famine in Africa ( Campbell , 2012 , p . 84 ), prompting a global response to provide food aid and save lives . However , Salgado has been criticized for his ornate aesthetics style that because “ to aestheticize tragedy is the fastest way to anesthetise the feelings of those who are witnessing them ” ( Sischy 1991 , p . 92 ). However , there seems to be more to the photograph than just a “ natural witness ” to “ what has been ” ( Barthes , 2002 , p . 93 ), as it “ spurs people to feel they ought to ‘ care ’ more ” ( Sontag , 2004 , p . 70 ), imposing a moral responsibility on us to make the viewer respond to the disaster , injustice , and suffering . This image by Salgado seems to simply reveal a real moment of the hardships of the sufferers on their journey . Photography often constructs people ( especially women and children ) as victims , thus focusing on a specific subject ( Möller , 2013 , p . 43 ). The mother and children are shown with their backs to the viewer ; no facial expressions can be seen in any of them , giving the viewer a sense of visual calm while they are also moved by the scene of the mother and child . There has been ongoing controversy over whether photographs of atrocities and the aestheticisation of suffering have the power to effectively raise public awareness and support the suffering of distant others , or whether they turn viewers into voyeurs who voyeuristically objectify human suffering in an almost pornographic manner ( Ivanovic , 2013 , p . 65 ). In Azoulay ' s book , The Civil Contract of Photography , she situates photography in the context of a “ civic political space ” ( Azoulay , 2008 , p . 12 ) and sees photographs of suffering as a claim to rights and an urgent need . Unlike Sontag , Azoulay is not interested in the viewer ' s emotional response to images of suffering , instead seeing the viewing of photographs of people who have suffered in some way not as an aesthetic exercise but as a " civic skill " ( Azoulay , 2008 , p . 14 ) to reconstruct the photographic situation , a tool to understand the harm caused and to resist and fight against for the people .
This photograph is a representation of the human suffering of the famine in Africa , reflecting the photographer ' s own pursuit of a humanitarian essence . Taking famine as a political atrocity , this essay explored the moral dilemma behind this photograph by looking at theories related to photographs depicting atrocity and examining how Salgado ' s aesthetic style influences the spectator in this photograph . In conclusion , the important function of the photographic image is not only to record the reality or provide the facts but also to invite people to use it as a “ civic skill ” ( Azoulay , 2008 , p . 14 ). Indeed , there are times when these photographs can be anesthetising and despairing , but they do not affect one ' s ability to show compassion and assist those suffering in distant lands . Images can evoke emotion , however it is up to the viewer to examine and think independently in order to better understand and perceive the stories behind the photographs . Even if this approach does not completely remove the moral dilemma that humans face when confronted with photographs of atrocities , it does , to the greatest extent possible , remove the status of passive spectator and become a witness who will take action .
BIBLIOGRAPHY : Azoulay , A . ( 2008 ). Introduction . In : The Civil Contract of Photography . New York : Zone Books , pp . 9 – 30 .
Barthes , R . ( 2000 ). Camera Lucida : reflections on photography . London : Vintage Books . Campbell , D . ( 2012 ). The Iconography of Famine . In : G . Batchen , M . Gidley , N . K . Miller and J , Prosser , eds .,. Picturing Atrocity . London : Reaktion Books Ltd , pp . 79 – 92 .
Dean , C . J . ( 2015 ) ' Atrocity Photographs , Dignity ,
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