Photojournalism in War
• Many citizens of a nation engaged in war are often not
directly affected by war – especially if the war is being
fought overseas.
• These days, there is always new information about the war
in Iraq on the news. For example, they tell us that in
February, there were 29 documented U.S. deaths. As
insensitive as it may sound, the death toll can seem like just
a number when war feels far removed from our lives.
• Photojournalism can effectively bring home the full depth
of the horrors and tragedy of war. These photos are
powerful means to disillusion people as to the realities of
war and provoke action.
Photo by George Strock,
(Sept. 20, 1943)
This picture was the
first photo of dead
American soldiers ever
released. The American
public was shocked in
the face of the grim
realities of World War II,
but ultimately became
more motivated than
ever to win the war.
"Three dead Americans lie on the beach at Buna“ –Life magazine
Photo by Margaret
Bourke-White
Upon arrival at one
death camp,
General Patton
became so enraged
that he had 2000
German civilians
brought in to
witness the horrors
of what their
leaders had done
with their own eyes.
“German civilians made to face their nation's crimes,
Buchenwald 1945” –Life magazine
“Eisenhower with other US Officers at Dachau after liberation”
A 14 year-old victim
of the Hiroshima
atomic bomb.
"Street Clashes Go On in Vietnam, Foe Still Holds Parts of Cities;
Johnson Pledges ‘Never to Yield’” –The New York Times
“Vietnam Napalm, Trang Bang” –Time magazine
Photo by Eddie Adams, (1968)
This photo captures the moment just before the execution of a man
suspected of being a Viet Cong soldier by a South Vietnamese General.
Photo by Huynh Cong "Nick" Ut, (June 8, 1972)
This photo depicts a scene after a South Vietnamese fighter plane opened
fire on civilians and its own soldiers. The group is captured struggling to
escape the relentless cloud of burning napalm which is so unbearable that
the girl in the center has torn off all her clothes.
These two iconic images represent not only the experience of war,
but also the power that photos can have. These pictures reinforced
the growing sense of futility in Americans of continuing to fight in
the Vietnam War and played a part in turning public opinion
against the war. They became prominent rallying points around
which anti-war protesters gathered.
"The Unknown Rebel"
Photo by Jeff Widener, (1989)
This photo depicts a lone protester who stopped the advance of tanks
on Tiananmen Square for half an hour.
Photo by Tami Silicio
(April 7, 2004)
This photo created an
uproar when released,
even forcing Pentagon
to temporarily reverse
its policy of pretending
that there were no war
dead by not releasing
photos of the war dead.
(http://keithwj.typepad.com/
-Seattle Times
commentary/2004/04/disrup
tive_tech.html)
The crew carefully loads coffins of the dead U.S. military personnel
killed in Iraq onto a cargo plane to be taken back to America.
• Photographs are able to capture and relate the immediate
truth of the inhumanities of wartime in a way that mere
words cannot. It is because of this innate property that the
photographs shown above were able to provoke such strong
responses – of disbelief, horror, and awe – which in turn
generated much needed action.
• Photojournalism is one of the most significant mediums
with which to document war. It has the potential to make
the war directly applicable to everyone. Thus,
photojournalism plays a very important role in the way the
public not directly engaged in war activities experiences
war.
Photo Sources
Slide 2: http://www.luminous-lint.com/__sw.php?action=ACT_SING_ TH&p1=13
Slide 3: http://www.uiowa.edu/policult/politicalphotos/holocaust2.html
Slide 4: http://isurvived.org/TOC-I.html
Slide 5: www.mctv.ne.jp/~bigapple/
Slides 6 & 7: www.wellesley.edu/.../ThreeImages/brady2.html
Slide 9: www.frontlineclub.com/club_exhibitions.php?id=1
Slide 10: ttp://www.newmediamusings.com/blog/2004/04/woman_loses_job. html