Gourevitch, Phillip and Morris, Errol. “Annals of War, Exposure, The Woman behind the camera at Abu Ghraib.” The New Yorker 24 March 2008. 2 April 2008 http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/03/24/080324fa_gourevitch?printable=true
The essay, “Annals of War, Exposure, The Woman behind the camera at Abu Ghraib,” tells the other side of the story of the military scandal at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Providing detailed physical descriptions of Abu Ghraib prison and the circumstances that would precede Harman’s tour of duty there, the story is told through a soldiers view. It contains quotes from many other soldiers that show the extremities of the situation they were thrust into and their reactions to it. Using many of her own words to explain her experience at Abu Ghraib prison, the essay goes in depth to detail her background, motivations and reasoning for the photographs and tries to bring understanding to the reasons behind “beauty queen smile and thumbs up” pose in the horrible incriminating photos that would end in a dishonorable discharge and prison time.
The authors then comment on the issue of the photographs themselves and what they could mean or not mean and their insignificance in that the pictures “no value as a symbol.” The essay concludes with a critique and an analysis of the photo of Gilligan, a prisoner who was photographed: a “hooded man, in his blanket poncho, barefoot atop his box, arms outstretched, wires trailing from his fingers.”
The essay does manage to evoke some sympathy for Sabrina Harman in telling her story. However, any credibility to a claim for sympathy is dismissed when, with detached apathy and indifference to the reality of the photograph, they choose to critique and analyze the photograph as art.
The essay, “Annals of War, Exposure, The Woman behind the camera at Abu Ghraib,” tells the other side of the story of the military scandal at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Providing detailed physical descriptions of Abu Ghraib prison and the circumstances that would precede Harman’s tour of duty there, the story is told through a soldiers view. It contains quotes from many other soldiers that show the extremities of the situation they were thrust into and their reactions to it. Using many of her own words to explain her experience at Abu Ghraib prison, the essay goes in depth to detail her background, motivations and reasoning for the photographs and tries to bring understanding to the reasons behind “beauty queen smile and thumbs up” pose in the horrible incriminating photos that would end in a dishonorable discharge and prison time.
The authors then comment on the issue of the photographs themselves and what they could mean or not mean and their insignificance in that the pictures “no value as a symbol.” The essay concludes with a critique and an analysis of the photo of Gilligan, a prisoner who was photographed: a “hooded man, in his blanket poncho, barefoot atop his box, arms outstretched, wires trailing from his fingers.”
The essay does manage to evoke some sympathy for Sabrina Harman in telling her story. However, any credibility to a claim for sympathy is dismissed when, with detached apathy and indifference to the reality of the photograph, they choose to critique and analyze the photograph as art.
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