How Repeated Images of Genocide Lose Their Power
I recognize it before I see it
An essay in The Armenian Weekly examines how the repeated use of documentary photographs from the Armenian Genocide has dulled their emotional impact. The author reflects on Israel's recent Cabinet recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the media's use of iconic images—including a photograph of a mother with starving children—to illustrate the announcement.
Drawing on Susan Sontag's observations about how photographs communicate suffering, the author argues that overexposure has transformed these images into visual shorthand rather than windows into human tragedy. The piece questions whether media coverage focused on Israel as the speaker rather than the Armenian cause itself, and explores how repeated viewing has made viewers recognize the images instantly without truly seeing them. The author expresses concern about what this habituation means for collective memory and understanding of historical atrocities.
