opposite of understanding. which

starts from not accepting the world as it looks (Sontag 23)” Out of context, it is apparent protest

photography is highly misunderstood as a global society. Further mathematical and analytical

approaches will help levy this understanding, to where continued unique insights can be drawn.

These insights provide a foundation for building comprehensive revelations towards universal

understanding of how we should respond to protest photography. Venezuela and Egypt's

examples present humanity a unique imaged paradigm. When searching for truth behind the

fire, we can accept the shadows as informative messages, or additional mental pollutants to our

chained reality.

Works Cited

Barnett, Sylvan. A Short Guide To Writing About Art. London: Longman Publishing Group, 1999. Electronic PDF.

Castellano, Anthony. “President Morsi Ousted: Egypt's Future Uncertain as Fear of Civil War Grows” ABC News Network, July 4th 2013. Website. April 20th 2014.

Dictionary. Dictionary. American Heritage Science Dictionary, 2002. Website. April 25th 2014

Dr Dawg. “Constructing "Venezuela" Protests: a Photo Gallery (fixed)” Venezuela Analysis, 17th February 2014. Website. April 24th 2014.

Eckman Paul, Rosenburg Erika. “Facial Expression and Emotion” Neuroscience Year; supplement 3 to Encylcopedia or Neuroscience. 1.1. (1993) : 51-52. Electronic PDF

Howerton, Jason. “Bizarre Video Appears to Show Pro-Muslim Brotherhood ‘Protesters’ Staging Dramatic Poses and Injuries for Cameras” The Blaze News Network, 8 Aug. 2013. Website. April 19th 2014.

Luppa Nicholas, and Andrew Gordon. Crisisactors.org. Version 1. 3D Releasing, 2014. website. April 21st 2014.

Martinez Aleix, Du Shichuan. “A Model of the Perception of Facial Expressions of Emotion by Humans: Research Overview and Perspectives” Journal of Machine Learning Research. 13. 1 (2012) : 1589-1608. Electronic PDF

Sontag, Susan. On Photography. New York: Picador, 1977. Print

Usborne, David, and Alasdair Baverstock. “Venezuela faces chaos as opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez surrenders to authorities” The Independent UK, 18th February 2014. Website. April 24th 2014.