The Sudanese Girl, photographed by Kevin Carter - Essay Example

One was searching for the appropriate photograph to be the of a rhetorical analysis and found Kevin Carter’s “The Sudanese Girl” that won him a Pulitzer Prize in 1994. Apart from the disturbing message that is visually manifested in the picture and captured the attention of people globally, the controversial story that haunted the photographer from the time the photograph was taken, up to the accolades received, intermittently interspersed with criticisms, and ultimately led to his suicide, only two months after. There is more meaning to what is seen in the photography, much more than someone who was so close to the girl could take. At the time the photograph was taken, Sudan had been in the midst of a civil war that have led to prolonged famine that afflicted a wide range of the population necessitating international organizations like the United Nations to distribute aid in the form of food and other relief supplies. The strength of the rhetorical analysis comes in terms of requiring validating references from diverse secondary sources to confirm the credibility not only of the incidents crucial for the photograph, but also the story surrounding famine infested Sudan and Carter’s ultimate demise. The Sudanese Girl, photographed by Kevin Carter A young naked body cramped on the earth, with very thin limbs, and rib cage protruding. Face touching the earth from the forehead. The viewer could not even decipher the gender. Despite the face hidden, the gender could have been surmised due to the single white accessory around the neck. Most disturbing was the vulture intently eyeing a potential meal, not even three meters away. Everything else seemed to be oblivious of the scene. Aside from the green trees that set the background, all that viewers see is the disturbing reality of hunger, famine, eminent death. The meaning that the picture aims to relay is more than eliciting pity, empathy, fear – it generated diverse reactions and criticisms that created another tragic story for the photographer who was tagged as "The man adjusting his lens to take just the right frame of her suffering," said The Sudanese Girl, photographed by Kevin Carter Source: Toledo, 2010 the St. Petersburg (Florida) Times, "might just as well be a predator, another vulture on the scene” (Macleod, 1994, 5). The story of Kevin Carter was thereby featured in Time, published on September 12, 1994 entitled “The Life and Death of Kevin Carter” (Time, 1994) which proffered the kind of life the photographer led and the tendencies for drug addiction and susceptibility to suicide. Having previously attempted to take his life after losing his job, Macleod revealed Carter espousing a troubled personality exemplifying a rollercoaster prelude aggravated by the habit of taking marijuana and the ‘white-pipe’: “a mixture of dagga and Mandrax, a banned tranquilizer containing methaqualone” (Macleod, 1994, 3). Another opportunity to rationalize the tragic suicide of a recently acclaimed photographer, seeking to justify the outcome of his behavior, by fitting pieces of a puzzle, leaving the readers to conclude. The image ability to appeal to ethos is deemed eminent in its solicitation of diverse reactions focusing the plight of the victims of Sudan’s civil war and famine. The immediate fame it generated by winning a Pulitzer Prize was actually magnified by the event of the photographer’s death. According to Christensen (2010), “it is true that Kevin Carter won a Pulitzer Prize for his famous photograph. It is also true that Carter left the scene after taking the photograph without helping the child. However, it is too simplistic to suggest that he committed suicide as a direct result of his experience with this child as implied in the message. It is also unfair to judge his actions without having some understanding of the man's state of mine along with the terrible conditions in Sudan at the time the photograph was taken” (par. 2). The statement supports the appeal of the ethos perspective in reaching various audiences and eliciting diverse reactions. The use of color was likewise appropriate to depict the dry, arid, suffocating environment that has been instrumental in highlighting the weakness and almost near-death status of the girl’s body slumped on the earth. As no shadows were eminent from the figure, it could be surmised that the time the photograph was taken was at noontime which aggravates the stillness of the day, leaving the body alone in its agony – except for the metamorphosis of death at its back. More disturbing is the global response that resulted from publishing the photo. As cited by Christensen (2010), “the New York Times, looking for photographs of the Sudan famine, bought Carter's shot and ran it on 23 March. The newspaper was swamped with letters and telephone calls, many asking what had happened to the child. Within days, the photograph was a global icon. Syndicated around the world, it was an image that was worth a thousand telethons. However, Carter faced fierce criticism for abandoning the child” (par. 6). Aside from global inquiries on the state of the child, there has not been any concrete action that any international organization did to put an end to the civil war in Sudan. Apparently, the Sudan civil war only ended in 2005, as Oxfam (2011) clarified that “a UN peacekeeping mission can never be a long term solution, and ultimately the South Sudan government is responsible for protecting its own citizens. However, the stakes are so high that the UN must be able to support the state, and also provide protection to civilians where the state is unable to do so” (par. 8). Thereby, despite the vivid reality depicted in Carter’s picture, his personal acclaim failed to instigate international agencies to end the brutal war that famished Sudan’s population to death. Kevin Carter’s ‘The Sudanese Girl’ won 1994’s Pulitzer Prize award for Feature Photography that apparently “made the world weep” (Macleod, 1994), criticized the photographer for his insensitive and irresponsive stance and left Sudan in civil war and famine beyond help and assistance. The picture had the strong capability to incite vast emotions ranging from empathy, loneliness, despair, anger, fury, depression, hopelessness, indifference. But like the photographer who was too close for comfort, no positive action from the outside world could have prevented famine and war that remained within their midst for 21 long years. References Christensen, B.M. (2010). Kevin Carter Pulitzer Prize Photograph. Retrieved 10 June 2011. < http://www.hoax-slayer.com/kevin-carter-pulitzer.shtml> Macleod, S. (1994). “The Life and Death of Kevin Carter.” Time. Retrieved 10 June 2011. < http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,981431-3,00.html> Toledo, E.E. (2010). World’s Most Famous Photographs. Retrieved 10 June 2011. < http://www.enzotoledo.com/enzo/worlds-most-famous-photographs> Read More