On Veterans Day, Vets in Pictures
Besides the curiosity the photos raise about these soldiers and their family stories, the images speak to how deeply the military runs through our culture.
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Horrific Photo from Aleppo: War Porn or Stellar Journalism?
My question is: is the picture of Syrian rebels at the moment of death a stellar piece of journalism and an essential contribution to our knowledge of the Syrian civil war in particular and war overall, or is this photo more a profound illustration of voyeurism and war porn?
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DNC Body and Mind: Tammy Duckworth
It was obvious Romney would be called out last night for his failure to recognize the troops or even mention Afghanistan in his RNC speech, the Obama’s being thorough and meticulous in their support and courting of the troops. (In the administration’s eyes, they’re also seen as a voting...
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Securing Our Conventions
I caught this photo a little late. It’s from the NYT feature, the 2012 Presidential Campaign, Week by Week, and what it shows are members of the National Guard waiting their turn for weapons at the Republican Convention. I should also say, I’m curious why the NYT also ran...
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Ryan/Romney One Week Out: Anchors A Weigh
Given the absence of military experience and the fact that Romney and Ryan are far prettier than they are foreboding, the phallic nature of the image setting up a potency that the team not only can't match, but isn't even about.
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TIME Cover: .223-Caliber Aurora, Gun Control Parting Shot
With eyeballs turning to the Olympics for the next two weeks effectively knocking the Dark Knight massacre out of the news cycle, this cover and photo-illustration serves as a last word on Aurora.
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No Shame: Kozyrev Photographs Syrians at Russian Weapons Bazaar
Forget the Russian women in the short skirts helping peddle all that hardware. What Yuri has to show us are photos of the head of the Syrian delegation looking like a first cousin of Russia's weapons export staff.
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Hell’s Fire, the Air Force Stealth Chapel, and a More Cosmic Evil
If you’re looking for a visual representation of the End of Days, this image is as good as any.
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Medevac Photos Revisited: U.S. Embedding Policy Alive and Well
Following up on our January 2011 post, I thought I would take a quick run through Google Images to try and determine how many other medevac photo-stories existed.
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Breast of Times, Worst of Times: "Nursing in Uniform" Photos Draw Fire
Opposition to the breastfeeding service member epitomizes skepticism about women’s ability to be “real” soldiers and “real” women.
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War Enabling: Duckrabbit vs. Haviv and VII in a Larger Context
I agree that you don't work with arms contractors if you're a compassionate war photographer. But are there larger conclusions to be drawn here that allow us to build on duckrabbit's throw down in a more constructive way?
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Fleet Week: War Remains Godly
The tenth anniversary of 9/11 behind us and with the 9/11 wars phasing out, you might think it made sense to start pulling back the hardware and the glorification of killing.
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Gitmo Trial PR Strategy: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed & Co. vs. the 9/11 Families
One of the court room drawings frame the families in direct confrontation with the defendants, only larger and higher -- as if they were judges or jurors, as opposed to spectators.
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Israeli Soldier Attacks Demonstrator … and Thoughts on All the Eisners in the World
Protester video leads to a black day for Israel, for sure. The isolation and intensity of the scene, however, seems to also capture every person out there ready or known to go off.
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Enter "the Patriot" Era
This is the first time I’m seeing wire photos of Israel’s “Patriot”-style Iron Dome missile defense in operation. I just wish I had a better idea how to read these.
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In Troop Photos (and a Political Photo-Op, No Less), How Often are we Actually Invited to See Through the Soldier’s Eyes?
A political photo-op with the troops invites us to focus not just on the soldier's point-of-view but on his experience of the homefront after war.
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Our Take on the Active Duty Homecoming Kiss — The Gay Male Edition (Finally)
Perhaps the most provocative aspect of the photo, however, is the fact that it's the guy in uniform who presents as the more submissive, or what many would see as the more "feminine" role.
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Photo Prize Update: Afghan War As Groundhog Day Trauma Loop
Over this almost four year photographic span, the message on its face is that the Afghan campaign continues to suck the life force out of America and its troops.
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