The poor soldier from Robert Capa's "Falling Soldier" picture will just not die. He's the Voldemort of the world of photojournalism. The Freddy Krueger of war photography. It seems as if no wizard or hot teenager can ever truly conquer him. This poor man needs a rest. Of course he's not to blame. It appears as if the seemingly endless debate about the "truthiness" of this picture will not unclench it's righteous grip and allow him to go to his final resting place. The big debate, again, of course, is whether or not the picture was "faked." The New York Times weighs in today with an article that you can read HERE. There really is only one correct answer to this never ending question; who cares? This eternal debate reminds me of the sort of discussion that might be had by two stoned, slackers as they examine the relative values of The Partridge Family Vs. The Monkees. Never has so much debate been assigned to a picture of so little interest and minor merit. May he rest in peace.
Posts
4 comments:
Amen to that, Evan
best post I've seen on this in a long time.
If he wasn't dying in that picture, he's certainly dead by now.
I just hope the poor guy isn't being kept here as a ghost over this.
I find your comment a little "Americanised" to say the least! I am sure as an American you will not say the same about some of the classic 2nd world war photo`s. Some which have also entered the debate about faked or not. This photograph (fixed or not) is very important for the Spanish nation as it encompasses the the civil war and has come to represent so many aspects there of.
I would say the same about any cliche, over exposed, over valued, uninteresting picture. In particular much of the "classic 2nd world war photo's." As for the picture being "important for the Spanish nation" I seriously doubt that. I think that their hundreds of years of significant, cultural, contributions and rich history have produced much that is of a far greater importance than this photograph. But that's my "Americanised" view.
Post a Comment