Recently, I was searching for an archaeological news story and landed on the National Geographic website. Its popularity on Google indicates it is a primary source of archaeological information for the public. I was scrolling through a list of popular Ancient World stories on this site and noticed a theme in articles labeled "Pictures". Examples include: "Pictures: Mass Sacrifice Found Near Aztec Temple" and "Pictures: Death-Cult Mummies Inspired by Desert Conditions?" Like I assume many would be, I was immediately interested in these stories because a) they are blatantly stating that there will be lots of pictures and b) they are both focused on death. 
Each article showcases 8-9 pictures. The photos provide visual examples of the findings and include images of archaeologists working in the field. "Pictures: Mass Sacrifice Found Near Aztec Temple" shows piles of skeletons and focuses on the the sheer volume of how many bodies were discovered. "Pictures: Death-Cult Mummies Inspired by Desert Conditions?" shows specific bodies and includes a drawing of a recreation of what the ancient people may have done in this "death-cult". In the photo collections, each picture featured has an informational blurb attached. The blurbs begin by giving background information of hypotheses of what may have happened and why, and, then, as you progress through the collection, they continue to become give more specific insight into the lives of the ancient people and what the discoveries mean in the context of our knowledge of civilizations. Links are included to refer the reader to other related articles.
These photo collections are an effective way to draw the public's attention to a subject. In some cases pictures are not available, but in discoveries such as these, it is a great way to contextualize the story and still provide a supple amount of educational information. Being able to visualize what you are reading about is important in connecting the subject to the audience. By tapping into the public's tendency to be more apt to look at pictures instead of reading text, Nat Geo successfully portrays the story.
"Pictures: Mass Sacrifice Found Near Aztec Temple"
Example Photographs:
"Pictures: Death-Cult Mummies Inspired by Desert Conditions?"
Example Photographs:
I love that you said, "By tapping into the public's tendency to be more apt to look at pictures instead of reading text, Nat Geo successfully portrays the story." because I scrolled through the pictures below the text before even starting to read. I am obviously drawn to photos and unless those are interesting there is a very slim chance I will continue to read!
ReplyDeleteI find it funny that in this post you talk about National Geographic doing well (and I totally agree with your post) and then later on I talk about how they're staging photos. I think it shows the multiple sides to criticizing photographs.
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