Image Culture: Initial Response to Rosen

When I was much younger, I was obsessed with the movie Fairy Tale, which is based on the true story of two girls who claimed to have taken the first photographic proof of the existence of fairies in 1917. In real life, the girls eventually admit that the photos were falsified. When I found out the truth, I was as crushed as the public in London at the time must have been. I hadn't yet reached the state of cynical disbelief towards photos that Rosen describes in her essay. Although the photos were false, the story clearly demonstrates Rosen's point about how powerful an influence photography can be. Thus far, Rosen's theories about the way that image influences culture seem valid, and I'm intrigued to see how she supports them through the rest of her writing.