Diegesis: man dressed in army garb, a man holding a gun to the head of another man facing away from the camera, a man who has his hands tied behind his back and a gun to his head. These figures are on a city block and there are buildings in the background.

Signifiers: three men, the gun, the buildings in the background.

Signified: Because the man who has his hands behind his back and a gun to his head has a facial expression that clearly indicates that he is extremely distressed, it can be ascertained that there is a very real problem between him and the man putting the gun to his head. Based on the man dressed in army garb, which indicates this is a situation where someone from the army is needed, such as a war, and based on the facial expression, we know that this is not a game, but rather it is a life or death situation; in fact, it is a situation that will result in a death moments following the camera shutter closes.

Myth: There is good guy verses bad guy present in this photograph that is independent of the historical event. Regardless of what the circumstances may be, the man on the right possesses so much vulnerability and so little power in the scenario and this vulnerability and powerlessness demands to be seen. The myth that this photo gives is that some people deserve to die and on the other hand, that war is evil. This photo also exposes the myth of a glorified war or a faultless war that is present in history books and news coverage. There is no getting around the fact that what is going on here is distressing at best.

Diegesis: man with a gun who is falling onto a grassy hill.

Signifiers: man, the gun, the grassy hill, the landscape in the background.

Signified: It can be ascertained that the man is falling down because his knees have buckled, but because his arm has flailed out to the side and his head is lulled back, the viewer must realize that he has been shot. It is harder to understand that he has just been shot because the shooter is not pictured, although the utter lack of control in his body indicates death.

Myth: The cultural story that we tell ourselves about war is that it is necessary and that our side is in the right, and so what we do in war is justified. This is the exact instant that this man ceased to live on this earth. This confronts viewers with the reality of war in an intimate way. It is known that death occurs in war, but statistics are removed and a visual image of the instance a man dies is impacting.