By Jess Gonzalez
Note: Some photos depict graphic violence and disturbing scenes.
Even with the 24-hour news cycle providing a constant sensory flow of information on the global condition, there are images that stand out as exceptional, their likenesses etched into the minds of an entire generation. One such photo, taken in Sudan in 1993, caused a moral outcry that resonates to this day.
Neal, Leslie Maryann. "How Photojournalism Killed Kevin Carter" AllThings Interesting 25 July 2015 <http://all-that-is-interesting.com/kevin-carter>
Shot in 1993, this photo is over twenty years old, but no amount of time can ever lessen its dreadful impact on the soul.
Shot in 1993, this photo is over twenty years old, but no amount of time can ever lessen its dreadful impact on the soul.
A few months after the New York Times published this stunning image of famine, the photojournalist credited with the photo, Kevin Carter, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Heavy criticism from the public immediately followed. When Carter committed suicide a little over a year later, it was widely rumored that this denunciation had prompted the act.
Neal, Leslie Maryann. "How Photojournalism Killed Kevin Carter" AllThings Interesting
25 July 2015 <http://all-that-is-interesting.com/kevin-carter>
Neal, Leslie Maryann. "How Photojournalism Killed Kevin Carter" AllThings Interesting
25 July 2015 <http://all-that-is-interesting.com/kevin-carter>
Carter accompanied by soldiers to assure his non-interference.
The public reaction to the photo may contain part of the answer. “After receiving a number of phone calls and letters from readers who wanted to know what happened to the little girl, the New York Times took a rare step and published an editor’s note describing what they knew of the situation,” says writer Leslie Maryann Neal (7). Evidently those who had asked about the child were unaware of Carter’s vulnerable position when he shot the photo: he was walking with several armed soldiers flanking him, and had been ordered not to interfere with the child under threat of being shot. The Times further revealed that the child had sufficiently recovered to continue her trek to a feeding center “after the bird had been chased away” (7).
Neal, Leslie Maryann. "How Photojournalism Killed Kevin Carter" AllThings Interesting
25 July 2015 <http://all-that-is-interesting.com/kevin-carter>
More armed soldiers.
The personal attacks, with some calling his actions “inhumane” for failing to assist the child in the photo, had a profound effect on Carter that lasted months after the tirade first began. “Joining ranks with only a few other photojournalists, (Carter) would step right into the action to get the best shot,” writes Neal (4). The danger was undeniable, and the work harrowing. Still, he continued on, willing himself to remain worthy of the prize he’d received. Then in May of 1994 came a devastating blow: while Carter was away for an interview about the Pulitzer, his best friend, photojournalist Ken Oosterbroeck, was killed. Already burdened with tremendous guilt, his strength waned. “You could see it happening,” recalls Carter’s friend, Reedwaan Vally. “You could see Kevin sink into a dark fugue.” (8)
Carter's Closest friend, Ken Oosterbroeck (left), was killed in 1994.
His spirits low, Carter traveled back to Africa, spending time in Mozambique on assignment. When he returned to the US, he discovered that he’d lost his entire collection of film from the trip. It was never recovered. Neither, apparently, was he. A few days later, he fatally poisoned himself with carbon-monoxide fumes, sitting in his car by a lake.
The realities of a career in photojournalism aren’t widely known. Its a strong possibility that the hostility directed toward Carter stems from simple ignorance. “Emotional detachment allowed Carter and other photojournalists to witness countless tragedies and continue the job,” Neal says. “The world’s intense reactions to the vulture photo appeared to be punishment for this necessary trait.”(2) It takes tremendous effort to observe, record, and report daily occurrences of torture and murder. Often, Carter and his friends would use cocaine and other drugs to help them carry the emotional load.
It is tragically unfortunate that so few people knew what was happening during the scene in which the image was shot. Would there have been such an outpouring of vitriol had the public known more? In light of Carter’s story, increased public awareness of the facts and issues behind photos like his seem crucial to addressing the plight of others like him.
Neal, Leslie Maryann. "How Photojournalism Killed Kevin Carter" AllThings Interesting
25 July 2015 <http://all-that-is-interesting.com/kevin-carter> Kevin Carter in action.
The misconceptions surrounding this issue did more than just relegate one photojournalist to despair and death. They illustrate the deep cultural and social chasms between people in a world that is, for all intents and purposes, getting smaller. Differences of opinion among people is a foregone conclusion. Those differences must be debated and reconciled in every way possible, with as much awareness as can be mustered. But disregarding relevant facts that surround photojournalism will only make these divisions wider, allowing the war, the violence, and the famines to continue. The essential question then is not only whether photojournalism should be supported and preserved. It is whether the truth should be supported and preserved as well.
Works Cited
Neal, Leslie Maryann. "How Photojournalism Killed Kevin Carter." All Things Interesting 7 Sept. 2014. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.
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