Current Street Photography is Junk Photography

First of all, watch this video:

A clarifications: there are several street documentary photographers making it great. But in fact they are not participating in those festival/awards where the judges are always the president of women street photographers (sic) and the f. Parr.

This video serves as a stark example of the issues I have with much of contemporary street photography, which I consider to be junk photography.

You can see it's produced by individuals in a playful mood, lacking empathy, with superficial and repetitive content, wrapped in an overly polished and cloying aesthetic. So much of this photography is devoid of meaning, offering no insight into the world around us or the photographer themselves. The only solace is that this type of street photography is destined to fade away. Actually, no, it's already dead.

I believe awards and festivals contribute to perpetuating a distorted idea of what street photography should be. Far too many now see street photography as a trivial pursuit, when, properly supported by a deeper cultural context, it can be a powerful medium for addressing significant issues—especially in today's world where journalism often adheres to a singular narrative. For me, photography is a profound art form. My influences include Ugo Mulas, not Martin Parr, or his friend Bruce Gilden, who goes so far as to pretend medical certificates in foreign lands. It's clear how uninformed he is when he dismisses "Blow Up" and Michelangelo Antonioni as overrated. Indeed, if you lack the cultural grounding to support your arguments, perhaps it's time to stop mythologizing certain photographers, whom even the likes of Henri Cartier-Bresson criticized.

Do you think crafting tall tales or inflating your bio with tough-guy stories limits my perception? No, a true tough guy ventures into dangerous environments alone to capture images, much like I do, or as Boogie and other respected colleagues do. Do you still believe in the facade of being a gangster's offspring?