rtray war as truthfully as possible. They seek to raise awareness and inform the public which, in democracies, helps hold elected politicians accountable.
On the other hand, for the propagandist war photographer, the goal is not to describe the truth of war (although sometimes propagandist goals and the truth may intersect) but to use their images to reinforce an official narrative. In the current war in Ukraine, we can see how the battle to shape public opinion (for or against the conflict) is partly driven by imagery. Both sides are using propaganda to rally support.
Importantly, however, our trust in the veracity of the photographic image has declined. In the traditional days of film photography, we tended to believe that ‘the camera never lies’. Photographic images recorded on celluloid film, though edited and selective in their framing, were generally considered to be authentic records. In the current digital era, our confidence in the truthfulness of images has been eroded by our knowledge that digital pictures are relatively easy to manipulate.
Photo by Photo by Sinitta Leunen
War photography’s ‘golden era’ – the Vietnam War
When someone mentions the Vietnam War, several famous photos come to mind – Eddie Adams’ images of a Viet Cong prisoner being executed and Nick Ut’s Napalm Girl, to name a couple. Taken in 1972, Nick Út’s terrifying, Pulitzer Prize-winning, image of a naked girl and other children fleeing a Napalm attack is credited with playing a pivotal role in swaying public opinion against the Vietnam war. Its unvarnished depiction of the child victims of American bombing brought home both the horror and injustice of war.
These and other images taken of the Vietnamese battlefront had a massive impact on the public’s perception of the war. A perception that would forever change the course of history and how society viewed war. Further advancements in technology, including portable colour video recorders, enabled photojournalists to access and capture battle images more easily, with even less technical difficulty than the world wars.
By sharing these new, more realistic images and videos, the public was brought even closer to the realities of war. This connection to, and awareness of the true experience of battle helped shift the public’s understanding of war. Once viewed as brave young men going off to serve their country, enlisted and professional soldiers were now met with deeper compassion and a more profound understanding of the suffering they, and many civilians, had endured.
Images from the Vietnam War provided evidence that energised the growing anti-war movement. Several famous and emotionally powerful photographs from this period weren’t even of the battlefield. Rather, they were captured on American soil. The Flower Child by Marc Riboud became an iconic image of the anti-war movement. In fact, for many war photographers the underlying message of their images is naturally anti-war.
Photo by Photo by Rebecca Harris
Where we stand today
As mentioned, changes in tech have played a significant role in transforming both the photographic process and the way we see and understand photographs. This is particularly true for the transition from film to digital. Today, the context in which war photographs are created is completely different.
Near universal access to mobile phones, the internet, and social media has ushered in a new era of almost instant coverage. Anybody, anywhere, can photograph what is happening in front of them and make it globally accessible.
We saw this when photographs of bombings in Kyiv were published online almost instantly. People were able to share first-hand reports of the invasion via their social media accounts. As a result, war photography is no longer the sole preserve of professional photojournalists. The citizen journalist is a new unregulated source of information and imagery. One that provides us with instant, first-hand accounts of the individual experience.
Leaving out the middleman
This new level of citizen-generated coverage leaves less room for government-curated prop