Participation of USA in the War in Vietnam in Soviet Press in 1965: the Specifics of the Photo Image of the Enemy

Abstract

The article is devoted to how the image of enemy is built and how it functions within the Cold War discourse. Ideas presented within the article are based on research of the photographs published in official Soviet press, namely in “Izvestia” and “Pravda” newspapers, illustrating the articles about War in Vietnam. The period under consideration is 1965, when USA increased its military presence in the region mentioned above. The aim of the article is to figure out and describe the key elements of the image of enemy in the context of mass media. The article also suggests a conceptual and methodological frame of how the photographs represented can be read and interpreted. Thus, Walter Benjamin’s conception of the emptiness and meaninglessness of a photograph without a caption allows to show that a photographic image does possess a great potential for inserting an additional sense. Also, Benjamin’s notions of aesthetization of politics and politization of aesthetics are taken into account when dealing with aesthetics of the photographs used in press. As to the contents of the images, one can highlight a number of topics repeated through the visual elements. We face numerous images of protests against the war all over the world; we see the terrors of war (children and women); we see the aggressor itself represented through military equipment and soldiers; finally, we meet brave Vietnamese people resisting the Americans. The detailed analysis of the images representing the aggressor (soldiers and war equipment) allows to reveal key strategies of how the image of enemy is built within the Cold War discourse. It is shown that the enemy is cruel but one does not need to be afraid of him: the enemy is defeated and will be defeated. The enemy’s strength is visible only in comparison with a weaker opponent. The enemy is deceitful and hypocritical, he cannot be trusted. At the same time, America has also another face – the face of people who are against the war and who also suffer from cruelty and injustice.