العلاقة بين الفوتوغرافيا والذاكرة الجمعية في أوقات الأزمات

Abstract

Abstract

This study examines how photographs of the Derna cyclone disaster in Libya (September 2023) contributed to shaping collective memory in times of crisis. It draws on Maurice Halbwachs’s theory of collective memory and Roland Barthes’s concepts of “studium” and “punctum” to address the question: How do disaster photographs function as a tool for forming a shared collective remembrance rather than merely a passing visual documentation? The study adopts a semiotic method (qualitative semantic analysis) on a purposive sample of twelve images published by international news agencies and local and international newspapers between September 2023 and 2024. The study reached several findings, most notably: a notable recurrence of certain visual scenes, such as searching among the rubble, group images, children, destroyed homes, and rescue operations; in addition to a clear variation between international agency images and local newspapers in camera angle and visual focus; and one image distinguished itself by its powerful impact and repeated circulation, which qualifies it to be the “punctum”.

Keywords:
Photojournalism; Collective Memory; Derna Flood Disaster; Semiotic Analysis; Studium and Punctum.