Image Ethics The Moral Rights of Subjects in Photographs, Film, and Television [Paperback]

This pathbreaking collection of thirteen original essays examines the moral rights of the subjects of documentary film, photography, and television. Image makers--photographers and filmmakers--are coming under increasing criticism for presenting images of people that are considered intrusive and embarrassing to the subject. Portraying subjects in a false light, appropriating their images, and failing to secure informed consent are all practices that intensify the debate between advocates of the right to privacy and the public's right to know. Discussing these questions from a variety of perspectives, the authors here explore such issues as informed consent, the right of individuals and minority groups to be represented fairly and accurately, the right of individuals to profit from their own image, and the peculiar moral obligations of minorities who image themselves and the producers of autobiographical documentaries. The book includes a series of provocative case studies on: the documentaries of Frederick Wiseman, particularlyTiticut Follies; British documentaries of the 1930s; the libel suit of General Westmoreland against CBS News; the filmWitnessand its portrayal of the Amish; the filmThe Gods Must be Crazyand its portrayal of the San people of southern Africa; and the treatment of Arabs and gays on television. The first book to explore the moral issues peculiar to the production of visual images,Image Ethicswill interest a wide range of general readers and students and specialists in film and television production, photography, communications, media, and the social sciences.

Particularly timely and thought-provoking. --Ethics

[An] excellent and very readable book that goes a long way to help students understand the rights of victims and subjects in relation to the role of the journalist. --Glenn Novak,West Georgia College

This invigorating book reminds me of that mlÃ{