Despite the fact that photographs were always malleable in the darkroom, panic still ensued over the degradation of the real as digital photography developed. Perhaps any new technology goes through a period of distrust until people become used to it, and I think it is safe to say that today our grasp on reality has not been dramatically unhinged by digital technology, at least not yet. I was surprised to learn that the images of the SUV were computer-generated, but that does not mean that I'm plugged into the matrix. People can even immerse themselves in 3D CGI films and still emerge completely sane, or at least as sane as they were to begin with.
Throughout the evolution of the photograph, the mediums may have changed, but it still remains basically the same thing. We use memory cards instead of film, but they both carry the impressions made by light. We used to use shoe boxes, now we have digital files. There is a different feel to it. Shoe boxes and photo albums can be more intimate and precious, and even quaint today, but we are still within our abilities to print out are digital pictures and store them in a shoe box if we so desire.
The real clamor over the manipulation of photographs was not so much caused by the photographs, but more likely by a limited understanding of photography and the non-existant "normal" photograph. People thought that photography must be a certain way and only that one way, whereas in reality there is a whole spectrum of different photographies that do not fit the cultural preconceptions.
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