Lee Miller: Women in War

 Elizabeth "Lee" Miller was born in Poughkeepsie, New York to parents Florence and Theodore Miller, a mechanical engineer, and amateur photographer. Miller mostly had a privileged childhood in a middle-class family and progressive household. Her father introduced her to photography, teaching her the basics using his own Kodak Brownie camera, as well as, taking photos of her, introducing her to the art of modeling. Miller's youth was scarred, however, when she was raped by the guest of a family friend when she was only seven.

Lee Miller began her career as a model and muse to several surrealists including Condé Nase, Man Ray, and Pablo Picasso. In 1927, she made the cover of Vogue in an art deco style illustration which launched her career in fashion. By 1929, at the age of 24, Miller decided to move to Paris and began working as Man Ray's studio assistant. She is greatly credited for helping Man Ray invent the "solarization" photography technique, using black and white hues to create a halo effect. Eventually, Miller ran her own portrait studio, taking commissions for the French edition of Vogue.

In 1939, Miller moved to London where she met the editor of Vogue, Audrey Withers, and explained her desire to become a photojournalist. Miller's images helped transform the luxury-oriented fashion magazine of Vogue into a serious outlet for news, which arguably helped save Vogue which was struggling to find a place in the war-torn times. She was one of four female photographers accredited as an official war correspondent with the U.S. Armed Forces. Miller arrived in Normandy in July of 1944, only a month after the Allies landed their invasion in Nazi-occupied Europe. She was present for the battle of St. Malo, where she saw the first use of napalm bombing. Later, she was there at the blitz, the chaos following D-Day, the liberation of Paris, the Battle of Alsace, and the U.S. military's entry into Nazi concentration camps at Buchenwald and Dachau. 

Vogue had and still holds a reputation for publishing only the glossiest and perfection of fashion and photos. Miller's publications to Vogue rank among the most graphic and gruesome ever printed in its pages still to this day. On April 18, 1945, Miller took a photo of Nazi official deputy Ernst Kurt Leipzig and his family's suicide at Munich's town hall. When it was published in Vogue, it contained a text caption applauding the daughter's "extraordinarily pretty teeth," and her nurse's uniform she was wearing.

As many of Lee Miller's photographs were haunting and memorable, her most memorable photograph was not even hers. Photographer Scherman took a portrait of Lee Miller on April 30, 1945, in the hours following the liberation of Dachau. Miller and Scherman were present in Hilter's apartment, which had just been raided by U.S. soldiers. The moment captured the infamous bathtub photo where Miller is in Hilter's bathtub where his boots are seen as well as a framed photograph of him. They were unaware that that same day would go down in history as the day Hitler allegedly committed suicide, and it was published in Vogue as the "last of the Hitler myth."

After World War II, she continued to contribute to vogue for two more years, strictly covering fashion and celebrities. She had her first child at the age of 40 and suffered from spouts of depression and alcoholism. According to her family in a documentary of her life, her friends and family encouraged her to promote her work further but she wanted to move on, and "wanted to forget." Lee Miller was a fierce individual who fought against traditional gender roles and refused to be defined by her gender, beauty, or age. She did not limit herself to one practice, as she was a model in front of and behind the camera. She was one of the only female women war correspondents to be credentialed during WWII, showing her true impact and bravery. 

Lee Miller's Photographs During WWII

Sources:

https://www.leemiller.co.uk/article/Artists/b4OcCNM2-8snMwHxWgoJ5Q..a?cl=b4OcCNM2-8snMwHxWgoJ5Q..a&woinst=10&wosid=lvXSOKx8uEeCbJgcnHBXBM&ts=27ztxNOsI279jocQQaGGdw..a

https://www.artnews.com/feature/lee-miller-photography-vogue-man-ray-1234587240/

https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/lee-millers-second-world-war

https://www.theartstory.org/artist/miller-lee/

Good Night, and Good Luck: The Fear that Struck America

 The movie, Good Night, and Good Luck begins in 1958 at a dinner with many journalists, newsmen, and government officials. News reporter, Ed Murrow makes a speech at the dinner about how journalism has become filled with only good news and how it seems to be escaping from the real world. Guests at the dinner seemed surprised and uncomfortable by the statements. 

As the movie flashes back to 1953, multiple news reporters, including Ed Murrow are in a room discussing what story to air in the upcoming show. Some people mention topics on Senator Joseph McCarthy, but these ideas were immediately declined due to the controversy surrounding McCarthy. Someone mentions a story about a Chicago air force officer who was charged and dismissed from the air force due to his father being communist or having communist ties. Many of the men were reluctant to air this story because of fear of backlash from McCarthy. The men decided to send a couple people to Chicago to get footage. Ed Murrow supports airing the story while many of the men are opposed. After the story aired, two colonels arrived at the office and interviewed a man for jeopardizing national security and interfering with the government. 

Senator McCarthy was known to expose communism and exploit the fears of communism among the people. Ed Murrow and Fred Friendly challenged McCarthy and tried to bring him down by exposing him as an instiller of fear. Murrow and Friendly decide to directly attack McCarthy for attempting to accuse a woman who worked in the Pentagon Code Room of being a communist spy. The only evidence McCarthy had against this woman is that her name was on a communist mailing list, but she isn't the only person with that name. Murrow gave McCarthy a chance to defend himself on the show. McCarthy accepts the offer but uses his time to try and accuse Murrow of having communist ties. 

The newsmen soon find out that the air force officer was reinstated back into the army. While this is happening, the Senate declares an investigation on McCarthy.

The movie returns to the speech in 1958 that Murrow was presenting at the beginning of the movie. Morrow goes on to say that journalists are responsible for keeping the public informed, whether the news is pleasant or unpleasant.

Good Night, and Good Luck illustrated a true event that occurred between Senator Joseph McCarthy and Ed Murrow. While the process of exposing McCarthy for instilling fear among people took a toll on Murrow, he was successful in taking down one of the most controversial Senators in American History.

Sources:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.cea9f74d-c8b0-6412-3c61-c0a584dbe067?autoplay=1&ref_=atv_cf_strg_wb

The "Shock" of the Ukraine Invasion

 World leaders were shocked and surprised by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, or so they portrayed. Tucker Carlson reported on the attack of Ukraine March 30th, 2022 and how our world leaders responded to the invasion. Carlson insinuated that this was far from a surprising attack and that leaders knew the invasion was bound to occur. 

Ben Judah of the Atlantic Council stated "It was a shock to many of the leading experts and policy makers in the United States, Europe, and even Ukraine," and Carlson mentioned that the head of German intelligence was so caught off gaurd by the attack that he was still in Kyiv, Ukraine and had to be evacuated. It was odd that there was so much global shock following the attack considering President Joe Biden had been speaking about a potential attack for weeks. Leaders in the U.S. consistanly portrayed the idea that that the invasion was a shock to everyone.

No one in Washington actually expected Russian troops to invade Ukraine, and when it happened U.S. leaders felt that President Putin must be insane. National Review stated that, "The casual speculation about Vladimir Putin's mental state has become more serious." Carlson felt that the focus on Putin's irrationality was more of an excuse than an analysis. Although Putin may be irrational, there must be more to the story than a "single psychiatric episode." Why are our leaders not focusing on the truth and the heart of the the issue of the Russian attack? It almost feels as if our leaders are lying to the people and even themselves of what is really happening.

Carlson introduces a man named Nigel Farage who spoke about the possibility of an invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces almost eight years ago. In the video footage of Farage speaking in European Parliment in 2014, he reminded us that Putin wants to expand his territory and practically rebuild the U.S.S.R. Farage went on to explain that Putin had his sights set on the Ukrainian territory, expecially when they decided to join the NATO alliance. He also mentioned that the west is facing one of its biggest threats in 70 years. Farage said that, "the moral of the story is if you poke the Russian bear with a stick, don't be surprised when he reacts." Farage knew that we must stop playing war games and focusing on unimportant things or Putin will eventually react.

It is unclear why world leaders and particularly U.S. government officials are disregarding what has occured in Ukraine. It is possible that our leaders did not expect Putin to go through with the invasion and our leaders were actually shocked; however, we must investigate why it seemed so many leaders were talking about the possibility of an invasion weeks before it took place. Farage warned us that Putin would react at some point, and he has. Leaders need to stop focusing on Putin's mental state and irrationality, and begin to focus on why this is happening and how it can be stopped. 

Sources:

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-leaders-lying-putin-invasion-ukraine

Collateral Murder

     On July 12, 2007, American helicopters were flying over a public square in Eastern Baghdad, Iraq. There was a group of around ten people walking together, two of which were Reuters news employees, Saeed Chmagh and Namir Noor-Eldeen. Eldeen came from a family of journalists and was known to be one of the best war photographers in Iraq.

                                                                             Video Footage

    As the helicopters flown by American soldiers arrived over the town square in Baghdad, there was a small group of civilian men walking. The American soldiers claimed they had spotted weapons and were targeting Saeed with their camera because he was thought to be carrying a weapon. Saeed clearly had something black strapped to his shoulder, which was not a weapon, but his camera used for photography. The American soldiers were requesting the okay to open fire on this group of men due to the suspicion of weapons being present.

    As the group of men was calmly walking with no commotion, the American troops in the helicopters opened fire on the men. An excessive amount of rounds were spent and all the men were down. American soldiers visualized one man crawling away, which was later known to be Saeed. Saeed was alive, and while attempting to escape, the American troops were visually searching for evidence of a weapon in an attempt to gain permission to fire again. As this was occurring, a van approached to pick up the dead bodies lying in the town square. While two men were loading Saeed and the deceased men into the van, again American soldiers asked for permission to fire. Permission was granted, and the van was under siege.

    Shortly following the events, other American soldiers arrived on the scene and were seen running over a body in the process. They found two wounded children who were inside the van and took them to get medical attention.

    The events of this day were publicized in a way where it appeared there was a battle and the men were insurgents. The official statement claimed they did not know how the men were killed. The event was devastating and video footage shows no viable threat or weapon possession of the Iraqui men. When the van arrived to collect the deceased, American soldiers said statements over the radio like, "Let me Engage," "Come on, let us shoot!," and "Well it's their fault for bringing their kids into a battle." American soldiers did not place value on civilian lives and simply wanted to kill them with no reason or potential threat. 

    These events are devastating and horrendous. The statements from the event were lies about the truth that occurred that day, and the truth would never have been uncovered without this leaked video coverage. George Orwell said, "Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give the appearance of solidity to pure wind." Orwell shows how political and military leaders hide the cruelty of actions that take place. This event is far from respectable, it is disgustingly evil.

Cable News, The Internet... A New Era

    In the 1970s, newspapers reached an all-time high inevitably causing the first U.S. president to resign in a scandal. The investigations of President Nixon were conducted almost entirely by journalists. The extremity and instantaneousness of the news would soon dramatically change due to the new technology of cable news and the internet. 

The Cable News Network (CNN) made its debut in 1980 and was the first cable news network that provided a 24-hour broadcast of news. At first, CNN struggled for credibility because the American people had been reliant on newspapers and already established television news broadcasts. Soon, CNN drew major attention by broadcasting vivid coverage of the bombing in the First Gulf War. The Gulf War coverage caused wide attention from the public and helped to establish prominence for CNN.

In 1996, another prominent cable news network surfaced. Fox news was initiated as a political commentary channel. Fox needed to gain coverage across the country to reach viewers and increase its news prominence. The news network launched The O'Reilly Factor where Bill O'Reilly interviewed various figures on the show. O'Reilly was known to conduct confrontational and exciting interviews that increased viewers. 

CNN and Fox News became leaders in the cable-news industry. They both have varying styles and diverse political standpoints. Currently, CNN is known to be largely liberal, while Fox News supports more conservative views. Fox became known as more charming, dramatic, and nationalistic than other news outlets which may have led to an increase in viewers.

In recent years, developing social media networks like Twitter and Facebook have allowed people to connect in incredible new ways. Articles on these sites come from a wide range of locations and are spread around the sites. The new innovations have changed the culture of the newspaper industries, and have caused journalists to shift in the way they usually functioned.

Smear Campaign

     A smear campaign often referred to as "character assassination" is a deliberate effort to damage the reputation or credibility of an individual. Attacks may be verbal or non-verbal in the form of insults, rumors, campaign ads, cartoons, or tweets. Smear campaigns often target social groups, institutions, public figures, and political figures or candidates. 

Smear campaigns are used as a tactic to steer attention away from the topic at hand, and onto a person's personal traits or reputation. These tactics are associated with "Tabloid Journalism," presenting little well-researched news and instead, using eye-catching headlines with scandal sensationalism. Smear campaigns are also related to tactics such as propaganda, media bias, yellow journalism, and libel. These tactics can lead to widespread persecution, and rejection from professional, cultural, and social communities. Smear campaigns can lead to reputable damage that may last a lifetime.

Historians revealed the first case of smear campaigning by character assassination in the Roman empire. Historical Roman writing reveals that if a deceased ruler did not live up to the people's standards, they would model them as a bad ruler. Roman people used an emperor's sex life as a way to establish a bad reputation.

One of the first modern examples of a smear campaign is seen in Europe during the Protestant reformation. This event began the first wide-scale use of the printing press. Defamation attacks were made on the Pope by protestant reformers such as Martin Luther against the corruption of the Catholic Church. The protestant reformers used the new technology of the printing press to create pamphlets containing harsh words and images of the Pope with demonic faces. 

Smear campaigns are seen throughout U.S. history in various cases. In the 1804 election, Adams claimed Jefferson's election would result in the national promotion of prostitution, incest, and adultery, Rumors surfaced that if Jefferson was elected he would emancipate all of the slaves, and he was alleged to be living with one of his slaves and fathered children with her. Whether these rumors were factual or not, they played a significant role in the public opinion of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson responded to the rumors in 1807 by saying, "Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that political vehicle." 

1800 Anti-Thomas Jefferson Negative TV Ad

Today we see similar tactics of smear campaigning by character assassination. President Barack Obama faced numerous false allegations that he was not an American citizen. A Trump campaign operative created a website designed to look like an official campaign page for Biden but filled it with GIFS and text mocking him. The fake site was visited more by viewers than the official page. Former President Donald Trump is claimed to have filed a lawsuit recently against Hillary Clinton and other officials for "smearing" his 2016 campaign.

Smear campaigns are used widely to destroy institutions and individuals' careers and success. Attackers make claims and statements to attack an opponent. The media then uses these ideas with shocking headlines to accelerate the situation and gain viewers. Public opinion is often swayed by the media's use of these false or nasty claims. 

William Lloyd Garrison

William Lloyd Garrison was a 19th-century reformer and abolitionist who founded the Liberator newspaper during the civil war era. Garrison was a Christian who pushed for moral reform and was known to be an anti-slavery activist. Throughout his career, Garrison went on to support emancipation, women's rights, and nonresistance to the biblical injunctions.

William Garrison was born in 1805 in Massachusetts to a devoted Baptist mother who raised him and his siblings in poverty. He grew up in an atmosphere of Christianity and the abolitionist movement which influenced his future endeavors. Garrison began working for various newspapers and journals including the National Philanthropist Newspaper and The Journal of the Times.

  

In 1831, Garrison founded The Liberator which became one of the most radical anti-slavery journals of the time. Almost four years after the creation of The Liberator, Garrison renounced church and state and embraced Christian perfectionism in his writing. During the Civil War, as the strides against slavery increased, his popularity decreased, which inevitably made his radicalism increase.

                                            

    

Garrison was recognized for his strong influence in anti-slavery efforts, support for emancipation, women's rights, and Christian views. In 1904, Russian author, Leo Tolstoy, published a biography of Garrison due to his inspiration from Garrison's focus on Christianity. Garrison is honored by a memorial statue in Boston, Massachusetts.