http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/zh/7/77/The_Starving_of_Sudan.jpg
The Starving of Sudan
Taken by Kevin Carter, 1993
This is an classical and controversial photograph, which even won the photographer a Pulitzer Prize in 1994. It was taken in South Sudan during the period of both civic war and great famine. In the photograph, a starving toddler collapsed on her way to a feeding center when a vulture landed nearby, which was waiting for the death of the girl so that it can eat her.
Even just in terms of its content, the photograph is considerably harrowing, which embodies the severe condition of the famine-stricken in Sudan. The color of the two main characters in dark color contrasted sharply with the background in bright color, and the background is blurred. Both of the techniques are used to exaggerate the sense of death and despair. The color of the background and floor is mainly yellow, representing the drought, failure of crops and famine.
And if you focus on the vulture, you will find the angle of the photograph is quite low and almost parallel to the heroize. But if you stare at the girl in the front, it seems you are looking down. This may be attributed to the smallness of the body of the girl. Therefore, the disaster is emphasized again.
The photograph was published in Now York Time. As the photograph Kevin Carter expected, the photograph did capture plenty of attention towards the famine and civic war in South Sudan, leading to many donations and humanitarian aids from the international community, and he eventually won the Pulitzer Prize. According to a reporter of Time, Macleod(1994), there was also worldwide concern about the situation of the little girl after the photo was taken. However, neither the photographer nor the editors of New York Time knew it. Kevin Carter declared that he had waited for 20 minutes in hope that the vulture would spread its wings before taking the photo, and after taking it he chased the vulture away but leaving the girl with her struggle. Such behaviors received a large range of criticism.
Eventually, the story ended in another tragedy. Kevin Carter committed suicide in the second year due to the brunt of criticisms and some other personal distress. This shocking photograph and the story beyond it leave us a reminder of "the dilemma about conscience and profession" (Kumar,2010). Did Kevin Carter just complete a mission of a photographer, or was he kidnapped by the so called professional task, and forgot that he was a human being while he was a photographer?
Reference:
Macleod, S. (1994). The Life and Death of Kevin Carter. Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,981431,00.html
Kumar, L. (2010). Starving Sudanese Girl (Famous Photograph). Retrieved from http://lalitkumar.in/blog/starving-sudanese-girl-famous-photograph/
ZENG Zilu (Luna)
SID:54017720
The Starving of Sudan
Taken by Kevin Carter, 1993
This is an classical and controversial photograph, which even won the photographer a Pulitzer Prize in 1994. It was taken in South Sudan during the period of both civic war and great famine. In the photograph, a starving toddler collapsed on her way to a feeding center when a vulture landed nearby, which was waiting for the death of the girl so that it can eat her.
Even just in terms of its content, the photograph is considerably harrowing, which embodies the severe condition of the famine-stricken in Sudan. The color of the two main characters in dark color contrasted sharply with the background in bright color, and the background is blurred. Both of the techniques are used to exaggerate the sense of death and despair. The color of the background and floor is mainly yellow, representing the drought, failure of crops and famine.
And if you focus on the vulture, you will find the angle of the photograph is quite low and almost parallel to the heroize. But if you stare at the girl in the front, it seems you are looking down. This may be attributed to the smallness of the body of the girl. Therefore, the disaster is emphasized again.
The photograph was published in Now York Time. As the photograph Kevin Carter expected, the photograph did capture plenty of attention towards the famine and civic war in South Sudan, leading to many donations and humanitarian aids from the international community, and he eventually won the Pulitzer Prize. According to a reporter of Time, Macleod(1994), there was also worldwide concern about the situation of the little girl after the photo was taken. However, neither the photographer nor the editors of New York Time knew it. Kevin Carter declared that he had waited for 20 minutes in hope that the vulture would spread its wings before taking the photo, and after taking it he chased the vulture away but leaving the girl with her struggle. Such behaviors received a large range of criticism.
Eventually, the story ended in another tragedy. Kevin Carter committed suicide in the second year due to the brunt of criticisms and some other personal distress. This shocking photograph and the story beyond it leave us a reminder of "the dilemma about conscience and profession" (Kumar,2010). Did Kevin Carter just complete a mission of a photographer, or was he kidnapped by the so called professional task, and forgot that he was a human being while he was a photographer?
Reference:
Macleod, S. (1994). The Life and Death of Kevin Carter. Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,981431,00.html
Kumar, L. (2010). Starving Sudanese Girl (Famous Photograph). Retrieved from http://lalitkumar.in/blog/starving-sudanese-girl-famous-photograph/
ZENG Zilu (Luna)
SID:54017720