V-J Day: War Photography During The Vietnam War

When examining American photography you must discuss the Farmer Security Administration-Office of War Information, also referred to as the FSA/OWI. This administration was the single and most significant documentary photography project in the history of United States. Photographs taken by members of the FSA/OWI all display and represent American society in different ways to help give a better understanding of major historic events occurring in the United States at this time. The members of the FSA use many formal elements to help illustrate society and its cultural that will enhance our understanding of the FSA/OWI project and United States. In addition, these formal elements such as lighting, framing, subject matter, and detail are used

The 1800’s witnessed technology changing the scenery of war. The invention of photography was the prominent new technology used in the war. The Photographic History of the Civil War volumes gave people insight how surgeons operated back then and how to improve modern medicine, the horrors of the battles, and

During the Vietnam War in 1966, women and children flee villages being bombarded by the Viet Cong in hopes that they could survive. The photograph presented depicts women and children crouching down in a muddy canal as they take cover from an intense Viet Cong fire at Bao Trai, about twenty miles west of Saigon, Vietnam. This represents an iconic photo because it elicits emotion from the expressions and intensity of the subject, the photo cannot be repeated because of its candid nature and its vision of a moment in time, and its historical and social values to those effected by the Vietnam War. An iconic photo is a photograph that has a moral or thematic element which is important to its historical context and meaning.

People’s opinion on the war was greatly influenced by the media. During the Vietnam War, the horrors that were happening on the battlefield were shown to Americans in their living rooms. There was no censorship meaning Americans back home saw dead bodies, Vietnamese children being shot and villages being burnt, all done by American Soldiers. Watching children, babies and old people being killed caused people to label soldiers as murderers and baby killers. Before Vietnam, soldiers had always been shown in a heroic way. But now, reporters would show only parts of a story, the parts that made soldiers look bad. In the Vietnam War, reporters could literally follow soldiers onto the battle fields and show it on television. Also, most photographers were interested in showing the bad aspects of the war such as the remaining destroyed village of Vietnamese or the suffering of soldiers. The media built stereotypes of soldiers at war as part of anti- war protests so photographers would show the parts that benefited anti-war protests and captured only half the story in his photograph. For

Historians have said that the Civil War was the most photographed war until World War II. Dozens of brave photographers lugged around massive cameras, different chemicals, a portable darkroom for processing, and multiple slides of glass. Photographers like Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardner were widely known for their photography in the battlefield, and their photos were spread widely throughout the United States. As these images spread, the public was shocked by the visual reality of war for the first time.

The remembrances of the Vietnam War are often thought upon with mixed emoptions. While there are those who praise the “bravest of men in our country” (Keith 38), some are stirred by the memorial, which happens to also be the most frequently toured site in the capital of the united states. It is covered with the names of over 50,000 men and women who served and died in the war of vietnam, it is regarded as a “shrine to the dead” (Taylor 24)  reminder of the loss of too many young Americans, and of what the war did to the United States and its messianic belief in its own overweening virtue.

In PHOT 501, I learned about the beginning of war photography and about famous war photographers, among all war photographers, there are Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardener. Two days after the war had started, Alexander Gardener who used to be working for Mathew Brady at the time,

Thursday, May 5th was largely focused on art created in response to the Vietnam War in the 60's and 70's.

In the essay, “The War Photo No One Would Publish”, by Torie DeGhett, explains the censorship of the current media. The essay depicts the Gulf War and during the war, an American photographer, Kenneth Jarecke, photographs an Iraqi man that was burned alive. Jarecke wanted to share his picture with the world, but the media would not show gruesome photograph during that time. After the war ended, different news channels in the United States published the photo, but it did not have the same impact it would have received if the war was still going on. On the Contrary, “We Are a Camera”, an essay written by Nick Paumgarten, illustrates Aaron Chase, a professional mountain biker sponsored by GoPro and his journey as he rode along a steep mountain

Before the hand-size cameras people carry around to visually document the interesting events, persons, and objects they approach, photography was not an easy feat. Despite the size and tedious process to capture photos, Mathew Brady, a documentalist from New York, employed a team of photographers to venture into the American Civil War and document its time (Megs and Purvis, 2012). Due to the overwhelming public response after this experiment, photography has proven itself to be a great documentary and communication tool upon the time of the American Civil War.

The Vietnam War, is widely regarded as a conflict that divided public opinion in the United States and influenced civilian perceptions on international relations. The conflict lasted for over twenty years and began after a policy of communism was introduced in the North after the withdrawal of French imperialists. The American government was highly concerned with the spread of communism in Asia (known as the Domino Theory) and wanted to end the possible political threat. Over time, the war has became a part of American social memory and is especially known for its distribution of iconic imagery of civilian atrocities. Through these images, varying tales have been told and have brought into question American values, as well as possible hidden motivations of both the government and the press. Over the course of several decades, a popular myth has formed that photojournalism was a critical hallmark to the effectiveness of the anti-war movement, however the public perception of the imagery was commonly not out of sympathy for the Vietnamese people who were victims, but dissatisfaction with the influx of internal confusion and misinformation. This essay will argue the Vietnam War 's use of photojournalism, ultimately contributed to the questioning of American values, as well as the hidden motives of government and media outlets that remains a concern in modern America.

Photographers were expected to be able to take these mind blowing pictures of the war in rapid action, but the truth is there technology back then wasn’t advanced enough to be able to produce these sort of images. The images took only minutes to develop but a huge

War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy is based on a war photographer who has experienced and witnessed the reality of war. The war photographer has returned to his quite home in England from his latest job. He develops the spools of film, he took in the frontline. As he organizes the pictures, he remembers the terrifying situation he is in, "A stranger's features faintly start to twist before his eyes a half-formed ghost." Then, he sends those pictures to the Sunday newspaper, where his editor will choose the ones to be printed.

War has always been an unfortunate part of our society and civilization. War will sadly and undoubtedly be with us as long as we exist. However, the portrayal of war for many centuries gave a sense of patriotism and romanticism. Then the invention of the camera changed how humanity perceived war in the late to mid 19th century. And all of a sudden, images of war became of shear violence and destruction. The violence in these images would play a significant part in the social and political standpoints of war in our nation.

This site does not try to document the entire history of the Vietnam War but is intended as a picture essay, illustrating some of the incredible conditions under which soldiers from both sides lived, fought, played and ultimately died. Almost all of the images shown were taken by the legendary combat photographer, Tim Page; they are nothing short of