Robert Whelan’s argument about the authenticity of the Falling Soldier seems legitimate. Since it was proven that the man in the photograph, Federico Borrello Garcia, died during the battle at Cerro Muriano it is possible that it was not a posed photograph. His arguments were convincing but the information didn’t really have an effect on me.
I’m not sure that it matters whether or not the photograph is staged. As long as people were actually dying, its still valid. I think that might sound a bit messed up but the photographer didn’t invent the fact that people were dying. Even if it wasn’t authentic, the photograph still captured the effects of the war. If I was forced to chose a side, I think I would say that it was not staged because of the position in which the man was falling. I agree that it would be difficult to know how to stage a fall correctly, especially if he was a militiaman who probably didn’t have much experience posing as if he was dying. What good is authenticity if it isn’t captured in a way that will tell a powerful story.
