Analysis of Nick Ut's Photography on the Vietnam War

This report delves into the photography of Nick Ut, specifically examining his impactful images from the Vietnam War. The analysis focuses on three key photographs: 'Napalm Girl,' a Skyraider aircraft, and an image of a grandmother with her grandson. The report explores the historical and political context of these images, including the dropping of the Napalm bomb in Trang Bang village and the broader implications of the Vietnam War. It discusses the emotive power of Ut's work and its role in shaping public opinion, highlighting the futility of war and the suffering of civilians. The report also touches upon Ut's biographical background, his recognition with the Pulitzer Prize, and the significance of his work in conveying social and political realities. The analysis emphasizes the photographs' ability to serve as a testament to historical events and a reflection of human experiences, ultimately underscoring the importance of photography as a means of storytelling and social commentary.

Running head: PHOTOGRAPHY OF NICK UT
PHOTOGRAPHY OF NICK UT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1PHOTOGRAPHY OF NICK UT
Introduction
Photography is an art which seeks to convey emotions and social and political realities
very vividly but in a subtle manner. Photography is not merely about capturing a moment in the
camera and preserving it for viewing later. They serve as a testimony to the historical episodes
that have taken place. They are also a mirror to the emotions and the experiences of human
beings which are necessary for understanding a particular situation or a historical event which
have taken place. Thus photography is way more than just capturing images, it is a matter of
creating connection with the masses and also a form of expression of the viewpoint from an
artistic angle, devoting a personal insight into the work and thereby turning it into a masterpiece.
The aim is to create a visual masterpiece that shall be evoking a sense of attachment to the
incident and thereby imbibing a message for the masses to be ponder over it and thereby give
their viewpoints on it. Photographs are thus an alternate method of narrating the historical events,
which makes them extremely important.
Statement of purpose
This particular essay shall be an analysis of three photographs by Canadian photographer
Nick Ut. The aim is to relate the photographs with the issue of political events and analyze them
as per the message and the idea they wish to convey. In this particular essay three photographs
have been chosen, the most iconic photograph ‘Napalm Girl’ which had evoked the sense of
futility of war and had drawn negative opinion about the Vietnam War and the aggressive
foreign policies of the United States of America; the Skyraider, a propeller driven plane of the
Vietnamese Airforce (VNAF) 518th Squadron, the aircraft which had caused the catastrophe in

2PHOTOGRAPHY OF NICK UT
the Trang Bang Village and the image of a Vietnamese grandmother carries her severely burned
one-year-old grandson down Route One, which is reflective of the ill effects of the war which
had caused the common people to suffer because of the political aspirations of the power blocs.
The images belong to the period of Vietnam War and the photographer had gained fame because
of the projection war through images in a very emotive manner.
Biographical account of the chosen photographer
Nick Ut is a photographer of Vietnamese American origin born in the year 1951. Nick Ut
works for the Associated Press based in Los Angeles, at international locations. Nick Ut is a
celebrated photographer who has been accolade with the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Spot News
Photography and the World Press Photo of the Year in 1973 for his most iconic collection of
works dealing with the capturing of the scenes from the Vietnam War. The most striking work of
his has been the images of the destruction caused by the dropping of the Napalm bomb in the
village of Trang Bang. His works are indeed commendable as he had captured the images right
from the point when destruction seemed imminent to the aftermath of the incident. In the
following sections the discussion shall be dealing with the analysis of the historical, political and
emotive concerns related to the photographs.
Analysis of the photographs of the chosen photographer
The chosen photographs have been taken from the June 8, 1972 incident of the dropping
of the Napalm Bomb at the village of Trang Bang at South Vietnam. The village of Trang Bang
had been occupied by the Communist forces of North Vietnam. The South Vietnam was
occupied by US Military forces who were helping out the South Vietnamese soldiers to set up a

3PHOTOGRAPHY OF NICK UT
capitalist government. The dropping of the Napalm Bomb has been as mistake on part of the
South Vietnamese military as the target was the North Vietnamese Army stationed in the region,
instead the civilian village had come under attack. Nick Ut’s photographs bear testimony to te
destructive effects of the attack.
Napalm Girl (Ut, 2019)
This particular photograph is the one which had received the maximum amount of fame
among all other works in the collection titled ‘The Terror of War’. The title of the photograph
derives itself from the destruction, homelessness and the desperation for seeking a safe refuge
caused by dropping of the napalm bomb. The napalm bomb is a bomb made out of an incendiary
mixture of petrochemicals and the aluminium salts named napthenic and palmitic acid, which
was specifically designed to cause destruction at a large scale. This particular photograph shows

4PHOTOGRAPHY OF NICK UT
a naked girl named Phan Thi Kim Phuc who had lost her cousins and had incurred severe burns
as a result of the destructive effects of the bomb. The naked girl symbolizes the futility of war
which does more harm any good, and civilians irrespective of whichever faction they might
belong to becomes the soft targets of the destruction.
Skyraider, a propeller driven plane of the Vietnamese Airforce (VNAF) 518th Squadron (Ut,
2019)
This particular aircraft had been used by the Vietnamese Airforce to launch the attack.
The photograph very clearly shows that a missile is being dropped. This photograph symbolizes

5PHOTOGRAPHY OF NICK UT
the fact that the military are hegemonized by the state in such a manner that they are dissuaded
from using their discretion in the event of an armed conflict. The army is essentially
dehumanized and are turned into machines the ones they are supposed to control in order to
make the operation successful.
A Vietnamese grandmother carries her severely burned one-year-old grandson down Route One
(Ut, 2019)
This photograph projects another gruesome image of war and destruction which is
ruthless and affects the lives of the ones who have nothing to do with the political dealings

6PHOTOGRAPHY OF NICK UT
between the leaders, nor are they concerned about the clash of political ideologies. Civilians are
just concerned with peace and politics is not their matter of concern. The Cold War and the clash
of the ideologies of capitalism and communism had claimed several lives and had caused the
peace and stability of many regions to get disrupted.
Conclusion
At the concluding section it can be said that the images bear a testimony to the fact that
the United States of America had failed not only with regard to its foreign policy, but also had
failed in terms of upholding the principle of humanity. This reinstates the fact that war is not the
solution.

7PHOTOGRAPHY OF NICK UT
References
Ut, N. (2019). Photographer Nick Ut: The Napalm Girl. [online] AP Images. Available at:
http://www.apimages.com/Collection/Landing/Photographer-Nick-Ut-The-Napalm-
Girl-/ebfc0a860aa946ba9e77eb786d46207e