The greatness of the invisible: A photographic essay of the twenty outstanding media minorities

• Main Author: Prado, Diana R.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2009
• Subjects: Portrait photography; Mass media and minorities; Identity (Psychology) and mass media; Communication
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/2353
• Institution: De La Salle University

This photo essay condemns the practice of portrait photography in consistently putting high value upon the images of the beautiful, the rich and the educated. This practice in turn has reduced the image of greatness to the ones that are frequently seen in important portraits, leaving other significant figures in the society faceless and are therefore, invisible. This gap is further widened through media's overrepresentation of these typical heroes . The effect is again intensified with today's culture of hero worship, the celebrity system and the cult of the individual as well as adopted cultures like ageism, cult of the youth, casting, information society theory, and a lot more. With the goal of redeeming these invisibles and redefining the concept of greatness, the essay features twenty outstanding women and LGBTs (lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals) who belong to the media minorities or those who are underrepresented by media, specifically the working class, the handicapped, the ethnic minorities and the elderly. These individuals are presented in a more dignified manner as opposed how their groups are usually portrayed. These portraits were set in the places that most emphasize these heroes' achievements so as to highlight their greatness.