A few examples of the power of images....

One of the memorable photographs taken on May 2, 2011, the date that U.S. Navy SEALS stormed the bin Laden compound and killed Osama bin Laden, was this of President Obama and his cabinet watching the operation unfold.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Hilary Clinton's covered mouth became controversial.

The White House has had to fight to keep images of bin Laden's body out of view.  More than 50 images taken of bin Laden's dead body and burial at sea were classified as CIA documents. A conservative group,  Judicial Watch, quickly filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to have the photos released.  Their CIA classification has been upheld in the lower courts, and the final decision by the Supreme Court, denying the appeal on January 15th, falls in line with past decisions.

What are possible risks in releasing these images?  What are possible benefits?  Does it matter when many faked images have circulated in newspapers, magazines, and on websites?

www.chicagotribune.com

"Iraqis in Baghdad

( Photo by SABAH ARAR/AFP/Getty Images )

Iraqis in Baghdad watch a news broadcast on Arabic satellite news channel Al-Arabiya showing an image which has been circulating on the internet and allegedly shows the body of Al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden, on May 2, 2011, after the US announced their forces had killed the world's most wanted man in a military operation near the Pakistani city of Islamabad."

How have images of dead enemies been used in the past?

Here's one example...

Assurbanipal and his Queen in the Garden, Assyrian, 645 BCE, bas relief frieze, originally in royal palace at Nineveh, now in British Museum

How else are images of the dead used?

Throughout Western Art History, this is one of the most popular images:

Matthias Grunewald's Issenheim Altarpeice circa 1515 CE
www.venetianred.net

In more recent years, one might expect to see images such as these in the media:

  Soon, we will discuss signs and symbols where one word or image can stand for another.  Are you familiar with this image- can you imagine what is symbolized here?