Photoshopping The Vietnam War
IT is the 40th anniversary of this image of the Vietnam War.
It was taken on 1 February 1968. The picture is of General Nguyan Ngoc Loan killing a Vietcong prisoner.
As noted. But what do you see?
Eddie Adams, who took the picture said of General Loan:
The guy was a hero.
He told Time magazine:
The general killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera. Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world.
People believe them, but photographs do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths.
What the photograph didn’t say was, ‘What would you do if you were the general at that time and place on that hot day, and you caught the so-called bad guy after he blew away one, two or three American soldiers?
When Loan died, Adams sent a bunch of flowers with the inscription:
I’m sorry. There are tears in my eyes.
Media manipulation and bias are nothing new. What do you see?
Posted: 3rd, February 2008 | In: Reviews Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
