An Image is Worth a Million Words
A picture represents a moment in history that cannot be authentically recreated. To catch an action, an image, or an emotion by film is truly a special gift and one which most people take for granted. For an image to capture a moment that simultaneously speaks for one person, a nation, and a cause is really “worth a thousand words” as Neil Postman puts it (515), even a million. It is irreplaceable by anything other than understanding, appreciation, and wonder. Three memorable photographs that embody these assets are those of five members of the British Royal Family walking behind Princess Diana’s coffin, Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon, and American soldiers raising the flag atop a
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Yet perhaps the most moving expressions were on the faces of Princess Diana’s sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, whose beloved mother was suddenly taken from them a few short days before. It is clear that the shock seemed almost unbearable to these young boys who were now lost because the center of their world, their mother, was dead. People around the world were able to share the pain and sadness of the members of Princess Diana’s family through their expressions, unequivocally portrayed by that one photograph. Furthermore, in his article “‘By Means of the Visible’: A Picture’s Worth,” Mitchell Stephens explains what makes pictures so powerful in conveying emotion by stating, “[. . . ] words [ . . .] must work hard to tell us what a glance could about the expression on that face” (481). In addition to showing the feelings of the British Royal Family, this photograph is a symbol that shows the world that, while Princess Diana is dead physically, she will forever be alive in the memories of her people. Her impact on society will never be forgotten and neither will the courage and strength in the faces of those men that touched the hearts of so many people.
A second memorable picture is that of Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon in July 1969, which is remembered as a celebrated image that represents the power, not only of America but of the whole human race, to conquer space. Surely most
Photography is meant to capture the moment at hand, a moment in history that cannot be duplicated, and in some aspects, attempt to physically hold a memory. However, not every memory is made for the best. Joe Rosenthal snapped this photo on February 23, 1945 during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. This picture, taken hurriedly in fear of missing the ‘moment’, depicts six soldiers: five Marines and one United States Navy Corpsman from the United States hoisting the American flag. These soldiers were standing on the corpses of many people that fought and died in the battle. Having been awarded the Pulitzer Prize, it became a symbol of the United States’s power; however, the battle - ironically - was so minuscule in the span of World War II that it is not taught in most history classes. Americans have glorified the picture without acknowledging the deeper meaning of its history.
On July 16, 1969, NASA launched a shuttle into space containing Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin. They were going to be the first people to step foot on the Moon. This mission into the unknown caused a commotion on Earth. Many reputable news sources across the world created various sources about this event. These are weighted with the high emotions that ran through the world as well as the facts gathered as the brave men first put their footprints on the barren surface of the Moon. The creators of each peice used logos, pathos, and ethos to get the desired response from their audiences.
When Apollo 11 landed on the moon, America surprised the world greatly. While the Soviet Union had sent a man into space before, no man had actually walked on the moon. In the race for space, America and the USSR vied to prove their selves superior by exploring space. Apollo 11’s successful landing placed America
On July 20, 1969 the world watched an American astronaut, Neil Armstrong takes the very first steps onto the surface of the moon. While his colleague Edwin Aldrin watched every activity Neil did from inside the craft. During this time Herb Lock’s cartoon, “Transported” demonstrates a contrast between two worlds, the earth and the moon. In the article “Man takes Takes First Steps on the Moon’ by the Times of London the article explains what Neil and Edwin had to do, to be safe during their visit to the moon. In “The July 16, 1969, Launch: A Symbol of Man’s Greatness” by Ayn Rand, she states the achievements of man taking the first steps on the moon. In the speech “Event of Moon Disaster” by William Safire, he prepared a speech for President
Starting July 16th, 1969 at 9:32 a.m. , the time of the launch, three men would contribute to further space exploration as well as demonstrating what it looks like to push human limits. Just four days later , July 20th, with an estimated 6 million viewers, for the first time people watched as man took his first step on the moon (Moon
Originally published in 1975, Nora Ephron’s essay “The Boston Photographs” is both still relevant and controversial almost forty years later. It deals with the series of three photographs that were published in newspapers across the country. The most important one shows a mother and child falling off a collapsed fire escape. Both have their limbs outstretched. If both had survived, maybe the reaction would have been different. The child survived by landing miraculously on the mother, but the mother ended up dying. The question on everyone’s mind was why the photographer, Stanley Forman, decided to take the photographs instead of trying to help the falling
Imagine the whole world watching one of the most important events in history as the first astronaut to ever walk on the moon cements an intergalactic win for America in the great space race. If it was not for Neil Armstrong’s bravery and courage to go up to the moon, the United States might have never had the confidence to complete a mission like this. This accomplishment help give the United States confidence to expand our horizons through science by creating and making new technology that we are able to use today. Neil Armstrong’s astounding bravery to be the first man on the moon led to more successful launches, further space research, and boosted the confidence of the U.S in the great space race against the Soviet Union. Everybody knows that Neil Armstrong was the first person on the moon, but
One of the most memorable people of modern English history is Princess Diana, and perhaps the most memorable event is her death. Her brother delivered a retrospective eulogy. He recalled good parts of her life and he recalled bad parts of her life. He ensured the public that her sons would be taken care of. He shamed the press for hunting such a virtuous person.Earl Spencer artfully uses parallelism, ethos, and pathos to uplift those mourning with memories and positive stories from her life.
Before starting this project, I knew very little about photography, photographers, or exactly how much impact photographical images have had on our society. I have never taken a photography class, or researched too in depth about specific pictures or photographers. This project has allowed me to delve deeper into the world of photography in order to understand just how much influence pictures can have over society’s beliefs, emotions, and understandings’. I have have chosen two highly influential photographers, Diane Arbus and Dorothea Lange, who I have found to both resonate with me and perfectly capture human emotions in way that moves others.
Photographers have the ability to capture a certain moment in their lifetime. Some of them take advantage of the image in front of them and some do not fully understand the purpose of the moment. Is it worth recording the moment? Everyday people take images on their cell phones because they want to share them with friends and family. In 1993, Kevin Carter went on a trip to Sudan and took a picture of a starving Sudanese girl being stalked by a vulture. However, what photographers, like Kevin Carter, fail to realize is that every time a picture is taken, a part of the individual photographed is taken away. Kevin Carter’s presentation of the starving child serves not only as a claim of the ignorance of American people, but also as the measures
During the Vietnam War in 1966, women and children flee villages being bombarded by the Viet Cong in hopes that they could survive. The photograph presented depicts women and children crouching down in a muddy canal as they take cover from an intense Viet Cong fire at Bao Trai, about twenty miles west of Saigon, Vietnam. This represents an iconic photo because it elicits emotion from the expressions and intensity of the subject, the photo cannot be repeated because of its candid nature and its vision of a moment in time, and its historical and social values to those effected by the Vietnam War. An iconic photo is a photograph that has a moral or thematic element which is important to its historical context and meaning.
Standing in front of 2,000 people along with 2.5 billion people watching on TV, The Earl Spencer delivers the eulogy at the funeral of his beloved sister, Diana, the Princess of Wales, who died a sudden, tragic death. Through his pain and sorrow, The Earl Spencer thanks Diana for her lasting-impact on her loved ones and the world. Rather than dwelling on the loss of Diana, The Earl Spencer stays positive throughout the speech by effectively sharing who Diana was and her impact on her loved ones and the world. The Earl Spencer appeals to ethos by sharing how well he knew Diana and why he was chosen to speak in her honor. He was "…
On July 20, 1969 America finally became first in the protracted space race with the Soviets. On that day for America, Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin of Apollo 11 became the first humans to step foot on the moon. This of course was a massive victory alongside the Soviet Union. “ The first men to land on the moon were launched from the site of KSC (Kennedy Space Center) in 1969, and every human space flight launch in the United States since that time has taken place from the Kennedy Space Center” (Rogier). “Apollo was the NASA program that resulted in American astronauts' making an aggregate of 11 spaceflights a total of 12 astronauts having walked on the moon conducting research there
Set against the backdrop of World War II and its aftermath, the episode examines how photographers dealt with dramatic and tragic events like D-Day, the Holocaust and Hiroshima, and the questions their often extraordinary pictures raise about history as seen
What is a photograph? The simplicity of taking a photograph leads many to ponder its artistic value. Yet, it is undeniable that there are some photos that cause an emotional reaction deeper than simply observing a recorded point in time. Surely, there are photographs that cause more reaction than some modern art pieces. There seems to be two types of photographs. The first classification is the ‘time capture’ photo – an image with the sole purpose of recording a particular event or point in time. The second nature of a photo carries a ‘deeper meaning,’ which has the ability to change the observer’s mood and cause a reaction. But what distinguishes these two varieties? There are a