Kaita Tsuchiya
Li-Anne Delavega
English 100
April 1, 2015
Steve McCurry
In 1991 President Bush placed the ban of photographs of returning coffins from the
Persian Gulf War. But this censorship brought many controversial topics amongst the citizens of
America. Throughout history, war photography has been an ideal symbolism of truth and show
the people what really happens during war. While the government can cover up things they
don’t want people to hear, photos are the most direct instruments of relaying information. In this
new age of visual domination, war photography has taken a new turn to not only portray absolute
truth but to showcase stories of the people and environment engulfed by war. One of the world
renown editorial photographer, Steve McCurry, takes portraits of people who live in third world
countries and portrays their hardships by capturing their unaltered expressions.
The Afghan Girl is one of McCurry’s most famous pictures and was seen on covers of
National Geographic magazines in 1985. This picture portrayed the young 12 year old girl who
was at a refugee camp in Pakistan. In a National Geographic article, “A Life Revealed,” by
Cathy Newman we find out some background information about the Afghan Girl. “Her name is
Sharbat Gula, and she is a Pashtun, that most warlike of Afghan tribes” (Cathy). Both her
parents were lost in a bombing from invading Russians and she lived at the refugee camp with
her brother. Every day was lived in fear of bombings by the invasion going on. These traumatic
experiences have forged this young girl’s expression into one that glared out to the eyes of many.
In this one picture the “Afghan Girl” is being portrayed in many different ways through
her facial expression. From the picture you notice her eyes first. The sea green eyes showcases
the beauty still found in the center of destruction and death. Yet the sights those eyes have seen
are nowhere near beautiful. Her expression is bold holding a sense of hostility and sorrow. In
this portrait she has her head turned almost like she is eyeing you out and asserting her
dominance. You get a sense of strength and pride from this girl. Her wide open eyes and vibrant
eye color captivates the viewer’s gaze. Her red scarf and the turquoise wall being a similar color
to her eyes helped to emphasize her eyes by having a sense of contrast of colors. The way she is
glaring at the camera shows her fearlessness. Her skin is slightly dirty; the holes of her scarf
suggest she lives in a poor environment.
This one picture portrays not only the hardships of this young girl but her stern fighting
will as well. In an interview with Steve McCurry by Graeme Green, McCurry states “I think
there’s a genuine artistic quality to the girl’s expression and her demeanor. There’s an element of
beauty, but there’s also an element of sadness. There’s a lot going on” (Graeme). McCurry
states how the girls expressions can be seen in many perspectives and it prove to show how this
picture gained its popularity. This picture has inspired many already and according to an
interview of McCurry on a CNN article, “The story behind the world’s most famous
photograph”, McCurry states; "People volunteered to work in the refugee camps because of that
photograph, Afghans are incredibly proud of it, as the girl is poor but shows great pride, fortitude
and self-respect” (Jake). This goes to show how the girl’s expressions are the key factor to
portraying the emotions that overflows in this photograph. Her eyes, scarf, and everything else
help to intensify her expressions thus intensifying her emotions.
In another picture taken by Steve McCurry, a young boy is holding a gun to his head
while tears stream down from his face. At first glance viewers are shocked to see that someone
would be able to take such a photograph and not act to ensure the child's safety. This was the
exacts thoughts by a user who posted on WordPress saying, “It made me contemplate the idea of
what photos should be taken and what photos should be substituted for action.”(Images). But
after you have read the subtitles you will know that this is only a toy gun. The subtitle read; “I
saw this young boy weeping on the side of the road in a village in a mountainous area of Peru.
Some of the other children he was playing with were tormenting him. He had a toy gun in his
hand[...].” Only from this will you know that the gun was only a toy, but anyone who views this
would not be able to tell. The boy is wearing a white faded Spiderman shirt and either it was
already dirty from the start or it got dirty while he was being bullied. All of these factors are
used to create a simple but overwhelming photograph.
McCurry is able to capture a straightforward emotion of sadness but with such intensity it
cannot be brushed past. The thing that stands out most in this picture is the gun. An object that
could take away a life in an instant should most definitely not be held by a hand of one so young.
It represents how an object of death is so easily obtained by anyone in such countries where
death is so imminent at the same time how violence is nonchalant in everyday life. The gun is
said to be a toy but in the picture it could fool anyone’s eyes and what's to say that the boy
accidentally obtains a real gun. The boy’s beat up shirt and old wooden background gives a
sense of poverty. He is being portrayed as a victim of abuse from the other children of the
village. His large tear drops overflowing from his eyes glimmer with sorrow and it fills the
viewer’s heart with sadness. McCurry definitely has a pathos usage where it tweaks at the
viewer’s heart just by looking at this picture.
Unlike a painting a photograph will capture the unaltered expression of the subject and
will emit richer emotions. From the academic journal “A Portrait of Non-Identity,” Gerhard
Richter quotes Walter Benjamin, a German philosopher. “For the last time the aura emanates
from the early photographs in the fleeting expression of a human face. This is what constitutes
their melancholy, incomparable beauty.” Steve McCurry focused on the human face which
holds many emotions and expressions to portray those he met on his travels. There are two
different styles from his portraits. One is where he takes time to get to know the person and
learn more about them before taking their portrait and another where he has an unplanned
encounter. But for all his portraits of a single person he always gets the eyes to meet the camera.
Gerhard quotes Jacques Derrida, a French philosopher; "that the portrait captures the eyes,
meaning the gaze, meaning that for which, among other things, photography exists. We assume
of the gaze that it is what the subject itself cannot see in its life.” In portrait pictures the eyes can
tell a good portion of the story behind them. Just by looking at the eyes of the two different
pictures you can already tell the two stories are completely different.
When you juxtapose the two pictures, both of the two pictures strike bold with emotions
but they do in different ways. The boy with the gun pointed to his head has one straight emotion
which is shown through an extreme with the concept of suicide, hence representing depression
and sorrow. On the other hand the portrait of the Afghan girl at first glance seems to be a regular
portrait shot but the different emotions you feel from her bold expression makes it a captivating
one. Also the camera angle of the two is quite different as well. While the Afghan Girl was
taken at eye level of the subject the boy with the gun to his face was taken from a higher angle so
the subject was almost looked down upon. The angle in which the photo was shot changes how
the subject is represented. While the Afghan girl is represented as an strong independent
individual, the little boy is represented as a victim in need of help. With Afghan Girl McCurry
allows the expression to be highlighted through the subjects eyes and clothing colors while in the
boy with the gun he allows the over the top gesture and straightforward expression to do all the
talking.
Steve McCurry is able to portray the hardship endured by these children in such third
world countries where many are poverty-stricken and live in harsh conditions. In many of his
pictures he uses pathos to strike the audience and make it an unforgettable picture. His Afghan
Girl and Boy with gun to head were only two examples of the many photos he has taken in
which each one individually tells a different story. “Each picture stands on its own.” quoted
from Steve McCurry. And this truly does stand by not only the stories of each individual photo
but the way in which the subject is portrayed is also different. In the two photos I have chosen to
juxtapose you can see how their hardships are portrayed in a different fashion but both do not fail
to pick at the audiences heart. Because of their ability to capture the hearts many have gained
recognition of the refugees in Afghanistan and have started support groups because of the
Afghan girl picture. With these portraits sharing stories of the people in third world countries,
many people elsewhere will start to notice the events going on in those countries. The method
McCurry uses in his photography helps to showcase the explicit emotions of people who have
endured great hardship and highlight their expressions.
Work Cited
"Gun to the Head." Images. WordPress, 07 Nov. 2013. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
"Home | Steve McCurry." Home | Steve McCurry. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
Newman, Cathy. "Afghan Girl." A Life Revealed. National Geographic, Apr. 2002. Web. 07 Apr.
2015.
Richter, Gerhard. "A Portrait of Non-Identity." Monatshefte 94.1, Rereading Adorno (2002): 1-9.
JSTOR. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
Simons, Jake Wallis. "The Story behind the World's Most Famous Photograph - CNN.com."
CNN. Cable News Network, 23 Mar. 2015. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
"Steve McCurry: "You Only Live Once." - Curious Animal Magazine." Curious Animal Magazine.
N.p., 25 Aug. 2014. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.