The war in Iraq has brought about many changes amongst the Iraqi people. Within the warzones violence has become the common occurrence to the innocent civilians of Iraq. Everyone has their own opinions about the war and has witnessed various images in the news depicting what might be considered as violence or criminal behavior to us citizens of the United States. As most can probably imagine, Iraq is a very different country from our own and one should realize these differences when viewing images throughout media. This image will most likely deliver a very powerful symbolic message to Americans and each person will immediately create their own opinions concerning the war and the meaning that surrounds it. Most Americans only want to see the positive aspect of the war and images convincing the U.S. that our troops are there for good reasons. While this holds true most of the time, the networks do have the power to pass on whatever image they want to the citizens of America. This being said, there is a lot happening overseas that we do not necessarily see. The Iraqi kids currently within the warzones grow up in a completely different society. Most of us are probably not used to experiencing such violence and destruction within our own civilization. This means that one must be sympathetic towards the Iraqi people and the economy in which they live. Baghdad Iraq has been, for years, one of the biggest and most important warzones in the United States “War on Terror.” Photographers have constantly been attempting to document events taking place within the warzones in order to relay real images onto the American public to help better inform citizens of what is really going on overseas.
The image titled “Children at Play” depicts a scene of three adolescents playing in the streets of Baghdad, Iraq. This photograph, taken by Hadi Mizban, appeared in the journal News and Record in 2007. There were many reactions and objections when this photograph was first distributed among the public. Many people were in awe at the fact that such an influential photograph could be emitted into the general public. Why would someone take such a disturbing photograph? Why did the photographer not take a picture of the children helping the U.S. soldiers or playing in a non-violent manner? What does this image mean? These are a few questions that popped into my head after picking my jaw off the ground. I believe that there are a lot of different aspects of this photo that can be put into question and also many that will carry an external meaning for the viewer personally.
This image is both disturbing and influential to the sheltered minds of most Americans. The photo is centered on a four year old Iraqi child in the streets of Baghdad, Iraq. Two other Iraqi kids are standing on both sides of the young child in possession of what appears to be small, fake hand guns, with their finger on the trigger. These two guns are pointed directly at the head of this innocent little child. The child, hand to his mouth, is crying with his eyes focused on the camera. My estimation is that they both are no older than eight years. Once you proceed to examine more specifically, the body language and expressions on the two older boys’ face is the next thing that catches your eye. Both kids seem to be smiling and having a great time with these guns pointed toward this young child’s head. All three kids are wearing either soccer shirts or shirts with cartoons on them which might further help explain the extent of their age. It seems to be a normal sunny day in Baghdad with kids carelessly playing games in the streets. The photographer chooses a slightly downward angle on the children. The photo seems to be very well taken and is very clear implying that probably a professional photographer most likely took it. The common brick and cement walls of Iraqi buildings lie in the background with a window appearing on the left side. This most likely means they are outside a building standing in the middle of the street or on the side walk. The older children are forcefully holding the four year-old’s head and back to insure that their guns are pointed with direct pressure to his head. Another thing that I noticed was that the kids seemed to know how to hold a gun and seemed somewhat experienced in the field of weaponry and more specifically, execution. This may shoot towards the idea that they are in a warzone and have witnessed such events and objects in their lives before. This seems to be a simple photo that has most of its emphasis placed on the three young adolescents and the action that they are portraying within the streets of Baghdad.
When Hadi Mizban captured this image I believe he was trying to relay a message to all Americans in hopes to reach some sort of truth about the war and truth behind what might be happening within the “warzone.” While everyone will have their own opinions on this image, everyone will also capture a message. I think this was a planned intention by the photographer and that he wanted everyone to at least be influenced and affected in some way or another. I believe he thought Americans needed to see a disturbing photo such as this to help them realize what is really happening and to open their eyes in hopes to give U.S. citizens what some might denote a “reality check.”
There seems to be a great amount of meaning packed within this image. Most people will draw their attention the guns that the older boys are holding first. The interesting part of this to me is that I am not sure if these are real guns or fake. I have just assumed they are fake because of their age and the size of the guns. They seem to have the same attributes of real handguns and there is no orange tip or any other aspect to indicate it being fake. I think the fact that they look so real just adds to the impact that the viewer has on it and creates a more serious tone. If the guns are not the first aspect the viewers draw their attention to I think the age of the three children would be. For me, one of the biggest reasons I am shocked after seeing this photo is the fact that these children of such young age are performing a mock execution on an even smaller, terrified and innocent child. After pondering their age, the children’s body language and facial expressions become clear. These two older kids are smiling and maybe even laughing while completely focused on their mock execution. My first thought was, “This is messed up,” and then realized that they are doing this for the simple fun of it. I feel like this can be similarly connected with kids having fun with play guns in America, but I believe that this takes it a step too far. I feel like it takes what might be, in reality, just fun and games and turns it into this serious influential photograph that now causes questions to be raised. The angle of the photograph is another aspect to be taken into account. The image is taken at a slightly downward angle to the youngest child in the middle. I believe that this gives the image a more innocent feel and makes the small child seem even smaller and more helpless to the firm grasps of the two surrounding bigger adolescents. The two older children seem to have no empathy for the smaller adolescent and his feelings seem to be the last thing on their minds. In general terms these children are performing what seems to be a mock execution in the streets of Baghdad for the pure fun of it.
This image is probably the most shocking and influential image I have ever witnessed. When first viewing it my brain registered two thoughts, “I’ve never seen an image like this,” and “Are they even allowed to show something like this to the public?” Every day we can turn on the television, flip to the news, and see images of the War in Iraq. When comparing the images on T.V. to an image like this you almost have to ask the question, “Well why don’t I ever see images like this on the news?” This photo is unquestionably one of the most powerful and surprising photos taken of the War in Iraq. One reason I think a photograph such as this has not yet been revealed within national news is because the American public is just not yet ready to witness different aspects of the war through this kind of lens. In this photo there are no U.S. soldiers present nor is there anything pointing at the fact that a war is being fought around them. Americans are used to seeing their country’s soldiers helping Iraqis or contributing to the overall goal of winning the war and this image is completely off that topic. This image shows three young children in Baghdad that appear to be playing games that, to them, seem to just simply be normal recreation. This image might not have that big of an impact on fellow Iraqis but for most Americans it can carry a powerful meaning that cause individuals to be greatly influenced by it. This might be explained by the fact that Iraqis within a current warzone are more likely to be exposed to influences such as this where as Americans are somewhat sheltered to seeing such violent acts like this on as day to day basis. On the other hand, I am sure everyone, to some extent, has experienced playing with fake guns as a kid. When thinking of childhood one can almost see the other side of it and say, “Well this photo is not that big of a deal, we all pretended to shoot our friends with fake guns when we were little.” The question that popped in my head at this moment is, “What if the children in this photo were American?” Now the discussion moves away from the photograph itself and the idea of stereotype comes into play. “Does this photo seem so shocking because the so called “enemy” is portrayed in it?” “Has American media placed a negative stereotype on all Iraqis because we are at war within their country?” I believe questions such as these need to be addressed when first judging the photo and what it might mean to each and every one of us.
Americans are forced to judge the war and base their opinions on what they see and hear in the news. Two of my close friends have been to Baghdad to fight in the war and I have heard things that you would never see in the news. I feel like photographers need to take more photos like this one and the news needs to help inform citizens better on all the different perspectives. In my opinion, the news has too much control over what America sees and what they do not see. More on topic, this image is easily connected to America’s War in Iraq and people will associate this image with a broader context about war and individuals could easily be influenced and manipulated to think certain things about the Iraqi people. I believe this image carries a powerful significance and can be examined from a variety of views and perspectives with no one view point being right or wrong. Each and every person will create their own judgments and be influenced in their own way. The importance of this photo personally is that no matter who is exposed to this image, they will definitely be affected in some way or another. This shows how truly powerful one simple photograph can actually be.
