The Price of the Video
The snowboard community runs rampant with riders who love to show off their tricks, and where there is a talented rider, there is always a photographer/videographer to capture it on film. Professional snowboarders, like Marie-France Roy, make riding seem effortless, giving photographers mesmerizing images, but what happens when things go wrong? Because the sport is frequently paired with video documentation, there are just as many, if not more, videos of snowboarders who have yet to master the art of snowboarding. Some people use videos as a training method to study their movements to enhance their abilities, others use videos to document their record-breaking achievements. While the stunts may be perfectly planned, there are some instances, as with many extreme sports, when the stunt goes awry and people get hurt. The footage can be used as a learning tool or a method of teasing the snowboarder in the film for his misfortune. Many of these videos can be found on social media sites such as Instagram, as a collection of online snowboarding fails. Some people find these videos very amusing, but what does it cost for one person’s pain and embarrassment to become another’s viral video?
We must consider whether it is more important to capture the video, or to show compassion for the person of the video.
