cliche or classic

This image left a huge impression on me when I first saw it as a young girl.

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/Photography/Images/Content/afghan-girl-portrait-127438-xl.jpg

Today, it is hawked around as a blemished stereotype, but it is still powerful. Well, I liked it.

...though i have no concrete memory of experiencing it for the first time.

the best way i can describe this photograph is penetrating. it seems to go beyond imperialist or 'orientalist' (Edward Said, 1978) essentialisations and prejudiced outsider interpretations of 'other' cultures. the girl's very direct, powerful gaze seems impossibly empowered. impossibly, because it contradicts her reality.

The photo headlines National Geographic's 100 Best and is part of Magnum Photography's archive of 'Photos That Changed the World' at The Slate. Generally, Magnum is an invaluable resource for iconic photography, particularly Today's Pictures - a fantastic historical archive. Though the images are selected by an exclusive group, there are interesting public discussions of Magnum's archives at The Fray - http://fray.slate.com/discuss/

did you know Steve McCurry (the photographer of 'The Afghan Girl') went back to search for her in 2002 and, backed by forensic evidence, is certain he found her - http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/03/0311_020312_sharbat.html?

uncannily, it's as relevant a photograph today as in 1984. or perhaps more.

Yes, at the time it was the direct gaze that made the photo .... andit was much, much later that the photo resonated when I too came across Said's Orientalism.

I had seen the follow-up by Steve McCurry and was shocked, but not surprised, to find out that the subject had no idea she had become so well-known.

As a contrast to the Afghan Girl ... this image of a young western girl really worries me:



How do we save our children from ourselves?