How Photojournalism Changed American View of the Vietnam War
Introduction
Photojournalism dramatically affected the America’s perception of the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War incorporated technological developments in different fields together with human presence (Wade, 2013). Due to this reason, many images were used to demonstrate terrible situations humans were subjected. This greatly affected the way people perceived the war. These images made people fail to support the war. Also, a large number of iconic photos were not taken within the war zones, as this also led to their opposition (Wade, 2013).
An excellent example is a photograph produced by Marc Riboud, well known as Flower Child. The photograph was about a courageous young girl. The young girl was opposing a group of men who were fully armed standing outside the Pentagon. This happened in times of the Vietnam War when a certain group of people was opposing the war. This paper answers the question of how Photojournalism changed the American view of the Vietnam War.
The Vietnam War increased to the extent that Americans did not expect. The reason behind this is the expansion of media coverage during the war (Miller, 2019). This led to media dominance, which influenced public attitudes. Americans developed an interest in following news events related to Vietnam. They devoted many journalists as well as news organizations to provide them with news during the war. Towards the end of the 1960s, American people shifted from supporting the war to the opposition side (Kennedy, 2007). This public opinion changes were shown in major newspapers, magazines, and televisions in America. As a result, between the 1960s and 1970s, the news story was all about the anti-Vietnam protest movement (Kennedy, 2007). An important notation is that the media provided a setting whereby a picture would shift public opinion balance to either the side of supporters or opposes of the war provided that the American people were in control.
The Tet Offensive that happened in 1968 marked the end of the positive outlook of America towards Vietnam. This was not due to the defeat of American soldiers, but how the press portrayed Tet (Heusser, 2019). Clarence Wyatt created a psychological victory for the United States against the South Vietnamese. Opposition towards the Tet started when Johnson, who was the president during that time, reassured Americans about the state of affairs in Vietnam. This came as a big surprise to many Americans. A large number of deaths of both American and Vietnam soldiers made the American people lose interest in the war. 9000 American and South Vietnamese soldiers died during this period, while 14,300 civilians from South Vietnam and 58,000 troops died (Wade, 2013). The most devastating news from Tet included photography by Eddie Adams. The picture portrayed General Loan, who was pointing a gun towards the head of the young Vietnamese suspect and shot him (Priest, Schneider, et al., 2020). This is recognized as the most disturbing photo in that period. The Vietnamese suspect was a Viet Cong soldier. His armed were tied at his back, and he seemed defenseless. The photograph showed a pitiful appearance. The interesting part is that it was all over the American media for a long time. It is believed that the photography dominated for weeks, and this was after it was withdrawn (Heusser, 2019). The photo clearly demonstrated bad things that were happening during the Vietnam War. Many Americans took this personal by believing that Americans had sacrificed a lot to help Vietnam, but the only reward they got was Vietnam treating their people with a lot of brutality.
Besides, by 1970, the mainland of America was the center of the war rather than Vietnam. Students all over the country held demonstrations to oppose the way because they believed that it was unjust and inhumane (Alegria, 2016). These protests contributed to conflicts between protesters and local police and, in some instances, the National Guard. For example, in May 1970, these protests emerged and triggered conflicts between protesters and the Ohio National Guard. As a result, the National Guard opened fire on protesters, which killed 4 people and injured 3. John Filo witnessed this and delivered a statement. Today, the reflexes of Filo depicts the most memorable pictures in life (Alegria, 2016). This drastically the coverage of the war. The reason behind this is that news agencies started focusing more on the war that was happening in their country and less on the Vietnam War. The photography of Filo made every household in America feel disappointed. The photography of the screaming face of Mary Ann Vecchio left millions of Americans hurt (Chamberlain, 2020). The incidence reminded Americans that the protesting students during the Vietnam conflicts were like their own children.
Furthermore, the Kent State scenario, together with the photograph of Filo triggered violence. This violence was against Federal buildings whereby draft boards, as well as a mathematic research center, were held. All newspapers in the United States were full of headlines, including “7000 people during Capital War Protest” by The New York Times, on 4th May 1971 (Priest, Schneider, et al., 2020). The press ensured that they documented any event that involved protest movements and even government miscues. The image of Filo made Americans to start favoring the protest movement of Vietnam (Sanchez, 2020). The purpose of this was to remind American that the image was an aspiration for the struggle they went through to make America stop engaging in the Vietnam War. In addition, the image of the nail in the coffin clearly depicts the power of Photojournalism in changing the perception of Americans towards the Vietnam War (Priest, Schneider, et al., 2020). The image depicted the public image of the conflict of Vietnam. On 8 June 1972, a fighter plane belonging to Vietnam swept a group of Vietnamese soldiers together with various women and children with fire. All the victims were Vietnamese (Sanchez, 2020). The photo was captured when victims were trying to escape from the fire behind them. Even today, people still remember this photo. As such, the photo is considered one of the most infamous during the war. This indicates the way Photojournalism affected the way America viewed the war.
Nevertheless, some people argue that Photojournalism did not contribute to changing the perception of America towards the Vietnam War. Instead, there are other key factors involved. First, American tends to discriminate when deciding the kind of war they want to participate and support (Chamberlain, 2020). Incase America receives immediate threats on its national interests, it supports the war mainly to safeguard its national interests. Some examples of scenarios that directly threatened American national interests are the 9/11 attacks that severely affected the country. Also, currently, the United States is campaigning against the Islamic State because this is key threat to their national interests (Miller, 2019). Besides, America tends to support engage in conflicts that trigger civil wars in other countries. An example is the Libya campaign in 2011, together with NATO in 1990. NATO contributed to the air war against Kosovo. In such cases, America intervenes because by doing so, they would protect their national interests. Therefore, one of the reasons why America withdrew its support during the Vietnam War is because they were not getting any benefit in any way (Heusser, 2019). America was using a lot of resources to support the war, but, in turn, did not yield any benefit. This made them stop participating in the war.
Conclusion
As observed in this research paper, Photojournalism played a big part in changing America’s perception of the Vietnam War. News coverage made American people withdraw their interest in the war. During the war, the media of the United States started focusing more on interviews and research. The purpose of doing this was to ensure that they obtain first-hand information instead of press conferences and official proceedings reports. With time, American households started owning television sets. This made it easy for them to keep updated on the war. Therefore, the media significantly contributed to changing what Americans saw and even believed. Therefore, other factors, such as protecting national interests, were not enough to change the perception of Americans towards the war. The images and photographs the press capture were powerful, and this made Americans change their view of the war.
References
Alegria, F. (2016). Photography’s Huge Impact On Our View Of The Vietnam War. (2016). Retrieved 24 April 2020, from https://www.lightstalking.com/famous-vietnam-war-pictures/
Chamberlain, C. (2020). News Bureau | ILLINOIS. Retrieved 24 April 2020, from https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/551796
Heusser, M. (2019). Larry Burrows’s Images of the Vietnam War: Photojournalism, Memory and Civic Spectatorship in Life Magazine. In Imaging Identity (pp. 187-209). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Kennedy, L. (2007). VIETNAM WAR PHOTOGRAPHY. Retrieved from https://www.ucd.ie/photoconflict/histories/vietnamwarphotojournalism/
Miller, D. L. (2019). Vietnam and the rise of Photojournalism. New York: Cavendish Square.
Priest, B., Schneider, S., Whited, M., & Coates, B. (2020). STHREE IMAGES: The Effects of Photojournalism on the Protest Movement during the Vietnam War. Retrieved 24 April 2020, from http://academics.wellesley.edu/Polisci/wj/Vietnam/ThreeImages/brady2.html
Sanchez, J. (2020). The Picture That Ended the Vietnam War – StMU History Media. Retrieved 24 April 2020, from https://stmuhistorymedia.org/a-picture-is-worth-an-ended-war/
Wade, W. P. (2013). “A degree of disillusion”: News media, Photojournalism, and visual narratives of the Vietnam war (Order No. 3556672). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1328169305). Retrieved from https://colorado.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1328169305?accountid=14503