The power of imagery
On Thursday, The CT ran a cover photo featuring a young man gripping his shirtless girlfriend. The picture was of two actors in a scene from the play “Beirut.” Also on the cover was a caption reading “Power of Love.” The caption and the picture were perceived by some students as being violent and inappropriate.
On Thursday, The CT ran a cover photo featuring a young man gripping his shirtless girlfriend. The picture was of two actors in a scene from the play “Beirut.” Also on the cover was a caption reading “Power of Love.” The caption and the picture were perceived by some students as being violent and inappropriate. So nothing is taken out of context, let me explain.
For those that did not read the article (which can be viewed along with the photo at www.commonwealthtimes.com), “Beirut” is a play about a young couple who are separated when one of the partners is quarantined with an unnamed disease. The other partner breaks into the quarantined area, risking infection in the name of love.
The play portrays the great influence love can have, even in a destructive, violent relationship. While that is a gritty, ugly concept, it is also a realistic one because unfortunately, there are many abusive relationships.
I acknowledge that it is Sexual Assault Awareness Month; however, the cover simply depicted the couple’s self-destructive relationship in the play and in no way tried to promote sexual assault or domestic violence against women.
While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, it is not the responsibility of The CT to edit content to cater to any person’s personal issues. I would hope that everyone would have the time to read the story in full to understand the context of the picture.
