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In 1934 a photo of a
mysterious figure that was reportedly seen swimming in Loch Ness was made
public. The blurred image was taken by London gynecologist Robert K Wilson and appeared in the London Daily Mail on the
21st of April. Initially Wilson denied any connection with the
photo, which lead to it being called simply the “Surgeon’s Photograph”. Those
who believed in this misterious creature claimed it was conclusive evidence of a large
dinosaur like beast living in Loch Ness.
The image instantly
made the Scottish Highlands loch a destination for those seeking to get a
glimpse of the elusive creature. Stories abound of those who have claimed to
have seen the animal for themselves. For
the last 80 years the Loch Ness Monster has become an integral part of pop
culture history, despite the fact that the photo was later proved to be a hoax
and no real evidence of the creature’s existence has ever been uncovered.
Nessie has since joined
the pantheon of supernatural creatures that walk or slither in the darkest recesses
of our world. They include the likes of the Abominable Snowman, Bigfoot, The Chupacabra and the Jersey Devil, just to name a few. I may not be a believer myself, but I
certainly understand and appreciate the roll these creatures fill in our
society. And whether you believe or not you would have to be living in a cave
for the last 100 years to not know something about these legends. They exist
everywhere on the planet and in every culture. Whether they are told on The
Discovery Channel or around a campfire, they are stories we have grown to love.
The image is iconic for
several reasons. If nothing else it proves how a single image can change the
way we see our world depending on what we each see in it. Those who believe in
the existence of creatures like the Loch Ness Monster Bigfoot and the like need
very little persuasion to find their own truth in pictures like these. The will
often endure wide spread ridicule from the rest of the human race for their
passion and theories. They want to believe therefore they do. There is little
doubt that when the image appeared in newspapers it cause and immediate stir,
and we are still talking about it today.
It is also is a wonderful
example of how we humans are very inclined to put their faith in things that
seem to leave room for doubt. Is it because we live in such an expansive and diverse
universe that we are so willing to believe in the extraordinary to make
ourselves feel less insignificant? Or is it simply that our desire to believe
in the supernatural makes many other things in our world that cannot be
explained less scary to us? I am not really sure I just know I like it.
Now you may be inclined
to dismiss those who believe in the existence of these creatures as ignorant crackpots,
and you are certainly welcome to do so. To me, when you do you are missing a
critical part of what it means to be human. It does not matter that the picture
is of a real monster. It only matters what it represents. Like most photos that
truth is a varied as the people who see it.
Michael,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog design. It looks very professional, and I am glad that you have added links so that your readers can further look into the subject and where you got your information. I love the idea of looking back at famous/iconic photos throughout history. I am interested to see in what other ones you choose to highlight. One thing I will suggest that you might want to consider for future posts would be to attach larger photos. These photos are the topic for each individual post, so they should make a dominant appearance in each photo so that your audience can get a better look at them in order to really examine them before and after reading your commentary.
Good thoughts ... Thanks Haley
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