The Myth of Photographic Truth

Chapter one of "Practices of Looking" by Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright introduced me to some new vocabulary and new insight to how we interpret images. The Author introduces "representation" which is how we use language and images to bring meaning to our lives and the world we live in. This can be done through different methods such as paintings and photography and is very effective for expressing our views or even capturing something for evidence or historical value. The author references a photo of Emmett Till who was brutally beaten and murdered in 1955 which was used to represent "the violent oppression of blacks in the time period".(pg. 11)

Here is a photo of Emmett Till


What is the myth of photographic truth?

The myth of photographic truth is the theory that photographs are associated with the truth and are exact copies of reality because they are produced by a mechanical device therefore not exposed to the subjectivity of humans. Also the belief that photography was invented to record reality.

However photographic truth is a myth because photographs are not objective. They are still exposed to human subjectivity because they selectively created and manipulated no less than say drawing or painting and can be used for representation in various ways.

In "Practices of Looking" theorist Roland Barthes uses the term "myth" in a different way. "For Barthes, myth is the hidden set of rules and conventions through which meanings, which are specific to certain groups, are made to seem universal and given for a whole society(pg. 20)". Barthes references a French advertisement of an Italian brand pasta and sauce as an example of this, he explains how the advertisement perpetrates stereotypes of Italian culture. When presented to the French people they will now have a romanticized sense of what Italian culture is supposed to be like.