Photography, Cinema, and the Quest for Influence

Piana, Francesca

doi:10.1017/cbo9781107587694.007

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…At the publicity level, it seems that humanitarian films never matched the benefits of commercial movies, despite some fundraising successes. The production was not self-supporting and involved both self-financing and public sponsors (Piana, 2015;Veeder, 1990). Nevertheless, more historical investigation is needed for a proper ethnography of humanitarian cinema, to determine its 'close connection to community-based organisations' and 'the full range of locations and spaces' related to the circuits of dissemination (Horne, 2012: 14), as well as operating expenses, costs of film crews, and income.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ICRC films have received substantial attention from historians since the institution digitized its audiovisual collection with the help of the Swiss association Memoriav (Natale, 2004). The ICRC created a Propaganda Commission in 1919, but realized in 1920 that it did not have any movies to show at the 10th International Conference of the Red Cross to be held in 1921 (Piana, 2015). This situation spurred the organization to commission sixteen films from its delegations in the field between 1920 and 1923, ranging from the fight against typhus in Poland, the exchange and repatriation of war prisoners in Germany, Estonia and Greece, the rescue of Russian refugees in Constantinople, the feeding operations and educational activities for children in Hungary, and other relief activities during war and peace.…”

Section: Humanitarian Cinema At the End Of World War Imentioning

confidence: 99%

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When ‘Seeing Was Believing’

Gorin

2021

Journal of Humanitarian Affairs

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Focusing on the pivotal period of 1919–23 and the large-scale humanitarian responses in Central and Eastern Europe, this paper discusses the development of advocacy in the movies made by organizations like the ICRC, Save the Children Fund or American Relief Administration. While aid agencies observed and competed with each other for visibility, humanitarian cinema shaped visual advocacy, grounded in the idea that ‘seeing is believing’. Exploring the fragmented audiovisual archives, as well as magazines and promotional material, this paper explores the testimonial function of humanitarian films in the 1920s. It first shows that the immediacy of the cinema technology increased the immersive and affective experience of the viewers by using forensic evidence and images of the body in pain. It then analyses how these films compelled audiences to witness suffering and act through persuasion, suggestion, and emotions. Finally, it inquires into the use of eyewitness images and first-hand accounts during the screenings, to show how these movies operated within larger regimes of visibility, while making claims on behalf of distant beneficiaries.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Humanitarian Cinema At the End Of World War Imentioning

confidence: 99%

When ‘Seeing Was Believing’

Gorin

2021

Journal of Humanitarian Affairs

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“…Similarly, the whole cinematic set-up of movies made about famine, war and genocide in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1920s mixed perceptual stimuli with filmic narratives that involved the performativity of images. Positive emotions related to ameliorative actions could be watched on screen while listening to piano music and verbal accounts of guest speakers who witnessed suffering abroad, or on postcards and printshots available for people to share, whereas blame and indignation could be read in the supplications and prescriptive requests made in humanitarian appeals, bulletins and field reports (Gorin 2021a;Piana 2015;Tusan 2017).…”

Section: Virtual Realities As Performative Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Empathy to Shame: The Use of Virtual Reality by Humanitarian Organisations

Gorin

2022

Making Humanitarian Crises

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Since the UNHCR’s movie Clouds over Sidra, filmed in 2015 in the Zaatari refugee camp, the use of Virtual Reality (VR) has increased among humanitarian organisations for raising funds or awareness. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), among others, have relied on 3D and 360-degree images to enhance emotional resonance among audiences, including diplomats, military groups or decision-makers. Marketed as the ‘ultimate empathy machine’, VR operates through immersive reality. Yet the necessity to see and feel reality ‘as it is’ is not unprecedented in the visual history of humanitarianism. Therefore, this chapter first critically examines the immersive experience of humanitarian VR movies and their performative and affective potential. Indeed, VR claims to erase the distance and to elicit empathetic connections do not prevent this innovative technology from adopting a voyeuristic or aesthetic gaze, long associated in humanitarian imagery with self-centeredness rather than other centeredness. Then, building on recent VR movies who draw on outrage and indignation, such as The Right Choice (ICRC, 2018) or Not A Target (MSF Switzerland, 2016), this chapter opens new lines of inquiry in the capacity of immersive technologies to mobilise shame rather than empathy.

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Photography, Cinema, and the Quest for Influence

Cited by 2 publications

References 7 publications

When ‘Seeing Was Believing’

When ‘Seeing Was Believing’

From Empathy to Shame: The Use of Virtual Reality by Humanitarian Organisations

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