Can Photos Change the World?

 

Photo by FC Barcelona

This is an iconic image of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Neymar Jr. (often referred to as MSN) celebrating after thrashing Atlético Madrid during the 2014/15 La Liga season. This image had a profound global impact, both on soccer as a sport and on the millions of young fans worldwide. The image symbolized the rise of one of the most feared attacking trios in football history, and it encapsulated the sheer dominance of FC Barcelona at the time. Using the words of this video here, this one moment of 3 players celebrating was "captured and amplified by the click of a shutter". For me and other young fans across the globe, the image of Messi, Suárez, and Neymar celebrating became inspiring. It captured the imagination of children who idolized their skill, flair, and friendship. This trio personified football’s global reach, with Messi from Argentina, Suárez from Uruguay, and Neymar from Brazil. They were a true representation of the international appeal of the game. It showed young fans that football is a universal language that transcends borders. Seeing these latin-american athletes truly inspired me as a kid of hispanic descent. It pushed me to want to be like them and that motivation drove me to continue playing soccer. Watching them play made me fall in love with the sport. John Nordell's video of how images may shape our reality comes into play here. Seeing this image certainly shaped my reality. What if I hadn't seen it? Would I have still become inspired by something else to continue playing soccer? Was seeing this image the turning point in my athletic career? We think about what we see, and what we think about becomes our reality. Seeing this image definitely shaped my reality. Soccer became all I thought about. 

One famous photograph that changed the world is "Tank Man," captured by Jeff Widener during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing. The photo shows an man standing alone in front of a line of Chinese military tanks, blocking their path in an act of defiance. This image became an iconic symbol of individual courage and the broader pro-democracy movement in China, despite the Chinese government’s suppression of the protests. It changed the world by bringing global attention to the Chinese government's violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators. It sparked discussions about human rights and state power, pressuring governments and human rights organizations to condemn China's actions. Although the protests were ultimately squashed, the photo left a lasting impact. It became a universal symbol of resistance against oppression."Tank Man" also highlighted the role of photojournalism in the digital age. As many know, few large corporations control most commercial media. So the Chinese government used this to their advantage to try and censor these images. But even though the Chinese government censored images from within the country, the photograph transcended borders and continues to inspire movements advocating for freedom and democracy globally. 






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