"Shock Photography", "From Realism to Virtual Reality"

Both of these articles address the idea of photographer's creating images that shock the viewer and get their attention in order to convey a message. In most cases, the message is about the devastations of war, or to show the power of the country or a single man such as Napoleon. Photography quickly became a popular form of advertising, especially during World War II when the United States army wanted the public to become aware of the rising benefits of technology, successions made by the army and of terror in the concentration camps and on the battlefields. The Civil War was another time when photographers were capturing images of men strewn out on the battlefield to emphasize to the public how horrible this war was and the devastation it was causing to the split country. In today's society I feel as though we are much more immune to horrific images shown in the media, since we are so used to their display of shocking photographs that get one's attention. Especially through the popularity of the internet, we are more frequently exposed to graphic images. I think a good example of this can be seen from horror movies. There are commercials on the television for scary movies that I sometimes have to look away from because I am so surprised by the terror I feel when watching them. I think it is much more acceptable to show devastating photographs than it was in the 20th century since violent video games have been invented and the internet has exploded. The article, "From Realism to Virtual Reality: Images of America's Wars" describes the freedom allowed by film directors to really exploit devastating images and try to shock the public in order to increase popularity.