MovieChat Forums > War Photographer Discussion > Great Documentary, very moving... but

Great Documentary, very moving... but

posted 18 years ago by evan514
8 replies | jump to latest

First I would like to start by saying I own the DVD for this movie and think it is incredible.

Did anybody else find the scene with the editors for stern magazine to be almost antithesis to the point of the movie.

I respect stern magazine and their work, however the conversation while viewing the photographs was completly different feeling then the rest of the documentary.

The conversation went on and the editors were looking at the photographs commenting "Yeah this is great, terrific"
"There were piles of corpses" -> "Right! Piles of corpses - It'd be great! There are the piles - That looks fantastic!"

Did anybody else feel the same way about this scene. Perhaps it was just the way it was interpreted.

[–] DaikengoX 18 years ago

Felt the exact same way.

[–] LordKao 17 years ago

It is an oddly discordant, cold moment in the film, but we have to realize that those editors spend their whole day evaluating photos on the basis of their power to disturb readers. They can't afford to get rattled by the horrors they see day in, day out. As long as they hope to use those photos to raise awareness, rather than just sales, their reactions don't bother me all that much.

James Nachtwey said something in a similar vein. "My training is to channel emotions --my feelings of anger, of anguish, of disbelief, grief and frustration -- to overcome them and channel them into my work. If I let those emotions paralyze me, then I shouldn't go there in the first place because I'd be useless. I go there with a purpose and I have to take those emotions and, with a sense of purpose and discipline, use that emotional content and put it into the pictures."

Ola yia tin epistimi!

[–] ramsdellphoto 16 years ago

And dont forget they may have been saying that the piles of corpses were great.... to illustrate something in the article. Keep in mind the context of the situation.

[–] citor-space 15 years ago

well and even if it's meant in a sensational way, one definitely has to realize that this is the normal reality in that business. Therefore this part certainly deserves its place in the documentary - especially since it's not being judged upon.

[–] dackerma2000 14 years ago

I think they were actually really happy to see all the corpses and they did look terrific. They are German after all. I would love to see a photographic essay of life in US prisons.

[–] ramsdellphoto 14 years ago

You! Out of the gene pool!

[–] juddynz 12 years ago

What do you mean by "they are German after all"?

[–] m4574 11 years ago

Hahaha, brilliant comment, made my day!
I'm German btw, so relax people, it was a joke...