An Indiviudal Responsibility

I feel that in today's society, the way we perceive images has changed due to overexposure of what used to be taboo topics. The judgement of an individual has been tainted by a lack of responsibility on their part when searching for such images.
Susan Sontag states in her book In Regarding the Pain of Others, “Transforming is what art does, but photography that bears witness to the calamitous and the reprehensible is much criticized if it seems ‘aesthetic;’ that is, too much like art” (76). She also goes on to day that war photography is "beautiful."
I agree with Sontag's statements on how culture chooses to judge photographs, but I also think it is the overexposure due to unlimited access via the Internet that has caused much of this chaotic storm over photos of dead soldiers or grouse scenes of war. War photographs are unique in the fact that they tell a story that few may ever experience and no two are alike. These should be preserved, not transformed into grouse examples for political gain. When these pictures show up outside of the privacy of our laptops there is an immediate reaction by others for viewing them. I think the "art" in war photography has been lost. It is an art form to take a great war photograph, just like it involves great skill and determination to make a great painting. This can be seen in Clint Eastwood's 2006 film Letters from Iwo Jima.
In Eastwood's film, the main characters are just that - characters. Similar to fictitious person in a painting, his work of art is the story. While it was based on real letters and factual knowledge of the battle on Iwo Jima - by personifying these people in character in a movie is creating art. Just like creating a good photograph in wartime. It is the response of the public which ultimately judges the images Eastwood has created. Decades ago, Eastwood's movie might have no even been showed because of its graphic nature. Because the public has been overexposed to the horrific images of war, they are not as likely to last out against a film like this one.
I feel like no image should ever be censored, but I also believe that the general population has a moral responsibility to judge for themselves what is good and bad in a war photograph. It is not up to Eastwood to censor his work, just as it is not up to the news organization to dictate what images should be seen. The overexposure is a problem with the individual not the public as a whole. An individual should educate themselves on a topic like Iwo Jima before believing or judging any photograph they see. It is also important for captions to carefully explain exactly what is going on to prevent any false judgements.