Some Photographs Make History

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Unit 4

• Some Photographs Make History

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• I. Lead In
• II. Read In 0 1 2 3 4
• III. Practical Reading
• IV. Practical Writing
• V. Listening
• VI. Testing

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• Vietnam War
• Middle East Conflict
• Some Famous Pictures

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• A prolonged war (1954-1975) between the army of
  North Vietnam and armies of South Vietnam and the
  US. By the end of 1965, 180,000 US troops were
  fighting in Vietnam and the number reached its
  peak of 540,000 by 1969. The U.S. felt their
  superior weapons and military technology would
  easily overwhelm the North Vietnam Army that
  relied on guerrilla tactics perfected over
  centuries of fighting superior forces and that
  had the growing support of the Vietnamese people.
  The US militarys goals in Vietnam were not
  achieved and they ultimately lost the war.

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• The conflict in the Middle East refers to the
  violent crashes between Isreal and the
  Palestinians supported by many Arab countries.

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• It is hard to look at the photographs of
  12-year-old Mohammed al-Durrah dying on his
  father's arms on a Gaza street recently, but once
  you do it is much harder to forget them.
• Imagine that the French television crew had not
  been there. The death of a child would perhaps
  have provoked a shrug of the shoulders. But in an
  instant, these pictures let viewers see the
  terror in Mohammed's eyes and imagine the eyes of
  their children in a reflexive act of empathy.

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Questions

• Why is it hard to look at the pictures showing a
  child's death?
• Because they show a very cruel and sad scene of
  war
• What would happen without the French television
  crew?
• The death of a child would not have caused any
  attention of the public.

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• In a photo seen worldwide, Jamal al-Durrah tries
  to protect his son, Mohammad, from Israeli
  gunfire. Moments later, Mohammad was killed and
  al-Durrah badly wounded.

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• crew a group of people working together all the
  people working on a ship or plane
• Examples
•   The crew were annoyed at the captain's
  decision to visit the port.
•   The plane crashed, killing all its passengers
  and crew.

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• The death of a child would perhaps have provoked
  a shrug of the shoulders.
• The death of a child would perhaps have caused
  little concern.

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• shrug an act of shrugging, expressing dislike,
  dread, doubt, or the like.
• Example
• Jane answered my question with a shrug of her
  shoulders.

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• instant a moment of time
• Examples
•   The answer came to me in an instant.
•   He hesitated for an instant and then began to
  tell us his story.

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• terror extreme fear
• Examples
•   The child trembled with terror when he saw a
  snake emerge from behind the rock.
•   Shots were fired, and the children screamed in
  terror.

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• There is a long history of power images burning
  themselves onto the global consciousness and
  diverting the course of history.
• An American photographer called Eddie Adams
  filmed the 1968 execution of a Vietcong suspect
  by a South Vietnamese police general. The image
  reinforced a growing unease in the US about the
  nation's intervention on behalf of a corrupt and
  dictatorial regime. The picture illustrated a
  deeper truth which many Americans had been
  reluctant to face ----- the brutality of their
  allies.

questions
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• The same was true of perhaps the most famous
  photograph from the Viet Nam War ----- the
  picture of a nine-year-old girl running towards
  the camera, screaming in pain from bomb burns on
  her back.

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Questions

• What can power images do to history?
• They can call people's attention, even strong
  emotion all over the world and thus change the
  course of history.
• What did the picture illustrate?
• The picture illustrated a deeper truth----the
  brutality, which many Americans had been
  reluctant to face.

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• There is a long history of power images burning
  themselves onto the global consciousness and
  diverting the course of history.
• Historically there have been great pictures
  that impressed and influenced the world people so
  much that they changed the course of history.

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• global world-wide
• Examples
•   Science and technology has turned our world
  into a global village.
•   China is playing an important role in the
  promotion of regional and global economic
  cooperation.

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• execution (a case of) lawful killing as a
  punishment
• Example
• The execution of the criminal took place three
  days ago.

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• suspect as a noun a person who you think has
  done something wrong
• Example
• The police have arrested three suspects in
  connection with the killing.
• suspect as a verb feel doubt about
• Examples
•   I suspect him to have made up the story.

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• reinforce strengthen
• Examples
•   You might as well reinforce your opinions with
  sound reasoning.

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• intervention (an act of) intervening
• Example
• The two men would have continued fighting but for
  the intervention of a policeman.

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• on behalf of for, in the interest of, or as the
  representative of
• Examples
•   The chairman signed the document on behalf of
  the company.
•   He accepted the award on behalf of the team.

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• corrupt (of persons, their actions) immoral
  dishonest (esp. through taking bribes)
• Example
• Corrupt politicians must be thrown out of office.

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• illustrate explain by examples, pictures, etc.
• Example
• A complicated rule can be illustrated by a simple
  example.

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• reluctant unwilling, and therefore perhaps slow
  to act
• Examples
•   Everyone was reluctant to leave the party.
•   He was reluctant to get out of bed early on
  cold mornings, but he had no choice.

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• the picture of a nine-year-old girl running
  towards the camera , screaming in pain from bomb
  burns on her back.
• the picture of a nine-year-old girl running
  to the photographer, who was screaming in pain
  from bomb burns on her back.

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• The picture taken by AP (Associated Press)
  photographer, Nick Ut, conveyed what the war was
  doing to children. Nick Ut recalled in a 1999
  interview "When we (the reporters) moved closer
  to the village we saw the first people running. I
  thought 'Oh my God' when I suddenly saw a woman
  with her left leg badly burned by a bomb.

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• Then came a woman carrying a baby, who died, then
  another woman carrying a small child with its
  skin coming off. When I took a picture of them I
  heard a child screaming "Nong qua, nong qua"(too
  hot, too hot) and saw that young girl who had
  pulled off all her burning clothes. She yelled to
  her brother on her left. Just before the bomb was
  dropped, soldiers (of the South Vietnamese Army)
  had yelled to the children to run but there
  wasn't enough time.

questions
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Questions

• What does the picture taken by Nick Ut mainly
  convey to viewers?
• It conveys how cruel the war is by showing what
  the war was doing to innocent children.
• What did the soldiers do before the bomb was
  dropped?
• They shouted to the children to run but the
  children didn't have enough time to run away from
  the bomb.

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• convey make (feelings, ideas, thoughts, etc.)
  known
• Examples
•   I can't convey my feelings in words.
•   Please convey my best wishes to your parents.

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• interview a meeting to decide if a person is
  suitable for a job meeting with somebody for
  discussion, conference, etc.
• Examples
•   Preparation and confidence are the two key
  words to a successful job interview.
•   For some reason, he refused to give any
  interviews to journalists.

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• come off become detached or separated (from)
• Examples
•   The stamp has come off. Stick it on again.
•   After the operation, his hair began to come
  off.

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• The sudden outbreaks of angst over individual
  tragedies often evoked deep thought ---- what
  about hundreds or thousands of others who have
  died? Human beings are wired in such a way that
  the tragedy of a single individual can stir a
  more emotional response than the deaths of
  hundreds.
• However, images are powerful but short-lived. If
  the sight of Mohammed dying before our eyes does
  not change anything in the next few days or
  weeks, it probably never will.

questions
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questions

• What can images of individual tragedies like
  those mentioned above do to people's mind?
• They can cause sudden, strong anxiety and terror
  on people's mind. These anxiety and terror would
  inevitably lead to deep thought that many other
  people may face the similar tragedies hence
  produce wide empathy among the people.

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• Why can't power images always change anything?
• Though powerful, these images are really
  short-lived. These pictures may evoke strong
  emotions and deep thought upon their touching
  viewers' eyes. However the effect may last only a
  short time if nothing changed in a couple of
  days. People emphasize more on the result.

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• outbreak a sudden appearance or beginning of
  something bad
• Example
• Shortly after the outbreak of the Second World
  War, he joined the army.

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• individual as an adjective single for one
  person only
• Example
• A teacher cannot give individual attention to
  each pupil if his class is large.
• individual as a noun a single person or thing
• Example
• The rights of the individual are perhaps the most
  important rights in a free society.

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• tragedy a terrible, unhappy, or unfortunate
  event
• Examples
•   His early death was a great tragedy for his
  family.
•   Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's best known
  tragedies.

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• evoke produce or call up ( a memory or feeling,
  or its expression)
• Example
• His comment evoked protest from the public.

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• Human beings are wired in such a way that the
  tragedy of a single individual can stir a more
  emotional response than the deaths of hundreds.
• Since people are now easily reached by the mass
  media, the tragedy of a single individual can
  stir a more emotional response than the deaths of
  hundreds.

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• stir produce (strong feelings) in (someone)
• Example
• The book Harry Potter stirred the boy's
  imagination