Photos that changed the world

[rufus5150]

They forgot this on... the very first photograph:

It's row 17, column 3.

 

[Antithesis]

"Changed the world"? Isn't that a bit too strong?

Really, people think that there are photographs that changed the world?

I, personally, don't agree, no matter how beautiful, telling, shocking or revealing the picture is...
Isn't it a little presumtuous of us to think that this art/profession can change anything? The world won't change because of us...We can tell the story, maybe, but to change the script...

Steve McCurry snuck into Afghanistan dressed as a native and took photos right before the Russian invasion of the country, and snuck back out with film sewn into his clothes. The images showed that there even was a conflict there, opening a can of worms that would effectively change the course of the war, fund the taliban to fight the russians and lead to all sorts of world events (including a current war being fought as we speak...).

Another example would be the photo of a man who was shot by police in Myanmar during a riot that would eventually lead to sanctions against the country and a vast pull of funding for their military by outside entities (I think it was Japan funding them), weakening the stranglehold they had over their own people.

Or what about the photo of the starving african child about to be consumed by a vulture in a country that supposedly had no famine? I believe it lead to a massive aid movement, but I'm not certain...

Photos like these can absolutely change the world and have numerous times. It takes a serious amount of courage to capture these images, and there are few of us that can even begin to understand the fortitude required to do so. There is a listing of all the pulitzer prize winning photos somewhere, and they have an editorial section that describes the event that was happening, as well as the result of the photo going into circulation.