Of Photographs and Flags: Uses and Perceptions of an Iconic Image Before and After September 11, 2001

Abstract

After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, media pundits summoned the memory of Joe Rosenthal's classic "Flag Raising on Iwo Jima" photograph, comparing it to a new image of a flag raising at Ground Zero, where the attacks occurred. Such use of an iconic photograph reflects a widely-held belief: Photographs have a direct and powerful effect on public consciousness. However, this powerful effects approach has not been supported by empirical evidence. By examining how media have encoded Rosenthal's photograph with cultural meaning, and by conducting surveys of audience recognition and interpretation of the photograph both before and after September 11, 2001, this study systematically explores how meaning and identity can be constructed through media uses and audience interpretations of a single news photograph.