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The Violence Of Being Human

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Kaitlyn McKenzie
The Violence of Being Human
Essay #2
6/24/15
A picture’s worth 1,000 words Does a picture say more than a video? A writer both gains and loses leverage over the message of feeling he or she is trying to convey. Most humans would argue different things. Some would say they conceive more from a picture because of their ability to use their imagination and challenge themselves to a greater level. Others would argue that they appreciate more from a video because they are left without any questions about what is happening during that moment in time because of the visual confirmation. In Edward Said’s essay States, Said uses photos that add feeling and depth to portray the message of stereotyped Palestinians. The quote from States explains how photos can be very significant in some cases, “Identity- who we are, where we come from, what we are- is difficult to maintain in exile. Most other people take their identity for granted. Not the Palestinian, who is required to show proofs of identity more or less constantly. It is not only that we are regarded as terrorists, but that our existence as native Arab inhabitants of Palestine, with primordial rights there (and not elsewhere), is either denied or challenged” (Said 546). As discussed above, in some cases, photos can be more necessary than text. In States there is an image of an unknown boy at a Gaza refugee camp wearing a Grease shirt (Said, 552). This image communicates what might take many pages of description.

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