Martin Berger’s theory of how the media often featured photographs of black victims to draw out the sympathy of white people in order to pave the way of civil rights legislation is useful because it sheds light on the difficult problem of this “white savior complex” that in turn downplays and limits the extent for race reform. In all of the images presented by the media with white editors, black people are shown as these poor, helpless victims. This ultimately minimizes what they are fighting for, reducing their whole movement to violence. While it was helpful to show these images to spread awareness of the Civil Rights movement, it was also harmful. The conversation that was being held was about how white people can help these black victims instead of talking about the actual issue of systemic racism in America. Even in today’s media, you can see images of protesters being beaten by the police. Instead of lifting the voices of black people or showing images of these powerful individuals fighting for change, the media consistently decided to portray the protests with images of violence that ultimately discredits what the movement stood for and now what the Black Lives Matter movement stands for today.

The colored people had hard time in the society which white people were taking control of. As it is said that every American have equal rights but we all know colored people were treated unfairly. The right to vote was one of the rights taken from colored people. As many white people back then were getting better education then the colored once.

Many colored people were killed by the hands of white. Colored people were having peaceful protesters and police were biting on every colored man and women they saw. As you can see in the first photo there were colored people being bitten by white police man. In the second photo to sabotage the colored peoples march the vehicle was bombed as you can see smoke coming out of it’s doors. News paper have shown lot of pictures of colored people were brutally bitten by white people. In 3rd and 4th photo you can see white people are using any mean necessary to stop colored peoples peaceful protest.

The racial perspective is a reinterpretation of iconic black civil rights photographs. I agree with Berger, whose groundbreaking and groundbreaking research shows how these photographs aroused white sympathy, paving the way for civil rights legislation and effectively limiting the scope of the 1960s race reform. Berger analysis for many of the famous image of peace – a dog and a fire hose to Birmingham black marchers, tear gas and have the right to vote against Selma demonstrators waving the club – and argues that because of the white sympathy is dependent on the helpless black photos, so memorable picture is damaged, or even imagine of reform efforts, these reforms could derail the racial balance of power.

In the Introduction to his book Seeing through Race, Martin A. Berger (not related to John Berger) lays out the thesis of his book’s interpretation of the photography associated with the U.S. Civil Rights era (1950s &1960s). According to Berger, newspaper and magazine editors selected photographs based on their perceived power to draw out the of their white readers. The result, Berger continues, was that “the media could not assuage the racial anxieties of whites without affecting the depiction of blacks.” This meant that photographs that featured the black protestors succumbing to white violence was more common than depictions of black-led political action. In other words, editors, especially white ones, were more likely to use photographs featuring black people as victims as opposed to black people standing up for their rights.

Recently, we have seen a similar dynamic at play as media depictions of the killing of George Floyd caused many white allies to take to the streets in solidarity with black Americans. We have also seen media depictions of African-American protests incite white racial anxieties about black violence.

What do you make of Berger’s argument? Do you agree, disagree, or something in between? Use the information from Chapter 4 of They Say/I Say and the “Sheridan Baker Thesis Machine” and write a thesis statement in which you take a position on Berger’s argument.

There are lot of pictures and drawing everyday. The way art shows their meaning through the way it draws. Photo and drawing mostly works same way in which they made us think and feel the way it’s shown. Art and pictures are everywhere. As most of pictures are to show difference in us and them(models). As you can see models advertising new products. With their picture they show us we can be like them. In old times as picture is drawing and have not used models.