When I first saw the image before reading the article, I thought the image was staged because of the gesture of the falling soldier. The way he was falling, the legs seemed to be unusual. I’ve not yet seen anyone falling in such a gesture with his thighs almost parallel to the ground. The way he was falling onto the ground gave me feeling of someone who is scared of falling trying to fall on his butt.
However, after reading the article, the writer convinced me a little, especially with the conversation with Capt. Franks about how the fingers of the falling soldier were placed on the left thigh, “the fingers are somewhat curled toward the palm clearly indicates that the man’s muscles have gone limp and that he is already dead.” This explanation seemed to be biological which is powerful than people’s guesses and interpretations.
I felt like authenticity does matter, but what can we call to be authentic. These images seemed to be more powerful and convincing when staged which designed gestures. But these people and places in the photo are who they are, those are facts. Photographers staged their photos so that they created a stronger message which was their main purpose. If you look at the photos in such aspect, the photos would be more acceptable.
