Pictures Of Princess Diana example essay topic

Memories of "Our Princess" Do you visualize a particular image when an event is brought up, that directly relates your thoughts to it? People often do not encounter the events they tell stories about. Usually their information comes from "pictures and stories that circulate from one generation to the next". This memory is called postmemory and is what Marianne Hirsch used in "Projected Memory; Holocaust Photographs". The pictures of horrific worldly events are put on covers of magazines and televise as special news alerts, and it is these pictures that people see when reflecting back. In relation to Hirsch's idea of postmemory, the same concept applies to the life and death of Princess Diana.

Her overwhelming life was taken at an early age, and though the world did not know her on a personal level, the images the media provide us with act as though we did. Many events and memories that people have recollections of are not directly related to them, but rather indirectly, still having an effect. According to Hirsch, the knowledge people have of historical events are "produced from books, movies, magazines, and television documentaries". Much of history is not history at all, but memories that have been produced. Marianne Hirsch reflects her interest of photography and memory and its effect on people in "Projected Memory: Holocaust Photography". She uses pictures to illustrate how immensely horrible the Holocaust was and to show how the Germans tried to eliminate the Jewish race.

One picture presented stimulates memories of the Holocaust and reminds me of Schindler's List: the picture was troops holding a gun to a little boy's back. This essay and the pictures that were used help the readers relive the events of the Holocaust although one may not have been present during that time. The Holocaust was a tragedy that no one wants to relive but through photographs and documentaries people are able to experience it and learn of the horrible mistreatment of the Jewish race during Hitler's reign in World War II. The tragedy of Princess Diana is marked by the photographs of her life, the deadly wreck, and her funeral. Before her death, her royal life was widely publicized, and she was known around the world as "The People's Princess". She was a charitable woman, close friends with Mother Theresa, and often visited children in poverty stricken countries.

Her big heart and concern led people to believe she was an ordinary person, not a member of the Royal Family. Images of a beautiful, glowing lady always lending a helping hand were present before her death. The Princess of Wales was extremely known for her charity work, involved with more than one hundred charities during her marriage including the homeless, disabled, and HIV. After her divorce she maintained close involvement with six of these continuing to work with young homeless people, leprosy, Aids, and two hospitals that were dedicated to cancer research. Before her death, Princess Diana became involved with land mines, visiting many around the world, to spread the word to ban the use and manufacture of them. In the end, it would be the very people who published these pictures of Princess Diana that caused her death.

She and her partner were trying to escape the paparazzi when their car crashed on August 31, 1997. Some argue that because the driver was intoxicated he caused the wreck, but others blame the paparazzi for initiating a high-speed car chase that ended the princess's life. For this nation to take notice or action, it sometimes takes a tragedy to occur. Some events cause people to remember the exact time and place that they were when learning of the news. I woke up the next day after Princess Diana's death had been confirmed, and remember my mother telling me to turn on the television and watch the news. I asked why but her only reply was to watch the news.

When I turned on the television, the first thing I saw was an alert that Princess Diana had been killed in a high-speed car chase. That is a day I will never forget. The memories I have of her will not remain with this generation of people who were alive during her life and death, but will be passed down to other generations through photographs, as the Holocaust is remembered by later generations through the same images. Her funeral was one of the most watched broadcasting's on television. More than one million people lined the streets of London to pay their respect and say goodbye to Princess Diana. I remember watching this and seeing the people crying, placing flowers, pictures and cards on the streets, and lighting candles in her memory.

The image of the cards and flowers that covered the sides of the streets is what I remember most, and also her sons that follow her coffin during the funeral. Magazines, television, media, paparazzi, and other sources of documentation enabled the world to know "Our Princess". In my opinion, she was a very courageous, outgoing, caring person who used her life to help the less fortunate. She seemed down-to-earth and she did not act as though her fame or power made her more important than any other person; this characteristic causes me to respect her Princess Diana as an individual and the charity work she participated in as well. The death of Princess Diana will be an everlasting memory that remains in the minds of many people. She was not only known in England, but she was a common name in homes worldwide.

Many people relate her name to her smiling photographs portrayed in the media, horrific pictures of the car she was riding in when her life ended, and photographs of her two sons walking with her casket at her highly publicized funeral. Although the nation did not know her on a personal level, it is the images that portray her that have enabled people to remember her. The fact that she was famous or a member of the Royal Family did not cause people to be fascinated with her; it was her charm, giving heart, and ability to interact with normal people around the world.