Pinnochio Photography

I chose to super-impose Mickey Mouse onto the working floor of a massive sweat shop with the Disney World slogan above him so as to convey the rightful criticisms towards the Disney company. I manipulated it by cutting Mickey out of a Disney World snapshot, and placing him behind the viewing rail of the sweatshop. Then I changed the saturation and vibrance of the photo to make it duller and appear older (roughly 60s photography) to show that Disney sweatshops have been in existence since the beginning of the enterprise. The manipulation is indeed harmful as it depicts the Disney company in a very negative light, showing that even a supposed family oriented corporation can be socially corrupt. Anyone who sees this would take the slogan as sarcasm due to the contrasting emotions of the two photos, showing Disney's obvious acknowledgement of their wrongdoings (Mickey smiling). Many would at least believe the purpose of the photographic alterations.

You would think that my manipulation proves that modern technology has caused people to constantly question what they see...well you'd be right. However, images have been altered for quite some time. In the article I read, the author (Browne) emphasizes the fact that though technological advancement may have provided the masses with the ability to forge photos, the ability to do so itself has existed since the creation of photography. "But in the end, a doctored photograph's ability to deceive seems to depend chiefly on the willingness of the viewer to accept a picture as truthful." This holds true for all images, the power to manipulate a photo is nothing compared to the power within that power to manipulate a person (photo finagling to the second power!) and if the person does note concede, the power of the photo is lack luster.

Works Cited!

MALCOLM W., BROWNE. "Computer as Accessory to Photo Fakery." New York Times 24 July 1991: 6. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 12 Apr. 2010.