V-J Day In Times Square Essay

“V-J Day in Times Square” by Alfred Eisenstaedt (1945) is a picture well-known across the United States and possibly as well as in other countries. People see the photo as romantic and impassioned, showing love during a time of celebration. However, some also believe this public display of affection could possibly be sexual assault. During this time in the photo, people were gathering and celebrating over the announcement from the president that Japan had surrendered and they have won the war. It was a moment of celebration taken too far by the sailor. The crowd of people in the background saw it as a passionate couple lip-locking in celebration, but today people see it as sexual assault.
The famous photo, “V-J Day in Times Square,” depicts a man in a sailor’s uniform passionately kissing a woman in a nurse’s uniform with a crowd of people surrounding them in the street of Times Square in New York City, New York. The sailor and nurse’s uniforms are outdated and nothing in comparison to what they look like today. The crowd in the background are also dressed old-fashioned, women in their midi-dresses and leathered pumps and the men in their casual button-ups and trousers. Most everything in the picture is outdated and not what it is today. The focal point is centered on the embraced couple since the two are the …show more content…
Some people still see it as a time of celebration. Yet, they would not like it if some random stranger invaded their personal space and kissed them forcefully. Other people do not understand why no one ever noticed that it was sexual assault until recently. Though the picture may have just been a mistake, it still portrays the sailor sexually assaulting the nurse. The photograph should not labeled as romantic or passionate anymore and should be labeled for what it is. As it was previously stated earlier, no one will truly know what had happened at that moment except for the ones that were