One of the articles I read was entitled "Photography Changes Our Persepective on Historical Events" written by marcel Chotkowski LaFollette and delves into the way certain photographs taken by Watson Davis, a science journalist, at the "Monkey Trial" can show you a different side to the story. The other article I read was entitled "Photography Changes How We Access the Memories Necessary to Function in Everyday Life" by Jeff Sandoz and it details an account of a doctor who used photographs to help his memory when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Both of these articles take the idea of memory in different ways, but they both bring up valid points regarding the link between photographs and memory.
Most of us were likely not alive for the Monkey Trial when a school teacher in Tennessee was put on trial for teaching evolution to his class. It became a large and highly publicized event, the outcome of which would shape the learning in schools for a very long time. Photographs were taken by reporters throughout the trial, only some of which were published in the newspapers. One photograph that the author talks about was one that showed the interrogation of William Jennings Bryan, an anti-evolutionist, by Clarence Darrow, the defence lawyer. It is outside due to the extreme heat in the courtroom, and shows a very heated argument between the two men. The author of this article wonders why this photograph was never published, never to be seen by the public until years later, since it so wonderfully depicts what this trial represented and is a reminder of what its impact was on school systems in the United States.
Photo Taken by Watson Davis at the Scopes Monkey Trial
While the photo may not look like much to us now, it is certainly a reminder of everything that happened during those trial days and is an excellent depiction of an argument involving two sides of a major issue to this day: Evolution and Creationism.
The other article talks about a man named Dr. H who self-diagnosed himself with Alzheimer's which was then confirmed by his physician. He was put in a nursing home for the last years of his life when he could no longer take care of himself. Instead of becoming resigned to having his memory fade away, Dr. H used photographs to help him maintain some level of cognizance. He had a wall of photographs of his family, going back four generations, and on them he wrote who they were and their relation to him. If they were still alive and regularly visited, he wrote on them anything he was meaning to tell or ask them. He also took photographs of the people he met at the nursing home and kept them in a photo album, also labelled, so he would have a frame of reference if he ever encountered them again. He would keep records of their names, their various statuses (health, age, etc.), and change those records as the details themselves changed. Dr. H used photographs to avoid losing so much of his memory that he would no longer be able to properly interact and recognize the people in his life.
Most of us have never encountered either of these situations personally and our memories are usually mostly intact. However, we do look at things differently when photographs surface that show a different side. How many people changed their views on police action during the G20 summit when the photos of Adam Nobody came out? I would be willing to bet that many people did. When photos of Russell Williams were released of him sitting in a courtroom, emotionless, while photographs of him in stolen women's underwear were being shown, did we not form our own opinion and memories of that trial? We also use our photographs to remember nights out with friends, family, and memories that we do not want to forget. Photographs are important to everyone's memory keeping, likely one of the most important methods people use to do so.
A photograph taken by my mom on my first birthday, her way of being able to remember the day.
