response to despande

Deshpande explains his views on National Geographic’s use of photography and the influence and impact it has on it viewers. As you may know National Geographic is mostly a photo magazine with pictures on every page and brief descriptive writings on the pages. Deshpande used the National Geographic issue “India Turning Fifty” to get his thoughts across to readers. His main message is that the magazine uses imagery from different cultures to play against the standards of the western culture. “This power to transform the most repulsive results of human actions around the world into images that are digestible is what makes for the culture of National Geographic,” says Deshpande. The photographers of National Geographic and also the editors take images of bad situations and use them to draw the “western eyes” attention, even if the situation is better than it seems. The cover of the boy painted red was actually for a celebration, but they gave an impression of violence and suffering. “While we admire the accomplishments of its photographers to bring us the rest of the world, we forget that the photographs and the contexts in which they are placed represent a very conscious effort by the editors to make the world a happy place and a happy place especially for the western eye.” Meaning that when we come across the images , we are provoked to learn more about the cause.