CommentStreams:62dfa5babd4b3913f16ab4b3741520fe

Thanks for your text Katja! It is fascinating to observe how the text draws connections between historical practices of image manipulation for political purposes and their relevance to today’s conflicts. I don't have many theoretical insights, more general comments on point that I think would be interesting to develop further or that might strengthen your argument. The concept of making war appear less human is particularly striking in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where the true scale of human casualties has been deliberately kept secret or obscured. This stands in contrast, for example, to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, the human element of the conflict has been in the forefront from day one. I find Baudrillard’s text highly relevant, especially when expanded beyond traditional television in comparison with the contemporary context of social media. I would be worth to look deeper into the ways in which war is represented and consumed in today’s digital feeds: from manipulated image propaganda (as your text explains) to over-saturation and sensory exhaustion. Another compelling idea is the paradox of contemporary media: the more war is overshared, the more distant it can seem. As the text points out, this overexposure can paradoxically "conceal its existence entirely, despite the millions of devices documenting it." A comparative analysis here could be very fruitful. For instance, how does this phenomenon differ from or resemble traditional methods of documenting war? The role of radio during World War II might offer an interesting historical parallel to consider, where the immediacy of images was not so present. PS: Just reading your comment on my text, it is very interesting to see the ways in which we could find common ground between the concepts of foreground and background in visual and sonic media. I have not thought about how these concepts apply to the idea of soundscape and I think it make a lot of sense and could find resonances.