The Ultimate Confrontation: The Flower and the Bayonet photographed by the French photojournalist Marc Riboud was captured on October 21, 1967. The location was an anti-
Vietnam war protest that took place in the American capital at the Pentagon. The girl in the photo is 17 year old Jan Rose Kasmir. The protest involved 100,000 participants’ vs 2,500 soldiers.
Riboud captured a fleeting moment, that of a girl offering a flower to the soldiers and the spirit of the 1960s. The photograph seems an all too perfect representation of the movement but in reality is just a raw moment captured and not staged. Through the medium of photography the spirit of the individual fighting for what they believe …show more content…
The French artist Pierre Soulages wrote about Riboud that “his pictures give us the overwhelming feeling, at once tonic and painful, of being in the world, of being alive, of belonging to an unending whole.”
Riboud did not claim to be an expert on what he photographed but he was constantly searching for the truth in what he saw.
The Vietnam War began in 1954 and involved the communist regime of North Vietnam and its ally the Viet Cong vs South Vietnam and its main ally the United States. The war was a component of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. It was very controversial and resulted in over 3 million deaths. What made this war different from other wars was that it was filmed and displayed in peoples home, resulting in it being duped the ‘living room war’. Wars had been something that traditionally brought people together in a unified force to support the war effort, but when presented with the brutality and the actuality of war it resulted in a loss of support. People came out in droves to protest the war and many refused the draft. The image is that of juxtaposing ideas, on one side is the young girl protesting for peace with
Vietnam war protest that took place in the American capital at the Pentagon. The girl in the photo is 17 year old Jan Rose Kasmir. The protest involved 100,000 participants’ vs 2,500 soldiers.
Riboud captured a fleeting moment, that of a girl offering a flower to the soldiers and the spirit of the 1960s. The photograph seems an all too perfect representation of the movement but in reality is just a raw moment captured and not staged. Through the medium of photography the spirit of the individual fighting for what they believe …show more content…
The French artist Pierre Soulages wrote about Riboud that “his pictures give us the overwhelming feeling, at once tonic and painful, of being in the world, of being alive, of belonging to an unending whole.”
Riboud did not claim to be an expert on what he photographed but he was constantly searching for the truth in what he saw.
The Vietnam War began in 1954 and involved the communist regime of North Vietnam and its ally the Viet Cong vs South Vietnam and its main ally the United States. The war was a component of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. It was very controversial and resulted in over 3 million deaths. What made this war different from other wars was that it was filmed and displayed in peoples home, resulting in it being duped the ‘living room war’. Wars had been something that traditionally brought people together in a unified force to support the war effort, but when presented with the brutality and the actuality of war it resulted in a loss of support. People came out in droves to protest the war and many refused the draft. The image is that of juxtaposing ideas, on one side is the young girl protesting for peace with