Film Challenge #5 – Smash His Camera

Smash His Camera (2010) displays the life and career of famous paparazzi photographer Ron Galella. The documentary raises ethical debates on whether photojournalists and paparazzi are too aggressive in nature when photographing celebrities, putting their reputation on the line or even putting their life in danger, or simply doing their job, documenting these celebrities through their artwork. It also questions the paparazzi’s right to invade the privacy of these celebrities, and how far they are willing to stretch their freedom of the press and first amendment rights.
Looking at the historical perspective on the ethical issues at hand, the documentary pertains precisely to the cases of many celebrities who have been offended, injured, or embarrassed by the paparazzi. Cases like Lindsey Lohan crashing and becoming hurt because she was being followed by a mass amount of paparazzi (The Telegraph, 2005) to the case of Princess Diana, losing her life in a car crash while being trailed by paparazzi cars (ABC News, 2014). Were the paparazzi simply doing their job trying to photograph these celebrities? Or were they completely out of their element and unethical in their motives?
The circumstances that are documented in Smash His Camera (2010) of Ron Galella can be looked at in two ways when handling the situations in which he was found. The first would be the ethical way of looking at paparazzi. I believe that Ron should have had more ethical values when pursuing Jackie Kennedy for photos. Some of the tactics he used to get in position for a photo was absurd, and harassing in nature, making it uncomfortable to watch, and uncomfortable for Jackie as well, resulting in her suing him. Yes, it was his job to get photos of her, but he could have done it in a more respectable way, not putting her in the position that she felt she was being harmed. On the other hand though, I believe that Ron did what it took to get the photos of Jackie that he wanted, having passion and determination as a photojournalist. Your job as a photojournalist or paparazzi is to photograph, and that is what Ron did.
I believe that this movie has an enormous impact on journalism. The movie shows us how the paparazzi are another piece to the puzzle in the world of journalism. These photojournalists provide photos that document the situations that are being reported, proving their importance to journalism. Being a photojournalists or paparazzi, though, is a tough position, where respect and detachment from those they target is necessary, but rightfully so, as shown in Smash His Camera (2010), doing anything necessary to get the photo they desire is required.

Sources

ABC News. Princess Diana Died 17 years Ago Today. (2014). http://abcnews.go.com/International/princess-diana-died-17-years-ago-today/story?id=25182693

Smash His Camera. (2010) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1280015/

The Telegraph. Actress hurt in second car crash as she is hounded by paparazzi pack. (2005). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1500052/Actress-hurt-in-second-car-crash-as-she-is-hounded-by-paparazzi-pack.html

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *