Afghan Girl

In Rae Lynn Schwartz-DuPre’s paper, Portraying the Political: National Geographic’s 1985 Afghan Girl and a US Alibi for Aid, she discusses the effects of the Afghan Girl’s iconic photo, which was to help the U.S.’ political agenda. What was so surprising to read was the fact that National Geographic is a subdued puppet for the government. However, once Dupre points out how National Geographic can secretly supplement the government’s agenda onto their citizens, it was an ‘aha’ moment. I could not believe I did not see it before.

While reading the paper, I was curious and googled the Afghan Girl, and it is an image that does not resonate very much with me like the photograph of Iwo Jima. However, the eyes, how the girl was posed, and the framing or cropping that was done in the photo feels familiar, in a sense that I see females around me trying to imitate the intimacy within a photo. 

Another google I did was the Migrant Mother, and the person who was pictured was identified years later. The Afghan Girl was also discovered, 17 years later. The following story was done on her and, like what National Geographic did 17 years ago, did not respectfully give her royalties. I find this to be the third case where an individual has been exploited without their knowledge or permission, and then becoming an icon unknowingly. Other than the Afghan Girl, the Migrant Mother was also a victim of disaster pornography. The third victim that I know of was not turned into an iconic photograph, but instead is continually being used in science, Henrietta Morris. 

With Morris, there are many who said it was for the good of the world since with Morris’ cells, we are closer to solving cancer. Then for Florence Owen Thompson (Migrant Mother), she helped raise awareness of the hardships of the country at the time. It could be said the same for the Afghan Girl, that without her, we would not have the motivation to push back the Soviet Union away from Afghanistan in 1965. 

However, with Dupre’s argument and newly found knowledge of how much popular media can interpolate audiences, I then question every iconic photograph ever surfaced. An iconic photo cannot be iconic without its audience. There is just a lot of mistrust in the process of how the photograph reaches from the photographer’s camera to public consumption. 

With that out there, I question the Iwo Jima photograph now, along with the photograph at 9/11 with the firemen raising the flag. While those photographs individually have their strengths and cultural effect, there is just a lot of doubt if those photograph was truly chosen for their statement or because how their statement can be manipulated.