Picture: South Vietnam and Eddie Adams

Meghan Lynn
Kate Maude
October 13, 2010
English 200
They say a picture can speak a thousand words, but really, does every picture do this? Even if a picture is historically documented, does this cliché still apply? The photograph Murder of a Vietcong by Saigon Police Chief taken by Eddie Adams in 1968 does not speak a thousand words, but maybe more, it represents the cruelty that both sides of war are endowed with. It has a politically historical background that makes one wonder what is right about this picture, that the South Vietnamese and American military were doing more bad than good to win the war and what morals were taken into consideration when this picture was captured. Also, when seeing an image, it can appear to be easily analyzed and understood, but in reality every photograph has a story behind it and a deeper meaning that to what is literally depicted.
The photograph, Murder of a Vietcong by Saigon Police Chief, by Eddie Adams captures a dramatic scene of South Vietnamese General Nguyen Ngoc Loan about to shoot a prisoner. The story behind the photo is that the prisoner had ordered a death quad to murder South Vietnamese officers or their families. And so the General was the one to complete the execution, which happened to be captured and was going to be published and shown worldwide (Grundberg).

Fig. Eddie Adams. Murder of a Vietcong by Saigon Police Chief. Web. October 13, 2010.
The prisoner looks exhausted, dirty and timorous. The gun is at point blank only a few inches from the prisoner’s head and all the subjects of the photo look like they have been fighting hard at war. The setting is in the middle of a street, which makes the demonstration very public and humiliating for the hostage. It was taken in black and white which makes it even that much more dramatic. The two main subjects cover the entire photo and there is not much detail other than the buildings on the street. But by viewing it, one can see that there are indeed witnesses to the heinous act. The face of the shooter is not completely visible which one would assume would give the shooter confidentiality, but because the photo was published, the officer was forever haunted.
This photograph, along with footage captured by NBC was broadcasted worldwide. Because of this, the world got a glimpse of the horrific events of the Vietnam War. Eddie Adams took this photograph in the hopes of showing the world a view of the war that would astound them. His hopes were achieved and it became one of the most famous images in journalism, also winning him a Pulitzer Prize. What makes the photo so incredibly disturbing is the fact that the barrel of the gun is literally at the prisoner’s head. The grimacing look on the face of the hostage shows the fear and intimidation the general gives off. “ ‘You can see the gun, you can see the expression on the man 's face as the bullet enters his head, and you see the soldier on the left who is wincing at the thing that has happened,’ says Buell. ‘With the still picture, you have time to consider all these factors.’ “ (Adler). The argument that the photo makes is one of war, fear, and defeat. All three points give the message to the viewer that that is what war is about and here is one of many images that portray acts like this. When Eddie Adams took the picture, he had the intentions of capturing a historical event that would show the world what was going on and to change the views of the people about the Vietnam War. After taking it, he realized that he had victimized General Nguyen Ngoc Loan. This is because after the footage and picture were published and the General was identified, it made his life difficult and he had to flee Vietnam and came to the United States. Adams said:
“ ‘The general killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera. Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world. People believe them, but photographs do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths ... What the photograph didn 't say was, 'What would you do if you were the general at that time and place on that hot day, and you caught the so-called bad guy after he blew away one, two or three American soldiers?’” (Goldberg).
By him saying that, it solidifies the fact that not all photographs are completely honest in what they are depicting. The photograph, taken in 1968, captures an event that forever changed the views on the Vietnam War. The intensity of the photo makes the event look heinous and cruel. But because an image speaks more than a thousand words, there are always deeper meanings to what is occurring. When one sees an image, one sees one moment in time, there is no knowledge of what happened a second before or after. In this picture, one would not know that in fact the prisoner being shot was responsible for the deaths of many military officers and their families, and that the General taking part in the execution was doing it only because it is what was usually done. The General was forever victimized because his face was broadcasted worldwide and he was known as a war villain. This photograph is the perfect example of how a photo cannot be interpreted in only one way. It has many meanings and without knowing the history, it can be easily misunderstood.

Works Cited Adler, Margo. "The Vietnam War, Through Eddie Adams ' Lens : NPR." NPR : National
Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102112403>.
Goldberg, Jonah. "There Are Tears in My Eyes." National Review Online. Web. 12 Oct.
2010. <http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/204511/there-are-tears-my-eyes/jonah-goldberg>.
Grundberg, Andy. "Eddie Adams, Journalist Who Showed Violence of Vietnam, Dies at
71." The New York Times. 20 Sept. 2004. Web. 12 Oct. 2010.
"Murder of a Vietcong by Saigon Police Chief - Eddie Adams, 1968 Photo - Oleg
Moiseyenko 's Stock Photography Photos at Pbase.com." PBase.com. Web. 10
Oct. 2010. <http://www.pbase.com/omoses/image/118045027>.

Cited: Adler, Margo. "The Vietnam War, Through Eddie Adams ' Lens : NPR." NPR : National Public Radio : News &amp; Analysis, World, US, Music &amp; Arts : NPR. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. &lt;http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102112403&gt;. Goldberg, Jonah. "There Are Tears in My Eyes." National Review Online. Web. 12 Oct. 2010. &lt;http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/204511/there-are-tears-my-eyes/jonah-goldberg&gt;. Grundberg, Andy. "Eddie Adams, Journalist Who Showed Violence of Vietnam, Dies at 71." The New York Times. 20 Sept. 2004. Web. 12 Oct. 2010. "Murder of a Vietcong by Saigon Police Chief - Eddie Adams, 1968 Photo - Oleg Moiseyenko 's Stock Photography Photos at Pbase.com." PBase.com. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. &lt;http://www.pbase.com/omoses/image/118045027&gt;.