Images of War 

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:
From the Civil War to Wars in Iraq and the Mideast, photographic images have played a 
major role in how we perceive and understand conflicts. On this web site, we offer some of 
the still photos taken by photographers: some have been published in newspapers 
and online, some have not. (In addition, you will find resources related to previous
wars and more recent conflicts) 

As students consider photographs/video, they should keep in mind the following questions:

- who took the images and for what purpose?
- who is being shown? who is not being shown? why or why not?
- how might the current conflict restrict a photographer?
- are war photographers free to go where they want or are they accompanied by 
military personnel?
- how might the "embedding" of news personnel help/restrict our understanding?
- how might a specific photo/video be used to sway public opinion?
- has your local newspaper printed pictures of people injured or killed? If not, why not?

Recommended reading: Media Literacy Skills: Interpreting Tragedy

IN THE NEWS: recent news articles
(listed chronologically; other background readings follow below)

Hanging of Saddam Hussein: Media Deals With Images (Dec.2006)
A Chilling Photograph's Hidden History
Skepticism Rampant Over War ‘Fauxtography’
In Wars, Quest for Media Balance Is Also a Battlefield
Media Fatique
Is America watching a different war? (Democracy Now)
For Photographer, Lebanon a Different Kind of War
Photos: Lebanon: A Tale of Two Nations
Object Lessons: Photos That Open our Eyes to War (WP July 2006)
Video-sharing sites unfiltered images of war to the screen
Show Me The Bodies (NYT, June 2006)
Real or fake (National Journal, April 2006)
Military tightens use of electronic media (Sept.2005)
Gathering views images of U.S. war dead (Aug. 2005)
Ethical double standard for war photographs? (July 2005)
Bosnian video of atrocities shakes families (June 2005)
Prison Images (of Saddam Hussein) Raise Issues for World Media
Portrait of War: Unseen photos, untold stories (LA Times May 2005)
Not a pretty picture: why won't US papers run graphic images (May 2005)
Readers and journalists discuss the value of graphic images in newspapers. (March 2005)
Images of War American Journalism Review (Oct/Nov.2004)
Panel: U.S. newspapers running more tragic photos in wake of 9/11
Selling War (propaganda exhibit)
TV images driving public discourse on war (May 2004)

Sources for Israeli/Lebanese war photos:

To locate the latest photos: go to    http://news.yahoo.com
In the toolbar, pull down NEWS PHOTOS; next search for "Mideast" and "war"

War Poster Parody   1   2        

Other Sources of Images  from the War with Iraq      

Background Readings/Resources  

American Photography: Photography & War (PBS)
Lesson: "To Censor or Not To Censor? The Power of War Photos"
In this lesson students analyze photographs of a particular
20th century war and debate government censorship of photos
taken during wartime.
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/americanphotography/teachersguide/war_parent.html

Committee to Project Journalists

Critically Viewing Photographs: Civil War, Lesson Plan

Digital camera exposes wartime brutality

Images of War: Combat Photography (1918-1971)

Images of War (Civil War) Lesson Plan

Images of War: WWII Posters

Journalists at War  

LA Times Admits War Photographer Altered Image      AP Story

Military Censorship of War Photographs

Militia's Other Weapons: Videos (8/24)

Photographer fired for taking photos of solider's caskets/controversy (4/23)

Photoshopping from the Front Lines

Photo Wars (Mother Jones, May 2004)  Torture Photos

Shock value: Horror of terrorism playing on home TV screens

Still Photos Capture The War's Real Deal

Terrorists' visual warfare uses the media as weapon (8/4)

Theatre of Combat (Art News March 2007)

The Spanish-American war, in Motion Pictures

Through the Camera's Lens: The Civil War in Photographs (Lesson Plan)

U.S., media fight battle of images
White House ban on photographs of slain soldiers questioned by many. 

War on Film (PBS: Art In The 21st Century)

War Photographer Warns of Censorship, Challenges

War Photography's Power Page 1  Page 2

War In Iraq: Coordinates Of Conflict (photographic exhibit)




Links to other war images:

Recommended Texts/Videos

Hollywood Goes to War: How Politics, Profits and Propaganda Shaped World War II Movies

Cameras on the Battlefield- Photos of War (Middle School)

BOLDPRINT  Images of War (High School)

Faces of The Enemy (video)
(available from California Newsreel)

Memories of WWII: Photographs from the Archives of the AP 
(2004)  ISBN: 0810950138

Civil War Photographers and Their Work: Portraits of War
Twenty First Century Books (1998)  ISBN: 0-7613-3019-4

Shooting Under Fire: The World of the War Photographer, Peter Howe,
Publisher: Arisan Sales;  ISBN: 1579652158
 

Page last updated: 03/18/2007