Images of death

Numerous images of death, transmitted by a section of the media in the past few days, have been disturbing most people across the country. There have been reports, particularly in social media, about the adverse impact such images have been causing on the viewers. Theodore Roosevelt had once said, "Death is always and under all circumstances a tragedy." It is a fact that death is inevitable, and all those who are born one day are destined to die. Moreover, while death is inevitable and remains the ultimate truth, it is also a fact that death is almost always seen as tragic. Being the mirror of society, the media cannot keep away from reporting about deaths. The media sometimes find themselves in the position of showing their audience a truth they would prefer not to see. But then, one must accept that the wonders of modern technology in the 21st century are less wonderful when looking into the eyes of a dead body on one's TV screen in the living room, or on the screen of a mobile phone. Social scientists have always argued that gruesome images can serve as a powerful journalistic tool to influence the emotions of viewers and inspire action. But then, they have also said that such images can be disturbing too for the majority of viewers. Some argue that shocking images should not be used to draw attention to a story. Others claim that only shocking images can be used to illustrate the intensity of an event, and in the process moving and educating the masses. It may appear difficult to draw the line regarding what is appropriate in airing or publishing images capturing death and what isn't. Scanning the social media, one will probably see for oneself how a sizable section of common people have been terrified by the sight – and repeated sight – of such images of death. The impact has affected people of all ages, and all social strata. Children and pregnant women are always the worst affected by such images. And when such images are repeatedly shown, the impact can be worse. Some scholars argue that any time media shows a picture of a dead body or bodies, there is every possibility of one or more elements of exploitation involved in it. If however, there is an overwhelming value to the public, then the media's choice is not whether to show the picture, but how to reduce the harm. But then the fact remains that it amounts to an irresponsible act for a news organization to shield its audience from hard truths. Death is the hard truth and has to be reported. But then, there can always be a better way of reporting the death. One needs not go too far looking for a good example of reporting the death. In February 1983, when several hundred persons – mostly women, children and old – were massacred at Nellie, not very far away from Guwahati, not even one newspaper published from Assam had carried the horrible pictures of dismembered human bodies lying in heaps across the paddy fields by the national highway. Words were enough. But, even then, there was no graphic description of the tragedy, except for the figures. Yet, it was not that the reader – there were no television channels then, other than Doordarshan – did not get the news of the tragedy. Again, one can argue that the occurrence of death meets several news criteria and news values, as it is usually unexpected, breaks the regular order of things, bears social significance, and generates responses from several social institutions. Also, because death events are usually negative, their possibility and scope of being reported are high. Many significant events and turning points in human history are death-related stories and often stories on death are the leading stories in the news. Visual documentation of an incident has a very strong claim to truth. Moreover, it reinforces the authority of a journalist as an eyewitness and storyteller. But then, the reality is that the power of visual images can sometimes turn to prove counter-productive, particularly to the society, particularly because death, to a large extent, is a taboo; as such public display of images of death is a sensitive matter carrying a lot of cultural baggage. Unlike other topics whose visual representation makes it easier to engage with, the engagement with a visual depiction of death is often overwhelming and disturbing. That was why the majority of media in Assam had taken a lot of care while reporting the violent incidents that had occurred in the state between the 1990s and about ten years ago.