Perhaps some of the easiest visual culture that can be compared in modern times is media coverage in China. In 1989, after months of peaceful protesting by civilians in Beijing, the Chinese government ordered the protesters moved out of Tiananmen Square. Hundreds, and perhaps thousands of protesters were killed by the Chinese army. During this time, China imposed a media blackout, including foreign news stations. Word was eventually leaked out, and several hours later news stations around the world began reporting what was happening, although the details were murky, and pictures were blurry and scarce. It took weeks for full details to leak, and the full story of why the violence escalated and number of casualties may never be fully disclosed.
20 years later, riots once again rocked parts of China. However, with the advent of the internet, social media sites, and cell phones, eyewitness accounts were available almost immediately. Any attempt at a media blackout by the government was circumvented by people's ability to access the internet, and post their footage. The following footage is of riot police confronting protestors. This footage was taken with a camera phone, and posted to the internet.
In the modern world of immediate global communication it will probably be impossible to attempt to cover up any kind of large scale incident anymore. This leads to new issues though, as more people than ever have the ability to manipulate footage, and therefore global opinions. This could easily be used to spread misinformation, which in turn could have dire consequences.
It will be fascinating to see how this instant media plays out and affects our "global village".
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