Photographs that changed the world

I'm a big fan of Obama and wish he, or someone at least sane, were still president. Nevertheless, I can't agree with you. Obama's election and Obama himself may have changed the world, but neither the newspaper photo of him nor your photo of the two women holding the paper changed the world.

 

Even though I'm skeptical of its power to have changed the course of the Vietnam War at the time, I think a much better argument has been made for Ut's photo of the "napalm girl" having changed the world. Because that single picture did affect many people into being horrified by that war. No single picture of Obama helped him win an election or in any way gave the world info about him that was pivotal. A picture of two unknown women holding a newspaper may have great meaning for you, but did not change the world. The photos of Obama are simply a record of a great President.

 

We got out of Vietnam as a result of military defeat. Ut's famous photo had nothing to do with that.

We got out of Vietnam as a result of military defeat. Ut's famous photo had nothing to do with that.

As I already said, I'm skeptical of the claim that Ut's photo changed the course of the Vietnam War. I wouldn't go so far as to say it had nothing to do with it. As I also said, I think a better case could be made for the power of Ut's photo to have changed the world than any single photo of Obama.

 

Maybe a good example would be the photos from Abu Ghraib, which did have profound effects. They, more than pictures of Obama, changed things. Obama, more than those pictures from Abu Ghraib, changed things. But pictures of Obama not so much.

What did Abu Ghraib photos change?

What did Abu Ghraib photos change?

Do a little research.

 

Here's one paragraph on the subject. There is much written about the repercussions of the discovery of the photos and the torture they showed.

 

"In response to the events at Abu Ghraib, the United States Department of Defense removed 17 soldiers and officers from duty. Eleven soldiers were charged with dereliction of duty, maltreatment, aggravated assault and battery. Between May 2004 and April 2006, these soldiers were court-martialed, convicted, sentenced to military prison, and dishonorably discharged from service. Two soldiers, Specialist Charles Graner and PFC Lynndie England, were sentenced to ten and three years in prison, respectively. Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, the commanding officer of all detention facilities in Iraq, was reprimanded and demoted to the rank of colonel."

By the way, below I've reproduced my first post in this thread, where I stated that I don't think most photos that are considered to have change the world actually changed the world. The comment you picked up on above was my using an example of a photo that could be seen to have changed more than the photo of Obama did. It was a narrow response to a specific example but my using either Ut or Abu Ghraib is only by way of response to their potential compared to the photo of Obama. It shouldn't be taken as anything more than that. And I'm not going to continue to argue with you about minutiae when we obviously agree to begin with.

Those are mostly documentary photos, not street photos. I'm not sure how much they've changed the world as much as they've shown it for what it is. It's up to those of us seeing or making the pictures to change the world, but too often we languish in sympathetic emotions for what is shown and then doing nothing.

We got out of Vietnam as a result of military defeat. Ut's famous photo had nothing to do with that.

Actually that is not backed by the facts of History.

We got out same as we got in, as a result of politics.

Actually that is not backed by the facts of History.

We got out same as we got in, as a result of politics.

 

Defenders of our adventure in Vietnam fantasized "stopping China" with cannon fodder. Didn't work for the French either.

Interesting discussion, just for a perspective on how, why, what analyzed by the Army War College by I believe Major Harold Sumnner "On Strategy, A Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War. Discussed the what it described as flaws in strategic thinking when analyzed through the military political lens of German political theorist Von Clauswitz. I thought it was interesting, including analyzing how we came to be involved as we were. Maybe you've seen it?

Exit stage right... (snagglepuss quote!) Huffington Post article; photo credit to Evan Vucci (I hope I would have tried to compose the very same shot) Edited November 8, 2020 by William Michael

Exit stage right... (snagglepuss quote!) Screenshot from Huffington Post article; photo credit to Evan Vucci (I hope I would have tried to compose the very same shot)

It’s a great AP photo. Perfectly captures the situation. The photo reflects the world. The majority of voters and the majority of voters in the right states in the U.S. have changed the world.

The majority of voters and the majority of voters in the right states in the U.S. have changed the world.

 

The Right voters eh.

Hmmmmm.

I hear some are making lists....

 

Additionally.

Photos that change the world, and photos of world change are two distinctly different things.

Edited November 11, 2020 by Moving On