The Immediacy of Photography

How photographs and videos capture the public attention in a way words can’t

The chaotic first day of the Senate confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, had its memorable moments: Democrats’s pyrrhic attempts at thwarting the proceedings; police carrying out shouting protestors; Twitter arguments about whether Kavanaugh’s former law clerk and current Republican operative Zina Bash intentionally made a sign with her hand in support of white supremacy.

There was, however, a specific image that particularly resonated, an image that became a national story, an image considered revelatory of Kavanaugh’s character.

Right after the morning’s testimony ended, Kavanaugh stood up to leave for a lunch break. He was approached by Fred Guttenberg, whose 15-year-old daughter Jaime was one of the murder victims in the Parkland mass shooting. As Guttenberg introduced himself, he stretched out his hand to shake Kavanaugh’s. Kavanaugh paused, looking at Guttenberg. He then turned to leave without speaking to Guttenberg or shaking his hand.

Guttenberg tweeted about the incident, which initially got a fair bit of a social media attention on its own.