War Photographer By Carol Ann Duffy The Terror

War Photographer By Carol Ann Duffy

“The Terror of War” Vietnam Napalm 1972 Photographer Nick Ut caught nine-year old Phan Thi Kim Phuc with other children immediately after a napalm attack; she had torn off her burning clothes and was running naked, screaming down the road.

Nick Ut – The Photographer • Nick Ut's ambition to be a photographer has origins in his family and in his reaction to the horrors of Vietnam. Recalls Ut: "I wanted to show the picture of people dying. " • After his brother, an Associated Press photographer, was killed in Vietnam, he convinced AP to let him work in the darkroom, where he would cry over the photographs he printed. He spent long days in the darkroom before he could eventually take his own pictures. • In 1973, Nick Ut won a Pulitzer Prize for his photograph "The Terror of War, " which shows children running from a napalm bombing.

Carol Ann Duffy – The Poet “What interested me in writing the poem was the photographer and the difficult decisions he or she might have to make while taking pictures in a war zone. ” Carol Ann Duffy wrote this poem after conversations with famous War Photographer, Don Mc. Cullin.

“War Photographer” In his darkroom he is finally alone with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows. The only light is red and softly glows, as though this were a church and he a priest preparing to intone a Mass. Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass. He has a job to do. Solutions slop in trays beneath his hands which did not tremble then though seem to now. Rural England. Home again to ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel, to fields which don't explode beneath the feet of running children in a nightmare heat. Something is happening. A stranger's features faintly start to twist before his eyes, a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries of this man's wife, how he sought approval without words to do what someone must and how the blood stained into foreign dust. A hundred agonies in black-and-white from which his editor will pick out five or six for Sunday's supplement. The reader's eyeballs prick with tears between bath and pre-lunch beers. From aeroplane he stares impassively at where he earns a living and they do not care.

Theme • Shows contrast between the reality of war zones and safety of home. • Photographer moves between these two worlds but belongs to neither • Photographer is shown as a conscious recorder of the truth.

Where he develops his photos but symbolises the disturbing subject matter of his photos Films of horror. Phrase might also reflect the horrors that are wound up tightly inside him. Ritualistic. Highlights serious nature of task. Simile suggests he is devoted to his work but, like a priest, he is exposed to death and suffering. Sense of peace contrasts with war zone Reminds the reader of rows of bodies or gravestones. It might also imply that the photographer need order to make sense of the chaos he has witnessed. In his dark room he is finally alone with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows. Connotations of The only light is red and softly glows, red – danger, as though this were a church and he blood, death. a priest preparing to intone a Mass. Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass. Use of full stops and plosive sounds help to fix these places of conflict in the mind and emphasise the brutality of war. Biblical reference highlights brevity (shortness) of life. Also suggests bodies lying on the ground.

Short simple sentence with monosyllabic words underline how he has to put his emotions to one side. Irony: he remained calm in the chaos of war ; now we can see the psychological effect on him. Sibilance and onomatopoeia – a messy sound – highlight the messiness of war. Solution used to ‘fix’ photo – irony that there is no ‘solution’ to war He has a job to do. Solutions slop in trays beneath his hands, which did not tremble then though seem to now. Rural England. Home again to ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel, to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet of running children in a nightmare heat. Placed in the middle of the line to emphasise the safety and security of England. Contrast with war and how easily problems can be solved Reference to famous Nick Ut photo of the ‘Napalm Girl’. Also juxtaposes the safety of home and danger of war zone.

Volta (turning point) in the poem: injects drama and suspense. Irony: image is coming to life of a man to was about to die. The noun ‘ghost’ also suggests that the experience haunts the photographer. Something is happening. A stranger’s features Verb has connotations of distortion and pain. faintly start to twist before his eyes, a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries of this man’s wife, how he sought approval without words to do what someone must and how the blood stained into foreign dust. The adjective ‘foreign’ reminds us that his job is far from home and that he is vulnerable too. The verb ‘stained’ illustrates the lasting impact of war and the indelible imprint of these experiences in his mind. Highlights moral predicament of war photographer and guilt associated with it. He is a witness but he is powerless to intervene or help.

The emotive metaphor seems to confirm the extent of the tragedies that he photographs. The endless pain he witnesses contrasts with the ‘five or six’ images selected for the readers. Internal rhyme ‘tears’/’beers’ Highlights small space of time and how little attention is paid to images and the little impact they have Short, sharp, but no lasting effect A hundred agonies in black and white from which his editor will pick out five or six for Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers. From the aeroplane he stares impassively at where he earns his living and they do not care. Although these people pay his wages he has no feelings towards them No feeling for home Ambiguous: it might refer to the newspaper’s readers or the apathy of the wider world to the suffering of others. Photographer lives between two worlds but belongs to neither.

Form: • Poem is set out in 4 six line stanzas of equal length and has a regular rhyme scheme, reflecting the ‘ordered rows’ of the photographer’s films. The use of enjambment reflects the gradual revealing of the photo as it develops. The use of the third person shows how distant the photographer is. The use of rhyming couplets and internal rhyme make the poem even more unsettling. Structure: • The structure follows the process of photographic development and the thought process that accompanies it. The use of the volta at the start of the third stanza focuses the reader on a specific death that the photographer witnessed • The poem moves to a clear conclusion, which reveals how the photographer’s work is received by others. Context: Carol Ann Duffy wrote this poem after conversations with famous war photographer, Don Mc. Cullin. Duffy said that what interested her in writing this poem was “the photographer and the difficult decisions he or she might have to make while taking pictures in a war zone. ”

Now compare Carol Ann Duffy’s attitude to war photography to that of Steve Turner in his poem, “Exclusive Pictures”.

“Exclusive Pictures” by Steve Turner • Give us good pictures of the human torch which show the skin burnt like chicken, bursting like grapes. • It will teach us to avoid flames. • Give us good film of the lady on the ledge as she leaps open mouthed and hits the streets like a suicide. • It will teach us to use stairways. • Give us sharp colour coverage of the African troubles. Show us interesting wounds, craters in fat and flesh. • It will teach us not to point guns. • Give us five page spreads of the airliner that fell like a pigeon to the ground. And make sure you get there before the victims are pulled out. • It will teach engines to function. • Don't give us any of that shaky hand-held stuff where the trapped children are smoke-like shapes and their screams barely audible beneath the wailing sirens. Get in there with your lenses and your appetite for danger and your hard newshead and give us what we're after. Make us informed. Make us feel we're really there. Provide us with education. Broaden our backgrounds. We live in a democracy and we need to know.

What’s your attitude to war photography?