From the ‘Trust Me’ to the ‘Show Me’ Era

Description

From the “TRUST ME” era to the “SHOW ME” era – why should I believe? Towards accuracy and transparency in the new media terrain through the lens of investigative photojournalist.

“If It Bleeds, It Leads”. A deeper look in the new media terrain, the 'death of the Editor', the role and future of photojournalism, and the new “Truman Show” – the bubble of social media, the illusion of been part of “history as it is created”. While our visual literacy has significantly evolved in the last 50 years so has the deluge of imagery we are confronted with daily in the digital social media era. This has had the adverse effect of inuring our sensibilities to imagery that we should be paying closer attention to. The issues stemming from it as seen through the lens of a photojournalist. Emphasis on the new media terrain and the framework for power politics, focusing on conflict / crisis / humanitarian. The expansion of the craft with Photoshop and other powerful post production tools has blurred the lines of truth more than ever and allowed for the weakening of certain standards within the profession, opening up old questions about authenticity, truth and the veracity of the profession. Photojournalism is in transition as a profession and remains an unorthodox career for most. Is it harder than ever financially? Absolutely! Is it harder to break into the profession and find your place? Most definitely. Has it ever been easy? Never.

DIMITIRIOS BOURAS (b. 1965), is a photographer and documentarian working on long term projects which focus on humanitarian issues, conflict and war around the globe.He has chronicled the world's most troubled territories since 1981. His work has taken him to the Balkans, the greater zone of Caucasus Eurasia (ex Soviet Union), the Sub-Saharan Africa, and especially the Middle East. He regularly contributes under an alias and his images have been printed in major global media, won numerous awards and have been exhibited extensively internationally. In addition to his photography, Dimitrios is a frequent lecturer and essayist on humanitarian, conflict and war issues, collaborating with Think tanks and academic institutions. Dimitrios resides between Athens – Greece, Duhok – KRG/Iraq and Mariupol – Ukraine. His current research, “Beyond Dichotomies: Reassembling Global Challenges through the Local”, is a comparative study of geopolitical and anthropological interest that investigates the new form of war: hybrid/?undeclared war'. He follows developments in the Middle East as well as in Ukraine, and in the greater zone of Caucasus Eurasia to draw conclusions about the changing nature of warfare.

 

Open to all. No registration required.

Part of Photography between Invisibility and the Unseen Research Group Seminar Series

Administrative assistance: gradfac@crassh.cam.ac.uk