The first world country that we immerse ourselves in is used as a blinder to what other tragedies are happening in other parts of the world. We are so comfortable with this plush lifestyle that when we are exposed to other peoples suffering through magazine covers, facebook articles, or Snapchat stories, it causes discomfort and we then have the habit of sinking back into our luxurious life with five-dollar coffees and Ubers.
The hope with the kind of photojournalism that Lynsey Addario achieves is the awareness that more than just your personal problems are happening in the world. Tragedies and injustice are happening regardless of our attention, and this issue needs to be recognized and addressed. To educate the reader with the concepts that there is always more than one side to a story as well as that there is a state of trauma whole countries constantly live in is what needs to be exposed to the rest of the willing nieve world. Hoping that the audience will feel some sort of compassion or empathy will inspire people to realize that “out of sight out of mind” doesn't just mean that the problems go away if you disregard them. By exposing readers to the true poverty of other peoples living conditions, the culture of other religions, and the understanding of opposing viewpoints opens a door of knowledge. The entitlement that we feel living in a first world country is developed with a willing blindness and can only be shifted with knowledge compassion.
In saying all this, Addario put herself in war zones, places of poverty, and situations where she felt in danger due to the country's strong biases, political, and religious beliefs to expose the different lifestyles for the comfortably sheltered population. You have to be a little bit crazy to knowing put yourself in a life-threatening situation purely to get the "award-winning" shot.
As someone who is going to graduate with a journalism degree, I can relate to her passion for her job, but I don't know if I’m mentally and emotionally strong enough to enter as dangerous environments as she went. While I respect her intentions, my issue would be taking photographs of starving children then hopping on a flight back to my cozy lifestyle after looking at true suffrage in the eye. I’m not sure if that is a skill a person naturally inherited or if you have to learn to become numb to that. While I respect Addario's work I have my own suspicions if her true intentions honestly lye on making a true impact on the world exposing genuine human lifestyles, or if she was focused on the fame, caught up in the bliss of her work. If Addaro placed herself in the scene of chaos just for her work and the recognition instead of doing it for the people that are truly suffering, that would be insanity.
Techniques that I’ve tried to adopt into my own photography this term is to always have your camera so you never miss an unexpected opportunity. Anything can happen at any time and as a photojournalist, you need to be ready to capture authenticity, news, and genuine emotions. I also admire Addarios courage and willingness to step into the center of any situation and photograph it. I have found that often times, throughout this term, that asserting myself in unexpected situations and talking to people I had not expected to interview had been my most memorable and favorite shoots. I have been pushing myself to, like Addario, put myself in the center of the situation and to not be afraid to get in the middle of an event. Because I know later I’d regret not capturing the full story or event.
Lynsey Addario’s book It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War, addresses many personal concerns I have about being a journalist. Which not only validates my past and present concerns, but highlights the severity of them. The first being having the ability to maintain relationships while also being devoted to your work. This is obviously a concern within any major career, but in this case and many other cases, Addario often spends months away from her family, friends, and significant other. Not only is the distance difficult to deal with, but the fact that the people that love you live every day knowing that the spotty 30 minute phone call they had with you last week could potentially be the last time they ever spoke to you. The fact that at any second of the day my life could be taken by putting myself in a potentially dangerous situation for the work of my job. The heart ace of knowing I would cause my family constant grief pains me to the point of considering a different career. "I felt his love thought and the absence of words." (pg 130) Addario quoted as she had just gotten in contact with her father after a life-altering experience while on the job. She explains the distance between her and her father, and continues to explain why she was nervous to call him after months of minimal communication. The undying love her family has for her despite how little they bond, I relate to myself and the relationship I have with my mother.
One other concern I have is the prejudice of being a woman in this line of work. Knowing that men are considered the dominant sex in other countries with strictly gendered stereotypes I fear will be an obstacle in this line of work. While sometimes Addario felt her gender gave her an advantage, a woman's purpose as seen by 3rd world countries is typical to bear children and raise a family. Oftentimes a woman who is working is seen as uncommon and is off-putting by people who believe in these traditions. This can then lead to altering the authentic emotions of the situation. A woman in a third world country should also be aware of being viewed as sexual objects and are seen as free for sexual abuse, especially if she is not accompanied by another man. What id considered sexual abuse, harassment, or rape in America is seen as common behavior and socially acceptable in other countries. Ironically enough one of the most memorable scenes from Addario's book for me occurs when she is on a plane flown by Ariana Afghan Airlines after being released from a hostage situation where she and her coworkers almost lost their lives several times. The flight attendant then asked her to move to a seat that wasn't in front of the emergency exit. The flight attendant feared Addario would not be strong enough to open the emergency exit and wished for someone stronger to sit in her spot in the case of an emergency. Annoyed, she moved while a frail old man sat in her previous seat. This was ironic to be because she had just survived several traumatic events. Strong enough mentally, emotionally, and physically escape death several times Addario was replaced purely because of her gender.
I’m not sure why specifically this section of the book resonated with me out of everything Addario writes about, but it is a feeling I can relate to. I think that is why I can picture so clearly. Since I was a child, I have been addressed differently because of my gender. As the only female in my family’s generation of children, I was encouraged to stay and help cook or watch the younger children while I saw my brother and all my male cousins leave to go ride quads in the Arizona dunes. From being excluded from “masculine” activities to obtaining a different job title because I was assumed to not have the same skills as a man in the workplace, I have been treated differently because of my gender. Oftentimes I will be talked down to, underestimated, or given the assumed work position I desired just because of my gender. Because of these actions I personally experienced, I was more upset about Addario’s Ariana Afghan Airlines flying experience.
For someone who is looking to become a photojournalist like Lynsey Addario, is it a good book to read watching her transition from a humble start of not knowing how to change a lens to being awarded the MacArthur Fellowship Award. It is an easy book to relate too as well as being a compelling read that addresses the true physical, mental, and emotional risks of choosing this specific line of work.
I would say Addario's “Women at War” series has to be my favorite album. This photo specifically captures the emotions and joys this modern female soldier is spreading to native children. The contrast between the two lives is beyond different, but genuine compassion belongs to everyone's culture. This also exposes that soldiers are not always here to cause a war. It highlights the softer emotions and proves relationships can be built despite strong beliefs.
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