Japans earthquake and the media attached to it was incredibly emotional and captivating, sitting in the comfort of my lounge watching this play out what part does/should the media play in these disasters is it important to watch this unfold ? am I some how connected to these people part of a global conscience of concern and empathy trying to reach out, or just another unwanted voyeur ? People want the world to understand what they are going through but how much does the media facilitate this an how much is it just a grab for sensationalism.
I’m reminded of my own tiny bit of “disaster” footage. A few seconds of news from the 1967 bushfires I’m a baby in a basinet being loaded into the car as the wind and smoke whips at my mothers dress. Our house survived, but the neighbouring ones didn’t, the fire was so intense the chooks burst into flames as they ran fled across the yard.
My mothers recollection of the media in this event was far from favorable at one stage she yelled at the camera man to put down his camera and help with the fires, this was show later on the news (with no sound) portraying her as a paniked woman screaming at the camera. 13 years as a fire fighter an I never welcomed the cameras and neither did the people trying to come to terms with there loss.
These few seconds of footage has always been important to be and I contemplated how I could use this in a work. I had have spent much time scrubbing this footage back and forth mesmerised by the grainy image. Being in control of the playback somehow made me a part of it. Part of that moment, and the more I played the more it drew me in. just watching the footage was nothing in comparison. Could I some how give this experience to the viewer ? Would it mean anything to someone else would they feel like they were there ? Does the act of directly controlling the viewing experience lead to a deeper attachment ?