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Photoshopping The Vietnam War

by | 3rd, February 2008

viet_cong.jpgIT 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