Visual Violence

Studying these photos has engendered in me a sense of fear for and of the human race. They make me fear what humans are capable of doing to each other for the sake of "justice." In quite a few of these images, and especially in 10, 39, 41, 45, 51, 70, 73, and 81, one can see how much brutality humans are capable of. The men in these photographs weren't just killed, but were also shot, burned, whipped or otherwise maimed either before or after they were hung. Particularly in number 10 it is interesting to see how the men who killed him even propped him up for the photo as well as put make up on him to further humiliate him. This type of brutality hints at how humans may have an innate tendency towards violence and will look for an opportunity to outlet their violent desires.


In comparison with literary examples of violence, visual images of violence tell a slightly different account of the violence but however do not tell the whole story and neither does literary works. While literary works about violent acts such as how Sethe was whipped at Sweet Home in Beloved can describe how the act of violence was carried out and what the events were that lead directly up to it, visual depictions can show the aftermath and give a clear depiction of the degree of brutality of the violent act. While these types of representations together can explain a lot about a violent act, they still leave one major aspect unexplained. That aspect is what underlying force(s) lead to the violence, or the act which set off a violent response.

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