Abstract
This analysis discusses the subjective negotiations of meaning in two iconic news images created from traditional and nontraditional sources during the Iraq War. Semiotic analysis is used to tease out the normative role media images play in perpetuating and reinforcing moral, social, and culture values in Western society by discussing, in this study, a now-famous iconic image taken by an American soldier depicting a hooded Iraqi prisoner being tortured at Abu Ghraib as well as an embedded journalist's image of a tired U.S. Marine. Ultimately, it is believed that iconic news images can reveal a dichotomy of conflicting ideals, normative values, ideological beliefs, and moral biases.
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Dennis J. Dunleavy
Dennis Dunleavy is an associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Benedictine College in Northeast Kansas. Dunleavy's research is primarily in the areas of visual communication, image ethics, and photography and society. He earned his doctorate in Communication and Society from the University of Oregon in 2004. E-mail: [email protected]