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Steve McCurry's 1985 National Geographic "Afghan Girl" photograph was used to "epitomize the plight of refugees displaced by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan" (Edwards 75). The photograph exploded in popularity and has come to be considered an iconic image used to represent the victims of political conflict. This image was taken solely for National Geographic. There is a power dynamic between the person who took this photo and the girl who is photographed. This photo is not just about a picture of a girl, rather it is taken to show something. This image was immeshed in the Cold War and Soviet relations, which explains why she was a refugee. The most important aspect of this image is the piercing, pleading gaze that she is holding with the viewers. Edwards says, "Afghan Girl is a riveting portrait of a female looking over her right shoulder, her eyes blaze. Apart from a few ragged holes in the shawl covering her hair, there are no indications of her status or identity. She is mute and even frozen, but the protective hunch of her shoulder and the slight obduracy of her mouth suggests resilience, or perhaps resistance. Ultimately it is the eyes that confront and mesmerize" (Edwards 79). Her eyes hold the viewer accountable and demand involvement. Edwards goes on to say, "If she seems bound, so are we--held captive by the girl's unflinching, verdant gaze. We do not look up to her or down to her, but rather directly at her, and that face off is crucial to the impact of the image. Indeed, it is her glare that dictates the terms of the encounter and forces a declaration of intent. Looking at her, we admit ourselves" (ibid). People looked at this photo and had the opportunity to feel protection for the child. This photo resulted in donations to refugee causes. |
| This image is considered by many to be the single most identified tipping point of the anti-war sentiment. Hariman says, "Eddie Adams' photo of General Nguyen Nguc Loan executing a bound Vietcong prisoner of war remains one of the searing indictments of the criminal conduct of that war" (Hariman). Despite the fact that the death was seen as justifiable by many, the vulnerability that he shows (which we discussed in the semiotic analysis of this photograph) immediately evokes sympathy. Hariman goes on to say, "Adams went to his grave insisting that the photograph was being misused because the execution was a justifiable act in the context of the battle for Saigon. That may be so, but the literal dimension of the image has from the beginning been irrelevant to its distribution, interpretation, and acclaim. The photograph's rhetorical power comes from its symbolic and ethical implications in respect to the justification of the war itself. Whatever else was happening on the street that day, this image provides stunning illustration that the war was spiraling far out of control: militarily, politically, and morally" (Hariman). Two deaths occurred in this scenario 1) The death of the Vietcong prisoner and 2) The social vilification death of the man shooting the prisoner. |  |
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Self proclaimed street artist Shepard Fairey was motivated in 2007 by an invitation and by his own political persuasion to create a poster for the Barack Obama presidential campaign. The poster he created is now known as the Obama Hope iconic image, which represents the Obama 2008 presidential campaign. It was a true, serendipitous occasion that gave a visual touchstone to the magical enthusiasm that the Obama campaign was awakening across America. Within days, thousands of posters, digital images and other campaign paraphernalia were sold or given away and the image soon became viral because Fairey made a free download available on his website (Fairey. Obey: Supply & Demand: the art of Shepard Fairey). This organic progression of the creation and dissemination of the poster fit perfectly with the Obama campaign, which had an inclusive, grass-roots quality, although also very hip and high-tech oriented. Without the political climate and the emotional state of the American people, this image would not have become iconic. The Obama hope poster gives the American people an idealized sense of what the country should be, and what the country will be under Obama's presidency. In their book, "No Caption Needed: Iconic Photographs Public Culture, an Liberal Democracy" Robert Hariman and John Lucaites say, "[iconic] images provide a more or less idealized sense of who we are and what we ought to be, and they allow anyone to have a sense of personal affiliation with large scale events. A key factor may be that these images are experienced within the ordinary routines of everyday life..." (2). They also illuminate a problem with the understanding of iconic images. They say, "popular images disseminated, promoted, and repeatedly reproduced by large-scale corporations and seamlessly sutured into the material practices of ordinary life, whether documenting victory or disaster, surely these images exemplify ideology at work" (ibid). They go on to discuss issues of "social authority and its objectification of the other..." (ibid). They continue, "the images standing out above the billions of other images scattered through media cannot be exempt from the laws of power, but they may be reflecting other forms of social, political, and artistic consciousness as well" (ibid). David Craven discusses the specific Obama iconic image by saying, "...the location of this iconic image (over a half a million were made) on the margins of 'respectable society' has been maintained, even as the embrace by mainstream society is unchanged" (644). The political climate was extremely important in allowing this image to become iconic. Hariman and Lucaites say, "social knowledge and dominant ideologies, shape and mediate understanding of specific events and periods ... influence political behavior and identity, and provide inventional (figurative) resources for subsequent communicative action" (Hariman and Lucaites. "Visual Rhetoric, Photojournalism, And Democratic Public Culture." 37-38). A major factor contributing to the popularity and impact of the Hope poster is the political climate to which it was introduced; it could be viewed as a reaction to the negativity of the time. "The election also came in the context of a severe financial crisis, a deeply disliked war, and an unusually unpopular sitting president" (Finn and Glasier 263). |
It is understandable that the theme of hope would catch the imaginations of the majority of Americans. Citing a Yale University study conducted by Roseman, Abelson, and Ewing, the authors of "Voter Affect And The 2008 U.S. Presidential Election: Hope And Race Mattered" offered research support that establishes a strong connection between a political agenda and the emotional resonance of the public to that agenda (Ibid). America was ready for the hope that was being promised by the Obama campaign. Finn, Christopher and Glaser conclude, "This theory offers a promising lens through which to view the 2008 election, which occurred in a climate of considerable fear (over the economic crisis) and anger (over the Iraq war and political corruption), and entailed a salient hope theme" (Ibid). It seems likely that the emotionally charged focus of hope in the Obama campaign was an important factor because it fit perfectly to assuage the angst of the country, or at least give America the idea that things could get better. Fairey's Obama Hope poster is the coalescence of the candidate's attributes and persona along with the emotional excitement and neediness of the country. Hope is "communicated not only linguistically through the use of the word itself, but visually as well in complex ways that position Barack Obama as being different from previous candidates..." (Schreiber 1). Importantly, Obama is first established as the same with "..the upward gaze relies on a Christian art historical trope where a glance to the skies indicates that the subject looks to divine sources for strength and optimism (which was discussed in the semiological analysis). The gaze thus positions Obama as Christian, and as a candidate who will continue the tradition of American presidential belief in God" (Schreiber 2). Fairey's depiction of Obama is readably African American because Obama's facial features, which highlight difference. However, his serious expression and conservative attire comfort the viewer that Obama is uncommon in a familiar way. The implication is that the hope belongs to the American people and Obama can get us there. Shepard Fairey's Hope poster had a significant effect on the presidential election scene in 2008, but also a prolong effect on pop culture of America. This poster has come to "what is widely considered one of the most recognizable pieces of political visual rhetoric ..." (Ben McCorkle. Fairey, Shepard. Interview with Terry Gross). There was broad and enduring appeal for this optimistic iconic image during the 2008 campaign season, although the hope of an American future devoid of racism was not realized, which had been an implicit hope. Nevertheless, the Obama Hope poster is an enduring positive iconic image and continues to represent hope for the future.
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Works Cited
Ben McCorkle – Fairey, Shepard. Interview with Terry Gross. Fresh Air with Terry Gross. WHYY, Philadelphia. 26 Feb. 2009.
Craven, David. "Present Indicative Politics And Future Perfect Positions: Barack Obama And Third Text." Third Text 23.5 (2009): 643-648. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
Fairey, Shepard. Obey: Supply & Demand: the art of Shepard Fairey. Corte Madera, California: Gingko Press, 2006.
Finn, Christopher, and Jack Glaser. "Voter Affect And The 2008 U.S. Presidential Election: Hope And Race Mattered." Analyses Of Social Issues & Public Policy 10.1 (2010): 262-275. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
Hariman, Robert, and John Louis Lucaites. "An Icon Goes Global with a Bang."
No Caption Needed: Iconic Photographs, Public Culture and Liberal
Democracy. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2014.
Hariman, Robert, and John Louis Lucaites. No Caption Needed: Iconic Photographs, Public Culture, and Liberal Democracy. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 2011. Print.
Lucaites, John Louis, and Robert Hariman. "Visual Rhetoric, Photojournalism, And Democratic Public Culture." Rhetoric Review 20.1/2 (2001): 37-42. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
Schreiber, Rachel. "Fairey's Hope." Thirdspace: A Journal Of Feminist Theory & Culture 10.1 (2011): 1-4. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
Reinhardt, Mark, Holly Edwards, and Erina Duganne. Beautiful Suffering: Photography and the Traffic in Pain. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 2007. Print.