Reading Response #5

Every living being on earth today was born into a world where their lives could be remembered forever through pictures. The invention and development of the camera has drastically changed our everyday lifestyle, as well as the way we remember it. People now choose to carry their cameras wherever they go, whether it is in a purse or even a pocket, all because taking pictures has become a necessary part of their lives. Susan Sontag’s essay On Photography analyses how cameras became so important and what they mean to us today. Reading Sontag’s essay reminded me of how important photography is in our lives.

It has become a common saying that “A picture is worth a thousand words”. Otherwise stated, a good picture of something can portray the same message and create the same feelings as a thousand-word essay of that same something. With one shot of the camera, a photographer can reach out to his audience and make the same impression on them as a world-class writer could. This is because we as humans generally prefer using our basic sense of sight to “speak” to our brain and tell it what to think rather than take the time to read and analyze and essay. We enjoy looking at appealing photographs that trigger memories or feelings rather than studying a page full of words and decoding a sometimes hidden message. For this reason, the act of taking pictures has become just as important as writing. History was once only recorded through formal writing and verbal tongue. With the invention of the camera, we can now see the events before our eyes as well as read in detail about what happened and listen to insight and opinion that has been passed down. Pictures allow us to actually see the setting and people involved, eliminating guesswork or false images we assume when thinking of the event. By combining all these resources, we can almost get the feeling that we were once present at that particular moment, even if it was hundreds of years before our time. Furthermore, we have become so accustomed to seeing pictures with text, that we will sometimes even choose not to read something because it has no pictures, or choose to read another source with pictures instead. For these reasons, pictures have arguably become more important that words.

The importance of taking pictures has only grown since its invention in 1839, however Sontag also states that “Photography is essentially an act of non-intervention” (Sontag 11). After reading this statement, I was immediately reminded of a time when I participated in the planning of my eighth-grade graduation slideshow. One of my friend’s duties was to take pictures at an event, and make a slideshow to hand out to the class. His goal was to take as many pictures as he could in order to ensure that nobody was left out of the slideshow. He took hundreds of pictures and after showing me the slideshow to be sure he did not forget anyone, I noticed that he was not in a single picture. We laughed and joked about how foolish he was, however it only proves Sontag’s point that taking pictures means you are not participating in the actual event. You are only there to recording history, not interacting with others. Because my friend understood the importance of both the pictures themselves as well as including everyone else in them, he spent all his time finding others, totally forgetting to include himself as a part of “everybody”.

Like my friend in eight-grade, we have all come to understand the importance of having pictures in our lives. “The inventory (of pictures) started in 1839 and since then just about everything has been photographed” (Sontag 3). Whether the event is as big as a presidential inauguration or as small as a family trip to the beach, one of our favorite ways to remember that event is through pictures. We find looking at pictures much more enjoyable than reading an essay, and for that reason, seeing a picture can give us the same feeling of remembrance as a verbal story or written article. Everyone living today views photography as second nature, and an important event sometimes doesn’t seem right without a camera. Events and the memories people have will eventually die, but a picture can make them last forever.   

Reading Response #4

            In wealthy countries like America, getting diseases such as small pox, polio, and tuberculosis is not something we fear. That is because of the research our country has done to discover medicines that prevent these sicknesses. In Haiti, however, such preventative medicines do not exist. The technology was not shared and the cost of obtaining the medicine is far too high. Instead, they are forced to only get treatment after they get the disease, which is much more expensive. Because the wealthy nations do not have to deal with their citizens dying of these diseases, further research as stopped, leaving poor countries without affordable preventative care (Kidder 144). Paul Farmer realized what was going on, and decided to attempt to convince other nations to help him wipe tuberculosis out of places like Haiti. Farmer’s decision to spend his time getting global aid instead of staying in Haiti to treat patients himself will in the long run help the Haitians build a better health care system.

            Although Farmer wanted to get aid from other nations, he knew he could not do it himself. He knew he needed another well-known doctor to help him persuade those nations, and he needed more doctors to take care of his patients in Haiti while he was away. Getting these doctors is exactly what he did. Firstly, he worked with a man named Jim and together, they derived a plan to use tuberculosis’ airborne dangers to scare the world into helping them (Kidder 143). He then got a whole medical team together to treat some of his patients. This team included some medical school students, Jaime Bayona, a Peruvian doctor, several nurses, and Farmer himself (Kidder 143).  The team would work under Farmer and follow his treatment plans, which he would communicate to them through email. Having a team of doctors to perform the physical aspects of treatment gives Farmer more time to seek help for his patients in other ways. He not longer has to physically be in Haiti to look at his patients and give treatments or perform surgeries to fix their wounds. He can let the team do the actual treatment while he does other things with the extra time he gains.

            With this time, Farmer travels and attends conventions to speak to other doctors and gain support for his cause. Many doctors and companies around the world know of what Farmer is doing in Haiti. The decision to use his reputation to convince other nations to help Haiti is a much better way to help his patients. It is almost as if he was a celebrity who was hired to talk in a commercial. When people see that celebrity promoting a product, they are more likely to buy it because they want to be more like celebrities. Similarly, those who admire Dr. Farmer might go to see him speak at a convention and there is a good chance they will contribute to his work. This contribution could be financial support, however it could also be funding towards research to find an affordable treatment for diseases that may be almost extinct in wealthy nations, but still kill thousands in poor countries. As a backup plan, if his “celebrity” status does not work, He and Jim created a brilliant plan to scare wealthy nations into performing further research. Because tuberculosis is spread through the air, they say that anybody who travels into their country can give their citizens the disease. Farmer and Jim hope that this fear will be enough to make them discover another treatment.

            In the long run, the Haitian people will benefit from Farmer’s decision to do less physical treatment and more travel. By leaving his patients sides, he does take away the hope they have from knowing that a dedicated doctor is next to them, however the future of the people will be better and healthier. By finding a team of dedicated doctors to help treat his patients, Farmer was able to spend his time traveling to other nations, hoping to gain support and inspire research for more affordable treatments of tuberculosis. Farmer’s sacrifice will eventually create a better Haitian healthcare system for his patients and will hopefully be another step to make Haiti a healthier place to live.