Redefining Iconicity: A Five-Year Study of Visual Themes of Hurricane Katrina

Abstract

Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster of cataclysmic proportions. The images of such devastation were unprecedented and unforgettable. Using both content analysis and survey data, the current research takes a longitudinal approach to understanding the most memorable images of Hurricane Katrina in order to determine iconicity. We conclude that media technology has complicated the formation of a visual collective consciousness and thus the scholarly study of iconic images. With this finding, we propose a redefinition of the tenets of iconicity.

Notes

A handful of other photographs were repeated throughout the 2005 coverage—aerial shots of the extensive flooding, ground shots of damaged buildings, distance shots of people wading. Yet due to the lack of the human element in these photos, they don't carry the same emotional weight as the four photos described in this paragraph.

It is important to note that there is controversy surrounding the authenticity of Capa's photograph. However, in spite of this controversy, the image has remained a visual icon of the Spanish Civil War.