Errol Morris: We’ve Forgotten that Photographs are Connected to the Physical World
ERROL
MORRIS
We’ve Forgotten that Photographs are Connected to the Physical World
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Credit: Oliver Laughland, Andy Gallagher, Richard Sprenger, www.guardian.co.uk. Reproduced by permission of GUARDIAN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED. All rights reserved.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/video/2011/dec/26/errol-morris-photography-video
QUESTIONS FOR A SECOND VIEWING
Before watching this video, read Errol Morris’s essay “Will the Real Hooded Man Please Stand Up?" Below, you’ll find some questions that invite you to work further with the video.
1. Morris says that we have “forgotten that photographs are connected to the physical world.” What might this mean? And what difference might it make should we forget such a thing?
To prepare yourself for a discussion framed by these questions, you might keep the following in mind as you review the video:
- How does Morris explain this problem or concept? What are his key terms? his key examples? What are the most memorable things that he says?
- What might it mean to remember that photographs are connected to the physical world? How might you learn to look at them with such understanding? What kind of example does he provide of examining photographs in such an informed way?
- How might you translate or explain what Morris means? How might you explain what he says in your own terms? By reference to his examples? What examples might you bring to the table?
Question 27.10
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Question 27.11
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Question 27.12
ASSIGNMENT FOR WRITING
1. It is safe to assume that this video is intended for those who have not read Morris’s book, Believing Is Seeing. In fact, it is also safe to assume that the video is meant as an invitation to buy the book or to get it from the library, to read on and to learn more. The video offers a capsule summary. The video presents the tip of the iceberg, the sound bite. The video is a hook to catch a reader’s interest. And the chapter, then, should provide something more — something deeper, fuller, or more precise and detailed. The prose will provide something that you can’t get from an 8 ½ minute video presentation.