The Brief

Before we dive into this course, take a few minutes to write a short 200-word response to the ethics of this photograph in your learning log. Would you have taken this photograph? Would you have published it? Why or why not?

Response

This image has always made me uncomfortable from a non-photographic perspective, because of the clear horror of the situation. The press photographer had the responsibility to capture the moment, and we know that immediately after this shot was taken, he helped quickly get Phuc, who was naked because her clothes had burned off her body, to a hospital [1]. Like Capa before him, the line between observer and participant was a fine one. Personally, I would have struggled with shooting this emergency over wanting to help. The result though is a powerful reminder of the impact of war, so its publication was important in educating the world. However, I question the impact on Phuc herself. She is known to dislike the image, not because of the event, but her nakedness, which she saw as shameful [2]. The photograph is a permanent reminder of her suffering to this day, which seems at face value to be less important than the messaging about the war. For me, the ethical issues relate to the photographer’s decision to shoot at that moment, capturing a terrified naked child over another the others fleeing the scene, but also the editorial decision to publish. The narrative that the Associated Press were after took no account of the representation of the child and the infamy that would haunt her for another 50 years.

References

[1] Nick Ut | World Press Photo (s.d.) At: https://www.worldpressphoto.org/nick-ut (Accessed 08/03/2023).

[2]. Ratcliffe, R. and correspondent, R. R. S. A. (2022) ‘‘Napalm girl’ Phan Thi Kim Phuc receives final burn treatment after 50 years’ In: The Guardian 01/07/2022 At: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/01/napalm-girl-vietnam-war-phan-thi-kim-phuc-final-burn-treatment (Accessed 08/03/2023).