THE DOMINANT IMAGE
A dominant image reveals itself over time. It becomes dominant through exposure, gaining the ability to overshadow other images and change the master narrative through control, power, and persuasion. The dominant image can be either positive or negative: as a unifier, it can signal a safe space for the like-minded, or, as a control tactic, can incite fear. An image of violence can bring a community together to pursue justice, but it can also induce fear, depending on how the image circulates. Society’s treatment of the dominant image changes its agency. As we actively consume, use, and circulate, we create the conditions under which the image can dominate. Confiscating the dominant image’s agency works in the same way, through society recognizing what has become dominant and consequently stopping its proliferation. The power of the dominant image lies within the people.
