Looking through dementia : what do commercial stock images tell us about aging and cognitive decline?

Harvey, Kevin and Brookes, Gavin (2019) Looking through dementia : what do commercial stock images tell us about aging and cognitive decline? Qualitative Health Research, 29 (7). pp. 987-1003. ISSN 1049-7323

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Abstract

Commercial stock images are existing, artificially constructed visuals used by businesses and media outlets to articulate certain values, assumptions and beliefs. Despite their pervasiveness and accessibility, little is known about the ways in which stock images communicate meanings relating to health and illness. This study examines a broad range of common stock images that depict dementia and aging, revealing the tendency for older people with dementia to be represented in objectifying and de-humanizing terms—emphasizing disease and deficit at the expense of the whole person, whereas precluding any possibility of enduring personhood. As well as introducing a multimodal critical discourse approach that can be adopted by other researchers examining the ideological underpinnings of health and illness imagery, this study underscores the importance of critically interrogating stock photography—a much neglected, yet profoundly influential, cultural resource that can shape the ways we think about and respond to illness and disease.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Qualitative Health Research
Additional Information:
The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Qualitative Health Research, 29 (7), 2019, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2019 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Qualitative Health Research page: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/qhr on SAGE Journals Online: http://journals.sagepub.com/
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2739
Subjects:
?? dementiaagingmultimodal critical discourse analysisvisual communicationstock imagesgettypublic health, environmental and occupational health ??
ID Code:
128622
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
29 Oct 2018 10:04
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
07 Nov 2023 23:42