{"id":30,"date":"2011-01-15T18:45:14","date_gmt":"2011-01-16T02:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mixedmedia\/?p=30"},"modified":"2011-02-08T17:34:08","modified_gmt":"2011-02-09T01:34:08","slug":"does-suffering-sell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mixedmedia\/2011\/01\/15\/does-suffering-sell\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Suffering Sell?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo:<\/a>
Cholera treatment at Borgne hospital. (Photo: flickr user mediahacker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In \u201cAlms Dealers,\u201d which exposes the potential of humanitarian aid to cater conflict, Philip Gourevitch asks, \u201cDoes the modern humanitarian-aid industry help create the kind of misery it is supposed to redress?\u201d (2010:105) When reflecting on the media\u2019s coverage of the ongoing cholera epidemic in Haiti, we must similarly consider whether the end result is straight reportage, altruism, or something more unseemly. I argue that while the media is not overtly complicit in the conditions that have fomented the crisis, their steady supply of a barrage of images of human suffering in overwhelming proportion to explorations of the underlying causes\u2014as has been the approach of several television news outlets\u2014has the effect of relegating Haitians to the role of the noble savage, there to exact the viewer\u2019s catharsis by stirring emotion for emotion\u2019s sake.<\/p>\n

In an article for the Columbia Journalism Review<\/em><\/a>, Maura R. O\u2019Connor discusses the cholera epidemic\u2019s starring role in \u201cdisaster porn,\u201d which she describes as the television news media\u2019s (in particular CNN\u2019s) reliance on a \u201cB-roll of tragedy and disaster\u201d that is intended to draw in an audience, but \u201cwithout a moral component of responsibility towards Haitians themselves over the long-term\u201d (2010). Gourevitch remarks on the precedent set by the televised coverage of the Biafra crisis that \u201cthe graphic suffering of innocents made an inescapable appeal to conscience\u201d (2010:102). Certainly the vivid images spurred some of the billions of dollars in donations to international agencies such as the Red Cross, World Vision, and Oxfam (Hildebrandt 2011<\/a>). But after continued exposure to these images, we are no closer to understanding Haiti\u2019s underlying infrastructural problems and their government\u2019s own agency in managing the epidemic.<\/p>\n

[youtube]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1C7v4cAcAZQ[\/youtube]<\/p>\n

In this video from CNN<\/a>, we see the same eight images of suffering on a loop as the anchor conducts her interview with a U.N. representative. The clip resonates with the words of Linda Polman, whose book describing how \u201creporters are exploited by aid agencies [\u2026] to present stories of suffering without political or historical context\u201d is cited in Gourevitch\u2019s article (2004:107). The images fulfill the medium\u2019s practical need for visuals, but their repetition begins to feel gratuitous and as a viewer, I question whether the building sense of helplessness it engenders is meant to excuse the lack of a more probing explanation\u2014as if to say, \u201cWe\u2019re sorry we couldn\u2019t do better, but if you feel terrible, maybe you won\u2019t notice.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a cynical outlook, to be sure. And of course, the visual medium of television does not readily lend itself to conveying the complexity of such issues. Television\u2019s strength is in its ability to let the images speak for themselves; however, the voices of the people depicted are needed to add dimension. An account by American-born journalist Ansel Herz<\/a> details how, in the wake of the earthquake, he was approached for an interview by the CBC. Herz offered to put the crew in contact with an English-speaking Haitian professional instead, but the producer insisted on Herz, stating that they were only \u201ccomfortable\u201d with him. (Herz used the opportunity to remark, on camera, about the absurdity of journalists interviewing journalists.) As a result, an opportunity to depict Haitian agency was lost.<\/p>\n

Print media offers the chance for more in-depth analysis and greater reflexivity, though it is not immune to accusations of sensationalism. Though there are many balanced examinations of the political affairs in Haiti, such as this piece from The Montreal Gazette <\/em>that investigates the failure of the country\u2019s civil service<\/a>, there also exist accounts such as this one from Newsweek<\/em><\/a>, which essentializes the Haitians as a \u201cresilient people\u201d from the perspective of a frightened reporter who observes the scene from inside his SUV. Vancouver-based journalist Crawford Kilian, who has written extensively on the cholera epidemic for The Tyee<\/a> and own his own public health blog<\/a>, responded to O\u2019Connor\u2019s questioning<\/a> of the line between unflinching depictions of human suffering and \u201cdisaster porn\u201d as follows:<\/p>\n

In most cases, I leave it to your intelligence and perception to distinguish between information and porn, though sometimes I have to editorialize (and moralize) about what I’m posting. Again, I leave my views to your judgment.<\/p>\n

And to moralize about disaster porn, I think we all need to reflect carefully on why disasters like Haiti engage us, and about our own responses. (Kilian<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When it comes to neutrality, I believe this level of self-reflexivity should be the standard of all media outlets. Speaking of humanitarian aid, Gourevitch observes that \u201cimpartiality in the face of atrocity can be indistinguishable from complicity\u201d (2010:107). In the case of the cholera epidemic, I would characterize a subsection of the media\u2014and in particular television media\u2014as catering to voyeurism rather than conflict. I would not go so far as to suggest that voyeurism is the equivalent to complicity, but that it does little to disseminate a more grounded, contextualized understanding of an area of the world many of us know little about.<\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bruemmer, Rene
\n2010 \u00a0\u00a0Haiti Civil Service in Ruins. The Gazette, Oct. 23. http:\/\/www.montrealgazette.com\/news\/Haiti+civil+service+ruins\/3714823\/story.html<\/a>, accessed Jan. 9, 2011.<\/p>\n

CNN
\n2010\u00a0\u00a0 Sick desperate to get help as Haiti cholera outbreak kills 138 [Video] https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1C7v4cAcAZQ<\/a>, accessed Jan. 9, 2011.<\/p>\n

Gourevitch, Philip
\n2010\u00a0\u00a0 Alms Dealers. New Yorker, Oct. 11: 102\u2013109.<\/p>\n

Herz, Ansel
\n2011\u00a0\u00a0 Yesterday Afternoon, For Whatever It\u2019s Worth. Mediahacker, Jan. 13. http:\/\/www.mediahacker.org\/2011\/01\/yesterday<\/a>, accessed Jan. 15, 2011.<\/p>\n

Hildebrandt, Amber
\n2011\u00a0\u00a0 Donations to Haiti 1 Year After Quake. CBC News, Jan. 5. http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/canada\/story\/2011\/01\/05\/f-haiti-earthquake-anniversary-aid-agencies.html<\/a>, accessed Jan. 9, 2011.<\/p>\n

Kilian, Crawford
\n2010\u00a0\u00a0 Haiti Coverage as Disaster Porn. H5N1 Blog, Nov. 19. http:\/\/crofsblogs.typepad.com\/h5n1\/2010\/11\/haiti-coverage-as-disaster-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 porn.html<\/a>, accessed Jan. 15, 2011.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor, Maura R.
\n2010\u00a0\u00a0 Haiti Coverage and \u201cDisaster Porn.\u201d Columbia Journalism Review, Nov. 19. http:\/\/www.cjr.org\/behind_the_news\/haiti_coverage_and_disaster_po.php<\/a>, accessed Jan. 9, 2011.<\/p>\n

Tuttle, Steve
\n2010\u00a0\u00a0 Haiti in the Time of Cholera. Newsweek, Nov. 11. http:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/2010\/11\/11\/haiti-in-the-time-of-cholera.html<\/a>, accessed Jan. 15, 2011.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In \u201cAlms Dealers,\u201d which exposes the potential of humanitarian aid to cater conflict, Philip Gourevitch asks, \u201cDoes the modern humanitarian-aid industry help create the kind of misery it is supposed to redress?\u201d (2010:105) When reflecting on the media\u2019s coverage of the ongoing cholera epidemic in Haiti, we must similarly consider whether the end result is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5153,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mixedmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mixedmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mixedmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mixedmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5153"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mixedmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mixedmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mixedmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30\/revisions\/68"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mixedmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mixedmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mixedmedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}