Sometimes, war seems like a cool thing to me. Maybe I've been influenced by the video games I play where protagonists kill evil enemies with flashy effects. Maybe its because of the stories I've read of ancient war heroes like GuanYu from Records of the Three Kingdoms. Or maybe it's because this song would seem to be the coolest background music to play while slaying enemies on the battlefield.
Imagine that.
But more often, war is just terrifying and unnecessary. I am a firm believer that there is never a war that is "required" to make advances in humanity's progress, and that there is always more harm done in war than good. And through photographs taken of war, I stand firm in my beliefs.
Especially ones like these.
Photos are often
taken to make the audience feel a specific way towards a subject. This
particular photo was taken after the Nazi invasion of Poland, by German
photographer Hugo Jaeger. A simple picture like so strips away all the
glorification of war. The photo, captured in black and white, shows us how lifeless and colorless life becomes because of loss experienced in times of war. Through these lens, I can only see physical and emotional
suffering. Obviously, the photographer wants to show us the ugliest side of
war, and wants us to feel bad for the child. And it works; the image of a child sitting in rubble, his face clearly showing the despair in his heart,tugs at our heartstrings, making anyone with some sort of conscience want to do something to help him. This picture repeats a lesson taught to us and shown over and over again: where
there is war, there is chaos and destruction. Innocent civilians with nothing to
do with the actions and choices of a government suffer the most from war, and nothing could ever make up for the damage done.
Nothing can take away the pain of
loss felt from war. War only happens when both sides of a conflict can’t work
out a compromise, because they were greedy and wanted to gain an advantage over
the other. If we were all considerate of one another, and not always looking
for personal gain, this world would be a better place where everyone would get
along with each other and live peacefully and happily. Perhaps I’m being unrealistic and naive. But,
we are all human beings struggling to get by and survive in this finite world,
why must we pay any sort of price to live on our own planet?
References and Works Cited
References and Works Cited
Homer,
trans. Robert Fagles. The Iliad. London: Penguin Books, 1990. Print.
Video: The Glitch Mob - Fortune Days
Photo of a Child from WWII - http://photographyblog.dallasnews.com/
2012/09/today-in-photo-history-1939-poland-surrenders-to-nazi-germany.html/
Is
war necessary? - http://worldbeyondwar.org/necessary/
Hi!
ReplyDeleteYour blog is really fun looking! I also love fortune days! Great song choice. Anyways, content wise I think you chose a good picture to depict the negative aspects of war. I feel, however, that you only light analyzed the photo and it's meaning. I feel as if it would be a lot better if you went into deeper explanation of how it made you feel and how it relates to war itself.
Happy Blogging!
-G
Hey there!
ReplyDeleteI think your blog layout is really cool! What I really liked about your blog was the sides of perspective you maintained with "Or maybe..", "Perhaps..", "If..", and "But...". I liked how you kept a firm opinion but were still able to draw out hints of perspective by questioning. It goes to show how war is just so difficult and confusing and makes you just ask, why? Anyways good job! :)
-lesley
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI really love the setup of your blog and of this post. The picture you picked was really awesome and you had a strong stance throughout the entire blog. You addressed points that were awesome to be pin pointed at.
-Destiny