Are Some Images in the Media too Graphic?

In Arielle Emmett’s article “Too Graphic”, she talks about how after the earthquake in Haiti, the news outlets published photographs that were too graphic and in great quantity. This sparked the debate of whether or not the photos were documenting a natural disaster and its victims or was in publishing explicit photos without any consideration for the victims of the natural disaster.
There was one opinion that these photographs need to be seen and that there was not enough of them; photographer Patrick Farrell states that “People need to know that the suffering continues, they’re suffering living a normal life, and then they get hit four storms.” (154). Most people can’t even imagine what the victims of these disasters are going through, and it is through these pictures that we can be a witness to the tragedy and it can also cause people to get involved in an effort to help.
Leonie Hermantin, deputy director of Lambi Fund of Haiti, stated that some of the images shown of the aftermath of the earthquake did go to far and showed little to no respect for the dead (155). Hermantin and Farrell both agree that the earthquake in Haiti was a nightmare beyond what anyone could imagine and many stories could be written about it, but without actually seeing the images it is hard to believe it really happened, it won’t register with most people.
Images of natural disasters and other tragic events may affect people in different ways, and everyone has their opinion about whether or not they are too graphic; but regardless they do need to be seen because it is important the world knows how people in other areas might be suffering.