December 5, 2007

Response to Zelizer

After reading Photography, Journalism, and Trauma, I find myself questioning Zelizer's methods for this comparison. She appears to have presented a well thought out argument, but at the same time, completely ignored the differing perspectives of each example. What I thought would have been an interesting addition to her argument would be some sort of discussion regarding how the proximity of the events played into this portrayal. Although we can be called to bear witness to the concentration camps, it is hard for Americans to fully conceptualize this occurrence from the fact that the only Americans to experience them while in use would have been the WWII POWs. Compared to the World Trade Towers, which were both a New York City and US icons, and clearly had more of an impact on the American public and our daily lives. 

Obviously it is difficult to include every facet of a particular argument into one single work, but for the sake of what she is attempting to convey, I cannot help but feel that dedicating just a page or two to perspective would have vastly aided in her execution.

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