Feelings and Public Outcry

Pictures and other images in generally, are known for their impact on their consumers; hence, Sturken and Cartwright (2009:9) posit that: “We live in cultures that are increasingly permeated by visual images with a variety of purposes and intended effects.” One of the effects of pictures alluded to by scholars such as Perlmutter (2005); Sassatelli (2011); Mitchell (1980); Sturken and Cartwright (2009); and Fishman (2017), is their ability to evoke emotions and public outcry. For instance, Sturken and Cartwright (2009:9) observe that images can produce in us a wide array of emotions and responses. However, not all pictures are associated with such emotions: iconic pictures or images are usually the ones characterised by emotions. Iconic images are defined by Sturken and Cartwright (2009:36) as images that refer to something outside of their individual components, something (or someone) that has great symbolic meaning. Alluding to iconic images, Peter Howe cited in Almond (2013) argues that their common denominator is that they strike us on a very deep emotional level, especially in terms of fear, grief and joy. Iconic pictures depicting Zimbabwe’s Crisis are not an exception.

Iconic pictures portraying Zimbabwe’s Crisis depict the often-violent land reform programme, politically motivated violence and economic decline in Zimbabwe. In light of such pictures, Ndlela (2005:75) highlights that the violent nature in which the farms were taken from their owners attracted bad publicity as the international media showed images of destruction of property, torture, injury and dead bodies of white farmers. One picture which fits neatly into Ndlela’s (2005) account is that of the dead body of white commercial farmer, Terry Ford, after his assassination by suspected state security agents at his farm near Harare in March 2002.

Another iconic picture which fits into such a category is that of the late opposition MDC leader,

Morgan Tsvangirai after his brutal attack by members of the police force in 2007. The picture in question is broadly analysed in the previous chapter. Tsvangirai’s face in the picture is described by The Economist (2007, March 15) as the face of oppression. Respondents were asked how they felt about such pictures. Their responses were in harmony with the thesis that iconic images evoke feelings and public outcry. Accordingly, respondent six (2015) stated that:

Most of these images were really moving as they depicted violence and suffering. I naturally felt very pity especially when I saw images of the killed white commercial farmers; some of them were badly beaten and had blood all over. The image of Terry Ford after his assassination at his farm in March 2002 was very disturbing. I was moved to tears when I saw his dog seated next to his corpse. I think the dog had not realised that he was already dead. I also felt pity and horrified by images that depicted political violence especially between 2007 and 2008. The images of Nelson Chamisa and Morgan Tsvangirai after their attack in the same period were outstanding in that regard. I was also deeply sympathetic about images of women with children on their backs who were queuing for basic commodities. Images of political violence especially in 2008 affected me in a big way, they never escaped my mind, sometimes I could even dream of the victims and at times these images were flashing in my mind even during the day. The feeling and the experience were very bad.

The above response from respondent six (2015) is significant in many respects. First, it shows the capacity of television pictures in inducing emotions which dovetails with Sassateli’s (2011) claim that the pictures and videos that we watch on the screen elicit emotions, pleasure and pain. To that end, the iconic pictures in question induced sympathy, pain and horror on the part of respondent six (2015). Secondly, the respondent’s response brings to light the issue of mental images. When the afore-mentioned respondent says that the images never escaped his mind and that he used to even dream about them; he is referring to memories and dreams which are categories of mental images. This also shows the capacity of images to live on in form of memories and verbal narratives like the Israelites’ Golden Calf that was destroyed in an act of iconoclasm but survived in form of memory, verbal narratives and other forms of reincarnation (Mitchell, 2015). Mental images reside in the mind. The third issue that is worth mentioning in respondent six’s (2015) submission is that he specifically mentioned three iconic pictures selected for this study as having evoked emotions on him. This reveals the emotive potency and iconicity of the pictures in question.

Similarly, respondent five (2015) remarked: “I was really moved. The image of Terry Ford’s dead body moved me to tears. Most of the images were horrible. The violence that they depicted was too shocking to believe. I therefore felt pity and angry at the same time. I wish I could help but there was nothing that I could do. It was a political matter and that was very problematic.”

A look at respondent five’s (2015) response reveals that the pictures in question induced an array of feelings which ranged from sympathy, horror, shock to anger. The way the pictures in

question emotionally affected respondent 5 (2015) seem to dovetail with Burri’s (2008) perspective in Ignatowitsch and Stahl (2015:2) that: “Images can have a special impact and persuasive power...” It is not only respondents 5 (2015) and 6 (2015) who were emotionally affected by the iconic pictures depicting Zimbabwe’s Crisis.

Respondent seven (2016) also noted that some iconic pictures depicting Zimbabwe’s Crisis were extremely emotional and evoked emotions on him. To that end, the respondent noted that:

I felt very sorry especially for the dead victims of political violence and those who were killed on the farms like Terry Ford or had their properties burnt or violently taken over by marauding war veterans, ZANU PF youths and other functionaries that were loyal to the Mugabe regime.

I felt very pity and was deeply moved especially by the image of Morgan Tsvangirai and his colleagues. I felt sympathetic and I think that was an understandable feeling. I wish I could have helped more but as a diplomat, my hands were tied to some extent. Images of wailing women after their loved ones had been killed in state-sponsored political violence were heart-breaking just like those of pregnant women lining up for basic commodities like sugar, salt, cooking oil, petrol and mealie-meal, among other basic needs. The image of a 100 trillion-dollar note was symbolic and summed up the whole crisis especially in terms of inflation that prevailed during that time.

All the 25 respondents to the study mentioned that they felt emotional after seeing some of the iconic pictures used in this study. Closely related to the issue of pictures’ ability to evoke emotions, is their capacity to trigger public outcry. There is scholarly work which supports the idea that pictures have the ability to induce outcry particularly in public circles. For instance, Fishman (2017:9) alerts us to the viewpoint that pictures “stir emotions and foster public outcry like no other means of expression.” Correspondingly, Perlmutter (2005) also cites how iconic images of dead US soldiers that were pulled on the streets of Mogadishu during the US’

intervention in Somalia, caused public outcry particularly in the US.

Likewise, respondents 15 (2017) observed that the images of white commercial farmers who were attacked and those of victims of political violence in Zimbabwe caused a lot of public outcry especially in the UK. Most of the farmers who lost their farms were connected to the UK in terms of ancestry, hence, the public outcry. The issue of public outcry in relation to some of the iconic pictures under study is also cited by Bratton and Masunungure (2011) who note that the iconic image of Morgan Tsvangirai and his colleagues after their brutal attack by state security agents in Harare in 2007, caused international public outcry, particularly in the US, EU and African Union.Another issue that was highlighted by the respondents in relation to the pictures under study is their connection to memory and political history of Zimbabwe.