Of Photographs and Flags: Uses and Perceptions of an Iconic Image Before and After September 11, 2001

Spratt, Meg; Peterson, April; Lagos, Taso

doi:10.1207/s15405710pc0302_3

Cited by 16 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Miller and Roberts (2010) show that many factors contribute to the remembrance of certain images over others. Regarding iconic images, Spratt et al (2005: 119) argue that ‘reactions to such an image are highly personalized and depend on preexisting schema, previous knowledge, and experience.’ Moreover, recent research has shown that personal proximity to an event (Ahva and Pantti, 2014) or an extreme level of personal effect from an event (Miller and Roberts, 2010) can contribute to selection or value of imagery, whether captured by professionals or amateurs, and the eventual interpretation of iconic images. As such, ‘A pervasive media image can play a powerful role as participants negotiate their perceptions of national and cultural identity, particularly in a time of national crisis’ (Spratt et al, 2005: 119).…”

Section: Public Acknowledgmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The (in)disputable ‘power’ of images of outrage: public acknowledgement, emotional reaction, and image recognition

Dahmen

Mielczarek

Morrison

2018

Visual Communication

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A recent news image – that of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy washed ashore on the Turkish coast as a result of refugees fleeing the ongoing war in Syria – resonated with international audiences and world leaders, becoming a seeming catalyst for action. But, as time has shown, the effect was short-lived. Through survey data, this research explores iconic images and visual collective memory throughout history and into the era of digital news and social media. More specifically, the research considers connections between public acknowledgement, emotional reaction, and image recognition. Studying such relationships will help us to further understand the (in)disputable ‘power’ that famous photographs possess to imprint themselves onto people’s minds, thus leading to supposed effect and action.

show abstract

Section: Public Acknowledgmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The (in)disputable ‘power’ of images of outrage: public acknowledgement, emotional reaction, and image recognition

Dahmen

Mielczarek

Morrison

2018

Visual Communication

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In part because iconic photographs are so frequently recirculated, they stand in for more than the scene that they represent (Perlmutter, 1998: 17). Thus, a single photograph of one person can seem to represent a ‘sweeping’ statement about society (Spratt et al., 2005: 120). The gruesome photograph of a mutilated Emmett Till, for instance, has been used to signify ‘an important lesson: “never forget what can happen to a black person in America”’ (Harold and DeLuca, 2005: 276).…”

Section: Iconic Photographsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Picturing the past: The Berlin Wall at 25

Somerstein

2017

International Communication Gazette

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although the mass media is an important tool that audiences rely on to learn about the past, the relationship among journalism, history, and memory is still underdeveloped; visual collective memory, like visual studies in other subfields, has received even less attention than written and textual representations of collective memory. To address that gap, this article uses a qualitative content analysis to assess how 15 newspapers commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s opening through photographs. Newspapers from countries that were capitalist and communist in 1989 are compared to identify the ways that different cultures ‘remember’ the same past. Five genres of images emerged: iconic photographs, memorials, metonymic and mythological portraits, metonymic relics, and images of resistance, though these genres were framed differently depending on a country’s political system in 1989. In comparing this cross-cultural collective memory, this study looks at what these visual commemorations reveal about cross-cultural anniversary practices, an area of memory studies that has received little attention.

show abstract

“…As indicated above, studying icons involves methodological challenges, which researchers have sought to overcome by applying various approaches such as opinion surveys (Perlmutter, 1998), audience recognition (Spratt, Peterson, & Lagos, 2005), content analysis (Mortensen, 2015), and rhetorical analysis (Hariman & Lucaites, 2007). The spread of the images across multiple platforms and some 48 countries highlighted the urgency of these methodological challenges.…”

Section: Impromptu Publicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“The image speaks for itself” – or does it? Instant news icons, impromptu publics, and the 2015 European “refugee crisis”

Mortensen

2016

Communication and the Public

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Easy internet access and ubiquitous smart phones have augmented the number of images produced and accelerated the speed by which they are circulated (and likely also forgotten). By contrast to the great quantity of pictures disseminated in today's connective media, a few photographs gain momentum and are declared to be "icons". They stand out from the image abundance, grasp the attention of a broad, transnational public, and stir emotional reactions and heated debates. Usually, these iconic images are related to major news events and represent an ongoing conflict or crisis in society in a simple, univocal manner. They quickly turn into standard frames of reference in news and popular culture, seem to require no particular explanation, and are often proclaimed to "speak for themselves". This article proposes the term "instant news icon" to define and gain a fuller understanding of the role performed by iconic images in today's connective media, distinguished by convergence between platforms and blurred boundaries between media production and media consumption. First, the article builds a framework based on the concept instant news icon and then applies quantitative and qualitative analyses to study the processes of distribution and meaning-making involved in the emergence of one instant news icon, news photographs from 2015 of a young refugee girl playing with a police officer on a Danish motorway.

show abstract

Of Photographs and Flags: Uses and Perceptions of an Iconic Image Before and After September 11, 2001

Cited by 16 publications

References 13 publications

The (in)disputable ‘power’ of images of outrage: public acknowledgement, emotional reaction, and image recognition

The (in)disputable ‘power’ of images of outrage: public acknowledgement, emotional reaction, and image recognition

Picturing the past: The Berlin Wall at 25

“The image speaks for itself” – or does it? Instant news icons, impromptu publics, and the 2015 European “refugee crisis”

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About