All Faces Matter

With respect to war and conflict, America has always taken great steps to protect the identity, dignity and integrity of American victims of war; however, the same cannot be said of America’s treatment of the victims of our opposition. Regarding the Pain of Others makes it apparent that “[…] photographs of anonymous Americans casualties had appeared in a number of news-magazines, always prone or shrouded or with their faces turned away” (Sontag 70).  The way these photographs were taken assured that the faces of these casualties were not seen. Photographs are taken this way to conceal the victim’s identity and to be considerate of the family members and close ones to the victim. For instance, images from September 11, 2001 broadcasted on the news gave an overview of the disaster but the camera did not focus in on people’s faces. Some pictures that were taken by amateurs near the scene at the time of the event were posted on the internet and had to be taken off because they revealed the faces of the Americans and many of the loved ones of the victims were hurt by the images.  Regarding the Pain of Others recognizes that “This is a dignity not thought necessary to accord to others” (70).  The faces of victims not from this country, the “others”, are usually displayed in news magazines and the television. Sympathy for the others and their families are not taken into account as they are when it comes to our side. For example, in Clint Eastwood’s historical film, Letters from Iwo Jima, when the American soldiers landed on the shorelines of the island, the Japanese shot at them but none of the Americans faces were in the camera’s shot. Even though it was just a movie, the film did not show the individual faces of the Americans when they were all being attacked or when they were dead. When the camera did a shot over the beach where all the dead American soldiers laid none of their faces were in focus. The Japanese’s faces on the other hand were all shown which is ironic because the movie is supposed to represent their side. When the Americans were blowing them up with fire torches or when the Japanese committed suicide, their deaths were shown along with the aftermath including their faces.