Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Bergel, Photo Discussion


There's a lot of good and bad with this picture. Alfred Eisenstaedt was trying to capture a "storytelling moment" for LIFE magazine when on August 14, 1945, World War II ended and he came across this scene between George Mendonsa and Greta Zimmer Friedman when, in a moment of pure happiness, the sailor passionately kissed the nurse, who later said she was actually a densities' assistant in an outfit that looked similar to that of a nurse, in front of him. They didn't know each other, they weren't together, rather George, who was actually engaged to someone else (someone who was even with him at the time) was so caught up in the joy of hearing the war was over that he kissed Greta and this picture was created.

On the one hand, many people see this as a beautiful and romantic image that showcases a moment of pure happiness. And truthfully, without knowing the story, one can very easily imagine and entire life for the couple that's just as beautiful as the photo itself. However, there are others who take issue with the picture, especially during and after the #MeToo movement, because Greta had been at the complete mercy of George when he kissed her. She didn't know it was going to happen and she hadn't consented.

Part of me still has this over-romanticized view of the photo from the first time I saw it, before I knew any of its history, good or bad, and it just reminded me of the end of a fairytale, honestly. I think that while that view of it has started to crumble a little, this picture still captures a moment (or even moments) in history, for good and for bad.

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