Reply With Quote
Nice picture.
Hopeful, inspirational and meaningful.
Please don't confuse the issue.
...I'm sure no one will bother with awarding a Pulitzer. Doesn't fit the narrative, you see.
From the indefatigable Michael Yon, who recently captured this amazing sign of hope, faith and freedom in Iraq. He writes:
A number of bloggers, including Wretchard at The Belmont Club, have noted the striking similarity between Yon's photograph, and another iconic wartime image, captured 62 years ago.
Side-by-side: Joe Rosenthal's epic photograph of the Iwo Jima flag-raising in 1945, and Michael Yon's recent image from Baghdad (graphic courtesy of The Belmont Club).
Mr. Yon's image, like all great photographs, speaks to ideals and dreams that transcend a particular moment in time.
Consider those Marines on Iwo Jima, immortalized in Rosenthal's photo and James Bradley's book "Flags of Our Fathers." When they climbed Mount Suribachi on 23 February 1945, the battle was in its fifth day; hundreds of Americans had already died, and the men of the flag-raising detail knew that weeks of brutal fighting lay ahead. Three of the six men captured in the Rosenthal photograph died in combat before the battle ended. For the flag-raisers, that moment on Suribachi was not a symbol of final victory, only a measure of hard-won progress, and a reminder of what remained undone.
Likewise, the Baghdad residents in Yon's photo harbor no illusions that the battle for their country has been finally won. All could tell stories of unspeakable horrors and tragedies that have befallen their families and neighborhoods in recent years, and more tough days probably lie ahead. But recent events--namely the troop surge--have given them new optimism, creating enough hope for them to remove the cross from storage, and restore that greatest symbol of hope to its rightful place.
Other bloggers have suggested that Yon's photo is worthy of the Pulitzer Prize. We concur, with the realization that those awards have now fallen victim to the dictates of political correctness. In 1945, Joe Rosenthal's immortal flag-raising shot was a near-unanimous choice for the Pulitzer--the only photograph to receive the award in the same year it was taken. Fifty-seven years later, the Pulitzer jury took a pass on Thomas Franklin's iconic 9-11 image--which Life magazine described as one of the "100 photographs that changed the world."
Firefighters raise Old Glory over the remains of the World Trade Center, 11 September 2001 (photograph by Thomas E. Franklin, The Bergen Record)
While no one can doubt the power and majesty of Franklin's work, the jury gave the top photography prize of 2001 to The New York Times, for its coverage of the terrorist attacks.
The absence of American flags--or other patriotic symbols--in the Times' winning portfolio is particularly telling. Against that backdrop, Michael Yon's marvelous photo doesn't stand much of a chance.
Nice picture.
Hopeful, inspirational and meaningful.
Please don't confuse the issue.
I see red x's.
...I'm sure no one will bother with awarding a Pulitzer. Doesn't fit the narrative, you see.
From the indefatigable Michael Yon, who recently captured this amazing sign of hope, faith and freedom in Iraq. He writes:
A number of bloggers, including Wretchard at The Belmont Club, have noted the striking similarity between Yon's photograph, and another iconic wartime image, captured 62 years ago.
Side-by-side: Joe Rosenthal's epic photograph of the Iwo Jima flag-raising in 1945, and Michael Yon's recent image from Baghdad (graphic courtesy of The Belmont Club).
Mr. Yon's image, like all great photographs, speaks to ideals and dreams that transcend a particular moment in time.
Consider those Marines on Iwo Jima, immortalized in Rosenthal's photo and James Bradley's book "Flags of Our Fathers." When they climbed Mount Suribachi on 23 February 1945, the battle was in its fifth day; hundreds of Americans had already died, and the men of the flag-raising detail knew that weeks of brutal fighting lay ahead. Three of the six men captured in the Rosenthal photograph died in combat before the battle ended. For the flag-raisers, that moment on Suribachi was not a symbol of final victory, only a measure of hard-won progress, and a reminder of what remained undone.
Likewise, the Baghdad residents in Yon's photo harbor no illusions that the battle for their country has been finally won. All could tell stories of unspeakable horrors and tragedies that have befallen their families and neighborhoods in recent years, and more tough days probably lie ahead. But recent events--namely the troop surge--have given them new optimism, creating enough hope for them to remove the cross from storage, and restore that greatest symbol of hope to its rightful place.
Other bloggers have suggested that Yon's photo is worthy of the Pulitzer Prize. We concur, with the realization that those awards have now fallen victim to the dictates of political correctness. In 1945, Joe Rosenthal's immortal flag-raising shot was a near-unanimous choice for the Pulitzer--the only photograph to receive the award in the same year it was taken. Fifty-seven years later, the Pulitzer jury took a pass on Thomas Franklin's iconic 9-11 image--which Life magazine described as one of the "100 photographs that changed the world."
Firefighters raise Old Glory over the remains of the World Trade Center, 11 September 2001 (photograph by Thomas E. Franklin, The Bergen Record)
While no one can doubt the power and majesty of Franklin's work, the jury gave the top photography prize of 2001 to The New York Times, for its coverage of the terrorist attacks.
The absence of American flags--or other patriotic symbols--in the Times' winning portfolio is particularly telling. Against that backdrop, Michael Yon's marvelous photo doesn't stand much of a chance.
STILL TRYING TO TIE THE UNECESSARY WAR TO OTEHR NOBLE CAUSES...
Yeah, because erecting a cross on a church is so much more representative of what's going on there than, say, the empty houses of the millions of Iraqi's who've fled (and continue to flee) to Syria and Jordan to escape secterian violence.
I'll bet they don't even wear american flag pins either!!!!
Yet another one of Yoni's symbolism over substance threads.
Unless they are putting a WMD they found up there....
Forbidden
Your client does not have permission to get URL /s1600 from this server.
LOLZ....Yoni forgot how to steal from blogz
Too bad. I'll find unrestricted links when I get the time.
It would be funny that you don't get the connection were it not so sad.
I guess you haven't heard, the flow of refugees has reversed and they're coming back from Syria and Jordan. I wouldn't be surprised to find that some of the guys in the picture were returning refugees.
so, that's where Saddam left them! On the roof.
I had no problems with those three links.
Gee, did your parents put a parental control program on your computer?
I wouldn't be surprised to find that the picture was staged
Yeah, it appears no one else did either.
Maybe he's surfing at work, behind a firewall that doesn't allow him to view photographs...
I've heard employers do that to pornoholics.
Then you don't know Michael Yon's reputation. That's cool
I would be very surprised to find it was staged. Check out some of his works and writings.
but that's all Yoni knows
you know, it's been reported that syria and jordan will accept no more refugees.
It's a poignant photograph -- made more poignant by the narrative that accompanies it. If it weren't for the narrative, I'm not sure the poignancy would be the same and I suppose the cynical might be inclined to question the narrative.
I'm not adverse to knowing that good things are happening for Iraqis; for all that they've been through, they at least deserve that.
that's cool because Iraq is the new America.
That's fair.
If you are familiar with Yon's work, I think you'd be inclined to believe the narrative.
Now, now....that "doesn't fit the narrative".
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
