The Untold Story of a Photograph

In the last Concept Development session, the class was discussing about photos and how the facts they present are different than what viewers assume and this assumptions could lead to communicating some messages regardless of them being true. The War Photo No One Would Publish is an article by Torie Rose DeGhett which was published on theatlantic.com on August 8, 2014 and it is about some photos of the Gulf War that were not published in the time of war in America.

The photograph to be discussed in this blog is taken by Kenneth Jarecke from an Iraqi man who was burned alive while trying to pull himself out of his vehicle. The photo is black and white and it is showing a person who is completely burned. The fire burned most of his features and he is not recognizable. Was he young or middle age? Was he a light or dark skin? It is not easy to say. Overall, it is a very disturbing photo and it is really hard to look at because it is so graphic.

The photo can trigger so many emotions such as hatred (of war), sympathy, sorrow, anger, and revenge. But these emotions may vary based on the point of view of the person looking at the picture. But there is an important point to consider. Although, this person was a soldier who had fought in Saddam Hussein’s army against Americans, the soldier cannot be blamed for the war. He could have been a regular person that had no choice but to join the army. The photo has is not showing any facts about his characteristics, nationality, beliefs, or identity. What viewer instantly sees is the fact that a HUMAN BEING burned to death, a horrible death to even imagine. Maybe this was the reason that Press wouldn’t agree to publish it on that time! There is a very important point mentioned in the article, “the photograph was not published due to editorial choice.”

A photograph can be a very strong communication tool. This has been known for a long time and this may be why even now in the twenty first century in America, the land of freedom, we are witnessing censorship in media. 

http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/08/the-war-photo-no-one-would-publish/375762/