In DeGhett’s essay, The War Photo No One Would Publish, DeGhett constructs an argument around the censorship of wartime media. DeGhett does so by illustrating an image of the horrifying consequences of war specifically in the Gulf War through a chilling photo of a burned Iranian solider. The argument evolves from the possible impact of a single photo to the moral problems of over censorship in media. This argument is in opposition to the argument that censorship is for the protection of the audience. Instead DeGhett’s essay makes the overall argument that the truth of war was being hidden from the American people.
The first section of DeGett’s argument begins with the analysis of a single photo. The importance of photography is referenced throughout, but the feelings of empathy they instill is highlighted. The main idea being that photos of the casualties of war, specifically of the enemy, allow the onlooker to relate to and therefore sympathized with the opposing side. DeGhett illustrates how this photo went against the theme of the war in America, and therefore was elected by the media to not be shared with the public. Widely supported throughout the U.S. the Gulf War was believed to be nothing more then bombs being dropped on buildings not people. Clearly a photo of a burned Iranian solider went against those beliefs. By
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Specifically how the horrifying images brought American citizens to protest in the form of sit-ins and marches. These actions effectively pressuring the government to end the war. Therefore by shielding the public from images such as the photo first described the opportunity to possibly end the war sooner was taken away. The statement is also made that the true job of the media is not to narrate, to write a story, but to simply tell the facts free of bias. That by the media conforming to the “video-game” narrative of the war they went against their own purpose