It is said that a picture is worth one thousand words; and so it does. Sometimes it would be worth much more. Two such pictures were published in The Times this Tuesday (May 29). Both photos are the work of Darrin Zammit Lupi, a former student of the then Centre for Communications Technology and one of the best photo journalists in our country.
Permit me a small digression before commenting on these pictures.
Compared to other sectors of journalism, photo journalism is that area of journalism which progressed most in our country. Other areas of journalism, unfortunately, stagnated or regressed. Today we have more one-source stories; the line between a good human interest story and the exploitation of the personal drama (or tragedy) is often crossed; comments and facts are mixed together in a way that even a seasoned reader can be duped; on top of political bias we now have covert bias because of one’s belonging to several advocacy groups; journalists and not their stories take centre stage …. The list of dumping down goes on.
This criticism could be the result of my advancing years. I would be a happy man if someone proves that that is the case and that my criticism of local journalism is not that valid. However, I think that my analysis is the correct one. It should not be mainly blamed on unprofessional journalists. The main culprit is the move media outlets are doing from normative journalism to market driven journalism.
But now let’s go back to Darrin’s pictures in The Times.
His photo on the back page is an award winner. It gives us a medium close up of two female immigrants rescued by our armed forces. The lighting, the composition of the photo and the out-of-focus areas give us a superb shot. It captures the immigrants’ pain, their sense of loss and their anguish. The sad eyes of one immigrant and the enquiring eyes of the other are heart rendering. The picture communicates to us the severe human tragedy that these people go through. It touches the deepest and most profound sensitivity that forms the core of our humanity.
The photo makes us feel before it makes us think. It does not sensationalise. It communicates, and does so with the biggest vivacity possible.
The photo is not presented to end the debate about the subject. It is there to make us feel before it makes us think. We have to both feel and think. This is a great tragedy for these boat people and if uncontrolled can create big problems for us as well.
I suggest Government should send this photo to all European governments as the cover of a new communication urging them to share our burden and that of these poor, fellow human beings.
The other photo takes us from the sublime to the – how shall I put it? – less sublime. The photo shows Dr Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando holding a baked bean tin while discussing the introduction of napro-technology in state’s hospital in Gozo.
The photo reminded me of Margaret Thatcher discussing inflation. She used a very good gimmick when she used a scissor to cut a part of a sterling pound note communicating very formidably that inflation means that the value of one’s money is diminished.
Thatcher’s gimmick was made in style. She used monetary images to explain a problem that had to do with money.
Dr Pullicino Orlando’s used this gimmick to make an important point which can be a valid one. But unfortunately for the gimmick was in bad taste. Baked beans and infertility problems or solutions to these problems (even if one thinks that these are only pseudo-solutions which should be criticised) have nothing to do one with the other.
Darrin Zammit Lupi caught the JPO moment brilliantly.
Please give us more.