Monday, September 15, 2008
Photojournalism at its finest
I am in Journalism 3: Photojournalism this semester at USF and my professor Brant Ward showed us a slide show of the pictures he took while working on a beat story about homelessness in San Francisco (For the Chronicle). Since we are all covering beat stories in Journalism 2 I thought this might be apropriate/relevant. Anyways, here is the link- these are some pretty emotion evoking pictures.
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4 comments:
After looking at the pictures and reading a few of the related articles I feel even more disconnected with San Francisco. I was taught freshman year that most of the city, especially the less fortunate and homeless, perceive USF students to be intimidating and almost arrogant because most of the students are privileged enough to attend such an esteemed (expensive) school. Many people believe because USF is positioned on top of a hill it looks down upon the city as some authoritative figure. I see homeless, as does every other USF student, almost every day by just walking a few blocks away from campus, and even after volunteering at St. Anthony's in the Tenderloin several times, it is easy for me to forget that these people without homes are "real" people and are just looking for a place to stay and be comforted.
Though I am somewhat aware of the homeless issue in San Francisco, these pictures really give power and impact to the situation in a way I'd never seen. They are raw, honest and absolutely stunning. I thought that the way the series was set up..."Shelters, Families, Enablers, Solutions," etc., was a very effective way in presenting these people and showing all aspects of homelessness.
I believe that the city of San Francisco has almost glamorized homelessness and made it seem a respectable, honorable position, just in its dealings (of lack thereof) of the problem. One caption talked about how there's help available to the point of just scraping by, but no long term solution.
These pictures were painful to look at, but I think that's exactly the point.
I interned for the SF Homeless Coalition a couple of years ago and had a similar experience. Several of the other interns were actually homeless themselves. They went to school at SF State and generally treated me with animosity, like I was a trust fund baby who could never possibly understand their situation. Even though I can't imagine what it would be like to live in Golden Gate Park while going to school, I had to prove that it wasn't an "us" and "them" situation. I think by the end of it there was less of a divide and they realized that just because we go to an expensive school doesn't mean we can't genuinely be concerned about others. That said, I think we have a responsibility to use our expensive education for good and to prove those in the community wrong who think we are sheltered and look down on those who have less privilege.
Three excellent comments. I think I think that that is what this kind of journalism does: It doesn't just move us with new knowledge but it recalls previous experiences and moves us toward putting them all together, new and old. I *hope* that's what it does. The series certainly suggests that it takes some courage and commitment to do this kind of thing. Oh. One question that always arises when you look at the work of as good a photographer as Brant. Some of his most disturbing photos are so well done technically, almost beautiful. Is it still just journalism? What is the role -- if any -- of amateur reporting and photography in dealing with such complicated and disturbing stories??
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