TANK MAN
“Tank Picture” Jeff Widener
Why this photo?
As soon as I read the assignment, this image came to mind. I took a human rights class my senior year of college, and this image stuck with me. For that class we watched Frontline’s “The Tank Man”, a PBS report I re-watched to prepare for this assignment. I am going to use information from that broadcast to provide a background so that I can then expand on the significance of this particular photograph.
Background:
On April 27, 1989, ten of thousands of students gathered in Tiananmen Square, in the heart of Beijing, to mourn the passing of Hu Yoabang, a former General Secretary of the Communist Party. Hu was a symbol of anti-corruption following his resignation from the government and as the students mourned his passing, their gathering turned into a protest for reform. The students demanded free press as well as an end to political corruption.
As the protest grew so did the makeup of the protestors and the demands. Soon 1 in 10 of the citizens in Beijing were protesting at Tiananmen Square. The uprise spread to 400 cities throughout China and when China’s workers joined in, Party leaders got nervous, since the workers were the ones that helped the Communist Party rise to power 40 years prior. There was a disagreement within the party about the correct course of action but in May, Li Peng, Premier in the People’s Republic of China, ultimately declares martial law. However, the people in Beijing blocked the road and the trucks of soldiers with their numbers. The army could not move forward without running people over and they could not retreat. For four days the army could only wait while citizens confronted and appealed to them, asking them why they would fight their own people, people they are supposed to protect. The citizens did give them food and water and the people of Beijing rejoiced when the army eventually retreated.
Embarrassed and humiliated, the Government became even more fearful of the collapse of the Communist Party, as communism was collapsing all over Eastern Europe. That fear lead to the June 3rd military crackdown. The army started to reenter the city, but this time in tanks and armed with battlefield weapons. They had orders to clear Tiananmen Square by 6am. That night, the citizens of Beijing tried to barricade and light fires along the way in order to prevent entrance into the city. To the shock the the people, the so-called “People’s Army” began to fire at them, fire at people who were-at best-armed with rocks. People continued to try and prevent the advancement, but to no avail, any person in the way of the army was shot.
By the morning of June 4th, the army had entered and taken a stance in Tiananmen Square. People tried to reenter the square, many trying to find loved ones, but the army warns that they will fire and they raise their weapons in demonstration. As the civilians retreat they are shot in the back by the soldiers. This cycle of people trying to enter and the army shooting people in the back continues for the remainder of the day. Even ambulances are shot at, no one can get near the square.
On June 5th, the army has complete control of the city. A row of tanks, in what witnesses consider to be a parade of celebration, roll down Chang’an Avenue, ironically called the Avenue of Eternal Peace. Suddenly a man walked in front of the tanks. He is a slight man, wearing a simple white dress shirt and black slacks and he is holding a bag in each hand. He will not move and will not let the tanks pass. Even as the tank attempts to roll around him the “tank man” continues to get in the way. He will not budge. The tank turns off its engine and the man even climbs on and talks to those inside. It is not clear what is said, but it is clear that Tank Man is not happy with what has been happening in his city. He climbs back off the tank and stands his ground again. At this point people dressed in regular clothes, some claim that they must be soldiers dressed in street clothes, move the man out of the way. To this day it is unclear who Tank Man was and what became of him.
About the Photographer:
In 1989 Jeff Widener was a photographer for Associated Press.
Widener was in Beijing covering the events, and got a concussion during the events on June 3rd. He claims that his Nikon F3 Titanium camera absorbed the shock from the blast and ended up saving his life (Witty, 2009).
Even with his injury he managed to work his way to the A.P. Office where he was informed that they needed a picture of Tiananmen Square. Reluctantly, especially after witnessing the events of the past two days, Widener returned to the Beijing Hotel, where he knew he could get a view down Chang’an Avenue. With the assistance of a college student, Widener was able to smuggle his camera gear to the 6th floor balcony of the hotel. He took many pictures but then asked the college student to go locate more film. The student returned with “one roll of Fuji 100 ASA color negative film” (Witty, 2009). Widener normally shot with 800 ASA, but loaded the film into his Nikon FE2 anyway (remember, his other camera sacrificed itself so that Widener could live).
Returning to the balcony, Widener noticed the parade of tanks down the avenue and was waiting to get the perfect shot. However, his idea of the perfect shot was thrown out the widow once he noticed the man in front of the tanks. The college student who had been watching the entire scene shouted “They are going to kill him!” (Witty, 2009). Widener focused his Nikon 400mm 5.6 ED IF lens while waiting to capture the moment when the man would be killed. However, Widener wanted to zoom in closer, but his TC-301 teleconverter, which would allow for a closer shot, was on the bed so Widener had to determine if he should risk stepping away to grab it. Deciding that the shot would be worth it, Widener snatched the teleconverter and began shooting. However, he soon realized that his shutter speed was low and figured that he was not getting any useable shots.
Knowing that he had his earlier rolls of film of the square, Widener had the college student smuggle all of the rolls, including the Fuji 100, back to the A.P. office. Hours later Widener received a call from his photo editor who wanted to know what shutter speed he was shooting. Widener was convinced that his film was worthless, but was told that they used the image anyway, even though it was not very sharp (Witty, 2009).
To Widener’s great surprise it was an image from that Fuji 100 role that made headlines around the world, an image he thought would never be used is the image he is most known for.
Other Images of the Event:
Though 4 other photographs took pictures of the same moment, it was Widener’s image that made the headlines. Whether its popularity is due to the the framing and the clarity or how he was able to zoom in on the scene and still fit in four tanks or if it is because he captured the moment with the man slightly turned is up for debate. Personally, I like the framing with the street lamp. It is a striking image in any form but the way the man appears to have turned slightly in Wider’s image reminds me that this man was vulnerable. He was brave to be sure, but the slight turn makes my heart break for the man. In any case, it is Widener’s image that has and continues to garner such attention.
Impact:
The day after the “Tank Man” photo was taken, newspapers the world over featured the image on their front pages and declared this unknown man as a hero. D.L. LeMahieu states, “this image came to symbolize courage and heroic resistance: "One Man's Act of Defiance and Valor" (Chicago Tribune); "The Man Who Stopped the Tanks" (Newsday); "Our Freedom Cannot Die" (Daily Mirror); "Crackdown in Beijing: One Man Can Make a Difference" (New York Times).” President Bush even praised the individual, commenting on his bravery (LeMahieu, 2011).
Additionally, like Patrick Witty suggests, “the moment instantly became a symbol of the protests as well as a symbol against oppression worldwide — an anonymous act of defiance seared into our collective consciousnesses” (Witty, 2009).
Furthermore, protestors in Eastern Europe, who were fighting their own communist oppression, were inspired by the Tank Man and everything he stood for (LeMahieu, 2011). Tank Man knew what had been going on in his city, and yet he still stood his ground. Facing almost certain death, his own disgust with the situation could not be silenced anymore.
References:
LeMahieu, D.L. (2011). Digital Memory, Moving Images, and the Absorption of Historical Experience. Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies, 41 (1). Retrieved from http://0-muse.jhu.edu.library.simmons.edu/journals/film_and_history/v041/41.1.lemahieu.html
Thomas, Antony (Writer & Director). (2006). The Tank Man [Frontline]. Retrieved from
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/view/
Witty, P. (2009, June 3). Behind the Scenes: Tank Man of Tiananmen. Lens, The New York Times. Retrieved from http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/behind-the-scenes-tank-man-of-tiananmen/
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