Kevin Carter's Infamous Prize Winning Photo

[KirstyEkua]

In my Anthropology of International Health class today (i'm studying for a Masters in African Studies) we were discussing structural violence i.e 'violence that is exerted systematically - that is, indirectly by everyone who belongs to a certain social order.'

One example was this picture, showing a little girl crawling towards a UN feeding programme in the Sudan during the fammine. The vulture in the background is waiting for her to die so he can eat her.

The photographer, Kevin Carter stood for 20 mins before taking the picture as he wanted the bird to spread his wings so he could ge a better shot. But he gave up and took the picture, leaving immediately. No one knows what happened to the girl.

3 months later he killed himself, alledgely owning to depression.

The picture is incredibly controversial and i just wondered what you're thoughts were on it? Do you think the girl is the subject of violece? Or the photographer himself? Do you think he was right to take this?

Just let me know your opinions please. I'm thinking of writing a paper relating to the subject and your views would be really helpful

[Ryan]

When watching media of tragedies such as we usually get one awful story, such as the one above. What we don't see is the hundreds of other people dying in the same place at the same time. For us, it is us and that girl. For him it was probably literally thousands of starving Sudanese surrounding him. The decision to leave the girl alone is probably similiar to choosing one life over another.

Was he right to take this. Yes, I believe reporters to these types of stories are right to try and gain emotive images like this, though I would like to think that those who do this kind of journalism are there because they think they have a skill that can help the Africans rather than to make big bucks.

[*Maddie*]

I've never seen that photo before, but I think it's great. It's not nice at all, but the situation isn't nice, and if all we saw was the photographer waiting for the little girl to lift her head so we could look into her big black eyes and go "awww"... then that would be manipulative and safe, and nowhere near as powerful in my opinion. This is daily life for these people. It's daily life for the vulture, too. That girl is a potential meal, whether we like it or not. Would it be any better to let the bird starve than to let the girl starve? Being humans, most would say hell yes, but I bet the vulture wouldn't agree.

I also agree that it's unlikely that she would have been the only dying child the photographer saw, and that a depression severe enough to warrant suicide would have come from one singular incident. If it had been me, I might have taken the photo and helped the girl to reach the feeding program at least, but I still would have walked away in the end. You can only do so much, and if you don't think it's you're place, sometimes you don't do anything at all. I for one have never chosen to put myself in a situation where I've been confronted with the reality of emaciated children dying all around me, so that photographer is one up on me.

[January]

I have seen this photo before. Its very powerful. It epitomises the tragic situation in some of these African nations. If the photo has increased the awareness of the plight of these people then it’s done a great job. It’s a shame that the horror of working in this type of environment took its toll on the obviously talented photographer.

I admire and commend people who can work in these situations, I couldn’t.

[carmelle]

I hadn't seen that photo before.

When I first saw it and read that he left immediately after taking it my initial reaction was anger at the fact that he just left her, but I realise that this was probably just one child out of many that were in the area and that there was no way he could have helped them all even if he had wanted to.

I do think he was right to take this picture though. Without pictures like these people may not realise the things that take place it the world.

[superman's girlfriend]

I think he should have come between them save the girl even if she had only 3 more minutes left it's the right thing to do it's why we differ from animals we have feelings if he hadn't witnessed this that day then this couldn't have been prevented but he did and then 3 months later killed himself so obviously this man should've done something (i don't care about the picture)

but who am i to judge i have nothing to worry about .. I'll never understand the way of life in third world countries.