Historical photography has been diverse since it became an accessible form of art and communication, but what is the true story of the most famous photographs of the last hundred years?After all, behind every click, there’s always a story to tell. We will unravel the facts that engulf the decisive moment of each click in the series “The Story Behind Famous Photographs”.
Today, the photograph chosen is that of the “self-immolation of the monk”, taken on June 11, 1963, during a demonstration in the Vietnamese city of Saigon, against the religious policy of the authoritarian government of the region.
- Thich Quang Duc is the name of the Vietnamese monk who set his body on fire as a form of protest.
- Self-immolation? Is it the act of setting the body on fire?Is it some kind of? Tolerated? In Hinduism.
After the photograph went around the world, the monk became a symbol of resistance. The photographer responsible for recording the terrifying image was American journalist and photographer Malcolm Wilde Browne.
Browne began his career covering the Korean War and worked for the Associated Press (AP) when he took the photo of the fire-covered monk, which earned him the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service and World Press Photo of the Year.
Monk Thich Quang Duc’s act of self-immolation led President Diem’s authoritarian regime to announce reforms to negotiate with the population. However, the changes were more about the role and did not become effective actions. Protests continued and many Buddhists were attacked by military forces.
The situation reached an extreme when other Buddhists began to follow Quang Duc’s example of protest and self-immolation, such was the strength of this act and the power of influence of Malcolm Browne’s photography. A few years later, a military coup overthrew Diem and his government. Today, more than five decades after taking the photo, it continues to arouse wonder, surprise and horror.