eight days...

...until the official launch of the untamed focus media website. i know what you're thinking, "untamed...what?" it's been a little known secret for a long time, but when i started pursuing photography and film, and old dream of mine began to take shape and i am thrilled at the opportunity to spread my wings a little further. on june 1st, 2010: a gallery a photography, film projects in the making and way for you to contact me and be part.

project homeless: chapter 1- where they live...

recently, i went out on a photo-shoot near a local college. the first stop was underneath a bridge. as we were shooting on a set of stairs next to the bridge, we noticed that  on the other side, there was an abandoned chair. we decided that it might be interesting to get a few shots, but when we climbed up to where the chair sat, we found that it was accompanied by a sign, a bible and a few darts. further under the bridge against the cement ceiling were sleeping bags, luggage and left-over garbage. sadly, i figured that, at least two people lived there- homeless people who had probably left for the day to panhandle. their items were relatively concealed and it was probably an excellent place to keep out of the spring rain we've been getting. it got me thinking, though...the homeless don't always make it into the shelters on a nightly basis and they have to set up some where, how many more "homes" like these were there? where do they all go in the city of atlanta? more to come soon....

Captive in North Korea

Layers of Intensity

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: a fascinating read, to be sure.  I read it in less than a week (which is a strong accomplishment, I think.). Larsson keeps your attention and is a hell of a writer, The fact is, I couldn't put it down and was a complete nerd for the course of about 5 days... 

To start --fairly quickly, I picked up three major layers to the story, (and a few sub layers I decided I was right about). The first, are his comments on the media and journalists themselves. He seems to find that media in general, or perhaps in his society is relatively weak and would rather contort old news, beat "a dead horse" or slander contenders than uncover serious mysteries, aka, the truth. The second layer: Corporate greed and their battle for reputation w/in a society. Finally, and the reoccurring, if not the most important theme: violence against women and sexuality. 

And it's all plotted around a murder mystery. 
First, I will discuss the latter. I have gone through numerous blogs, comments, articles, discussion boards on the nature of the author's motive behind the destructive events against main female characters in the book. 

There are some that believe Larsson is a sick sadist, trying to get twisted erotica out of his readers. Some believe that he is discussing the culture as it is: and then creates a strong heroine who knows how to get revenge. And still there are others state he's acting as an advocate, revealing the truth about violence against women in Swedish society, creating a raw picture of what actually occurs.

After reading several government, non-profit, studies and news websites -along w/ bios about the author- that discuss the statistics of rape and violence in Sweden; I am convinced that there is a mix of the latter two in Larsson's writing. 

First and foremost, he started his career as a Journalist/writer. He was known, even before that as a political voice against Nazism and extreme right-wing behaviors- to the point of death threats on his life. There are some that say his long-time girlfriend had a hand in the story itself, but that's not something we'll probably not ever find out for sure.

Nevertheless: as a journalist, myself, I read the story w/ investigative curiosity. And I think that his writing has that descriptive character.

It is believed that 6% of women in Sweden (if not more) are annually raped or experience extreme forms of violence. One article in the NY Times reported that in 1990, 14.000 rapes were reported and that shot up in 2003 to over 22,000~ and this is just what is reported! Some stats estimate that 1 in 3 women suffer rape in the country, and they are 3x as likely to experience violence than the rest of Western Europe, due to the belief that men can get away w/ it more. A Cambridge Study showed that Sweden's efforts to rehabilitate violent men did not meet it's goals roughly 7 years later (b/t 1999-2006). 

While there are few more things I could rattle off; I think you get the idea. The point is, I believe that Larsson was making a statement. And I think he's doing what journalists should do: tell the gory truth for better or worse. 

YES, there are a couple of scenes that absolutely made me uncomfortable reading, but I am of the belief that the media is weak and that exposing the truth, while it may be ugly, is important. I can't tell you how many pictures every day we sift through at work b/c the rules are ultimately "don't offend anybody." The fact remains, journalists aren't at all what they used to be...but nor is public reception. 

Needless to say: I speculate that Larsson's intention was to expose the fate of so many women in his own country, and while the book is still on it's way up in reviews (though it was published in 2005) and now that the film reached theaters in the last month- what attention the public, the UN and other organizations will divert to the problems in Sweden? Moreover, in the US: in our Judeo-Christian society: will more aid trips be taken to reach such women? Honestly, I can say that I don't know. 

But those women need someone to tell their story, and I'm glad that Larsson did so. I've seen several articles and "about author" pieces that note the book was originally to be called "Men Who Hate Women." Obviously not as catchy, but defines many of attitudes among characters in the book. It leaves the others complicated and searching.