- Eugene Smith lost his independence from the state during World War II, reporting favorably on the destructive power of the US Armed Forces in the Pacific. He may have learned there to balance between the pornographic euphoria of battle scenes with sympathy of a sort to divide US enemies and unite the American people with a sense of horror. While Eugene Smith fought in the Pacific, even sustaining an injury in battle, James P. Cannon and others served time in prison for opposing US Imperialism on charges of sedition. Reporters during this time had little freedom, and Japanese people did not receive sympathy but lost their rights as citizens, forced to live in US concentration camps.
- The destruction of Japanese communities, especially traditional Japanese communities showed US efforts to slow development. It also gave the corporations a chance to show sympathy for traditional society, while they filled their traditional baths with the victims of poison. This sympathy serves as pure propaganda for the dominance of the environmentally responsible American capitalism and the destruction of Japanese cultural traditions.
- Eugene Smith stood up to the journalism establishment for a right wing position- the right to pass off doctored footage as real footage. This meant that the government could show their own leaders’ photos doctored to give them a saintly appearance while their enemies could have their images spliced with monsters or animals to give them the appearance of a threat to society.
- Imperialism does not show sympathy for its victims except in the sarcastic sense. “Give up,” they say, “before this happens to you.” Then they show a poison victim. We do not ask Imperialism for sympathy but turn to the working class to defend the historical record and produce an accurate picture of events. This can only occur through a revolution of the working class that eliminates political interference in journalism by taking control of the media out of the hands of the giant corporations, the oligarchy, and imperialist and Stalinist military officials.
Eugene Smith, Embedded Reporters, and Photographic Fraud: Imperialism Shows Sympathy for its Victims
Eugene Smith lost his independence from the state during World War II, reporting favorably on the destructive power of the US Armed Forces in the Pacific. He may have learned there to balance between the pornographic euphoria of battle scenes with sympathy of a sort to divide US enemies and…
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