Hamish Johnson Mr. Patterson-Gram History 12 2-3 24 November 2018
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Johnson 1 Hamish Johnson Mr. Patterson-Gram History 12 2-3 24 November 2018 Effect of Conflict Photojournalism on Government Actions and Censorship Throughout the twentieth century, there has been a rapid increase of information available to the general public. From print and radio to television and even internet, the “average joe” now has access to live information from around the world (whether it is accurate or not is another question entirely). This huge societal shift is in part due to the rise of multimedia equipment and journalism having played a large role in shaping not only our modern governments but our expectations from the world around us. Being able to condense the raw elements of emotion, storytelling, perspective, and history into a single photograph gives photojournalism its unique appeal to the public. If a picture is worth a thousand words, why not use it? The essential trait of photojournalism, whether it be for social change, humanitarian crisis, wars both local and afar, or daily news, boils down to “bearing witness.”1 The power of photojournalism to allow one to see the outside world is unparalleled in terms of efficiency. However, this convenience is not always a virtue for governments and organizations that wish to limit knowledge or access to the general public. As the ease of use of media technologies has increased, governments, especially in war, have needed to adapt to new forms of censorship and secrecy to protect reputation and control the public. For most of human history, conflicts have been directly recounted to the public by the victors and typically through the government. This allowed for powerful propaganda and control over the truth. With this control, it was fairly simple for governments to keep their citizens in order without force or oppression. A people who believe in their government, and are content with their view of the world, will be happy enough and well behaved. Throughout the first and second World Wars, there was fairly little direct reportage from the conflict. Almost all photos and 1 “What Is Photojournalism?” The Spruce Crafts, https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/an-introduction-to-photojournalism-2688644. Johnson 2 documents were screened and censored by the government or used for propaganda, and of the few contraband photographs that snuck their way out of the war, most didn't see the light of day for many years, if ever. In recent research, it has been noted that numerous photos from the Great War and the Second World War were captioned under false pretenses to suit the publisher’s government. By the time the Vietnam war broke out in 1954, there had been a myriad of advancements in the field of photography that allowed waves of photographers to enter into battle with more film, faster cameras, and swift communication with their agencies at home, meaning countless photos could be pumped out to the point where the western market was saturated. Photojournalism's strongest roots lie within the Vietnam War, not only because of the cruel and brutal actions by the hands of both sides, but due in large part to the civil unrest and activism in the United States. The Vietnam War is characterized by the blunt and brutal images of war that originated in the war-torn nation. From executions to homes being razed to the ground, the North American public had front row seats to the atrocities that took place over the eight years that followed. The wide photographic coverage was a novel development for the American government and thusly there was very little done to restrict the reaches of photojournalists overseas. This is partially due to the fact that coverage initially consisted of pro-American stories, but quickly shifted perspective as shocking events of violence and monstrosities shook the foundations of many Americans. The style of most reporting on the war involved bold images that played deeply into one's feeling of fear, sadness, or anger. Scores of these images, such as the “Napalm Girl”2 by Nick Ut at Trảng Bàng in 1972, or “Saigon Execution”3 by Edward Adams in 1968, displayed horrible artifacts of war that ultimately lead people to develop their own conclusions. It was no longer a case of supporting one's government because of the protection they provide, but of questioning their ethics and pushing for one's personal policies on what's right. By the start of the Vietnam war in 1954, there had been many breakthroughs in photography such as compact cameras, flashbulbs, and more efficient colour film that allowed 2 Ut, Nick. The Terror of War. 8 June 1972. 3 Adams, Eddie. Saigon Execution. 1 Feb. 1968. Johnson 3 photojournalists to venture into a new age of uncharted stories. Most journalists who were sent to Vietnam had little training in the way of protection and risk management, meaning that an abundance of inexperienced war photographers had access to the conflict. This lead to many being killed and even more going missing throughout the war, including famous photojournalist Robert Capa who captured the Spanish Civil War and D-Day, as well as the conflicts in Vietnam and Indochina following the Second World War.4 The enormous wave of photojournalists in Vietnam allowed for copious breathtaking moments to be taken on film, framing stories of tragic suffering as the war progresses. This was integral for the general public to develop their own opinion on the war and its goals. The bold news following the My Lai massacre in 1968 was broadcast to the nation via photos of burning homes and piles of bodies. This alone was enough to dislodge the patriotism that most had felt following the end of the Second World War. In past wars, it would have been little work to cover up this American atrocity, however, by bearing witness to this scene, war photographers held the government responsible for their actions. However, many critics condemn the constant stream of violent photos, citing that many novice journalists took distasteful photos and lacked the ability to remain respectful in their conditions. The non-stop display of saturated violence was ultimately the device that brought the horrors of war to the homes of America in a new and revolutionary way, in a way that would cause droves of people to fight back. At home in the United States, Americans had seen little in the way of conflict coverage, and what had been shown through World War II had been tinted by the lens of military propaganda. While most pictures presented by large media outlets continued to support a pro-war view throughout the conflict, it was the smaller publishers and large photojournalist associations such as Magnum Photos that ultimately brought controversy to the public. The war in Vietnam was essential in the construction of many movements as it provided direct information to the general public, allowing the main population to center their opinions on personal beliefs. This proved doubly problematic for the government as peaceful protests broke out during the 1960s and 70s, widening the scope of the war. As support for the war fell, many students, and particularly 4 “List of Journalists Killed and Missing in the Vietnam War.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Nov. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_and_missing_in_the_Vietnam_War. Johnson 4 women, as well as loved ones of soldiers, took part in “Antiwar” protests, characterized as “mass mobilization.”5 Most of the keystone photos that are associated with the Vietnam War are not actual combat photos from the conflict, but those taken at these public manifestations, arguably the most popular of which is the “Flower Child” by Marc Riboud6 during the March on the Pentagon in 1967. As the war began to come to a close during Nixon's administration and following Watergate scandal, world governments had seen the indirect effects of loosely controlled photojournalism on their war efforts and control. The necessary control of a population during conflicts is only possible through censorship or propaganda. Having to fight a war is a hard enough strain on any nation, but having to contain and appease an unruly home population essentially requires a war on two fronts. Throughout the rest of the twentieth century, photojournalism and media efforts to cover conflicts would continue to shape the government's actions as well as the role of censorship in the modern era. Just seven years after the official end of the Vietnam war, the Argentinian junta had claimed control over the Falkland Islands less than 500 kilometres off its coast with a relatively small force. Not long after, Great Britain, a comfortable 12,800 miles from their colony, would send a considerable force to reclaim the island in what would be remembered as one of the “worst reported wars”7 in recent history. While the naval forces were deployed to recapture the island, the only coverage was released directly from officials in London and even then was usually delayed, censored, or spun in ways more favourable to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s popularity as the “iron lady.” One of Great Britain's most revered war photographers, Don McCullin, stated in an interview with CNN that “it was a crushing defeat [...] not to go to the Falklands War,” and that “the beginning of the tightening up against the press”8 had begun. The limited and tightly controlled coverage of the conflict permitted few direct photos back to England and often revealed insufficient information. This wasn’t a problem for citizens at home 5 “Mass Mobilization.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 July 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_mobilization. 6 Curry, Andrew. “Flower Child.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Apr.