Organization Promotional Videos versus Picture Documentation

In the light of this week's topic about visual documentation, and the power and problems it presents, especially when portraying human suffering, I wanted to share a promotional video for the organization I'm working with (Coaching Corps).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44pTRVsdrxA

I really want to hear what you all think of their portrayal of these low income children and their suffering.

According to Coaching Corps there are over 21 million children in the U.S. living in low income circumstances. The video really attempts to draw on the viewers emotions to make us sympathize for these children and Coaching Corps's cause. What is different about this form of visual documentation versus what was discussed in the articles for the week is that this is a video and not simply a picture. Schonberg and Bourgois go into the great benefits of pictures, but also there drawbacks as they are open to interpretation. The "thousand words" they express could be a "thousand lies" depending on who in the public is viewing the image. That's why they emphasize the importance of context and a small line of description below the image. However with videos, that context is inherently embedded. Thus it is more effective. The only issue is pictures are much more accessible and easier to advertise on a large scale, which videos are a more complex form of media.

So can a technological movement towards videos help correct the faults within the portrayal of suffering through pictures? Or do videos introduce a whole other set of issues in the depiction of human suffering? Is the way this video uses children, music etc. to make us feel sympathetic an even larger wrong or simply a part of the context?