Chatting the Pictures
Chatting the Pictures: The Israeli Hostage Poster
Welcome to Chatting the Pictures. Every two weeks, we present a short, lively video discussion between Michael Shaw, publisher of Reading the Pictures, and writer, professor, and historian, Cara Finnegan, examining a significant picture in the news. Chatting the Pictures is produced by Liliana Michelena.
Amit Elkayam took this photo for The New York Times. It shows posters of kidnapped Israelis on a main street in Tel Aviv on Sunday, October 13, 2023. Hamas is holding approximately 200 Israeli hostages and foreign nationals abducted during its October 7th surprise attack. Primarily civilians, they range from infants to people in their 80s. A group called the Hostages and Missing Families Forum is doing intense outreach and lobbying and is behind the poster campaign.
In the video, we discuss how well the posters inform the comparisons analysts have made between this attack and 9/11. We examine the poster’s striking format and how it has circulated worldwide. Finally, we look at the posters as a reflection of how opposing factions inside Israel have come together – at least for now.
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An analyst of news photos and visual journalism, and a frequent lecturer and writer on visual politics, photojournalism and media literacy, Michael is the founder and publisher of Reading the Pictures.
Cara Finnegan is a writer, photo historian, and professor of Communication at the University of Illinois. She has been affiliated with Reading The Pictures for nearly 15 years, most recently as co-host of Chatting The Pictures. Her most recent book is Photographic Presidents: Making History from Daguerreotype to Digital.
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