Photo of ‘Napalm girl’ turns 50

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Name given never rest to stand as his strength symbol indefectible fears war. It was filmed in Vietnam but may have come out of any of the conflicts that routinely dry out the world. Five children run down a road in fear in front of a black cloud that is dragging the embers of a black cloud. napalm rain clings to the body until it burns its victims like weeds. Behind them walk several soldiers and war photographers, apparently indifferent and deaf to the suffering of children. A 20-year-old Vietnamese photographer He hears the screams of the children and sees the fear etched into their faces. “Nongqua! No! (so hot, so hot), photographer screams naked girl in photo just before shooting.

It is doubtful whether this iconic image, taken on June 8, 1972, exists. Nick Uta 20-year-old Vietnamese photographer who was then working for an American agency Associated press (AP) was released today as it was then. Editorial criteria have changed and there are many media outlets today that are reluctant to publish. extreme revealing images of the ravages of war, their dead and torment, a criterion often justified by the desire to soften the emotional impact of these images on readers, but also on the survivors and relatives of the victims. While not a closed discussion, the dilemma regarding its publication these days, complicated by the nudity of the girl and her minority, would be further highlighted. In 2016, Facebook even removed a photo of Nick Ut posted in a comment thread, a decision that was withdrawn due to criticism.

There was no consensus then. ‘The New York Times’ and other major newspapers published the image of Ut winning the Pulitzer Prize on their front pages the next day, but many ignored it and evoked nudity. Phan Thi Kim PhucA 9-year-old girl running with open arms after tearing off her burning napalm clothes while running away from home. trang bang, the village attacked that fateful noon. “I only have fleeting memories of that terrible day,” Kim Phuc said in a gallery in the New York newspaper this week. “I was playing with my cousins ​​in the temple courtyard. A moment later, a plane and a deafening sound were heard from above. Later on explosions and smoke and excruciating pain. I was nine years old.”

Published by half of the major media

According to a study by the American University, only 21 of the 40 largest American newspapers of the time—all of them subscribed to the AP—published the image of the officially christened “napalm girl.” “war terror”. In the collective unconscious, The excesses of American intervention in VietnamWhere his troops remained for ten years until 1975. But it was not his fighters who dropped these napalm bombs, but the planes of his South Vietnamese allies.

The official version of all this is that the North American commanders of the village of Trang Bang evacuation of civilians After several weeks of fighting between North and South Vietnamese soldiers in the area. However, thinking that some North Vietnamese troops might be hiding in the village, they ordered a bombardment. A group of civilians, including Kim Phuc’s family, were hiding in the Trang Bang temple when the bombs began to fall, and seeing them flee, one of the South Vietnamese pilots mistook them for enemy fighters and shot them with napalm.

Photo helped boost growth Opposition to war among American society, although it is probably exaggerated to think that the image changed the course of the competition. At the time of publication, the bulk of US troops had already left Vietnam and public opinion was largely against the war. According to a Gallup poll a few months ago, more than 60% of Americans believed that intervening in Southeast Asia was a mistake. And the war would not end until 1975, when communist forces took over from the north. control of Saigon.

That moment immortalized in Trang Bang, however, became an eternal defense against war and has been inseparable from its heroes ever since. Before emigrating to Los Angeles to make a living by painting celebrity portraits, Ut had redeemed himself by helping the girl in the photograph. As soon as he captured the image, he wrapped it in a blanket and took it to a nearby medical center to save his life.

For who phuc everything was much more difficult. Forever stamped with trauma and napalm burns, he grew up hating photography. “I felt ugly and embarrassed,” she said this week. But over time she managed to make up for it too. He immigrated to Canada and opened a foundation dedicated to helping war-torn children. “Now I am grateful for the power of that photograph I took when I was nine and for the journey I took as a human being. My barely-remembered fear became universal. And I’m proud that over time symbol Peace”.

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