TOW #25: Thich Quang Duc Self-Immolation by Malcolm Browne

             Ever since its debut, the camera has had a profound effect on communication, allowing those in one country to see the both the triumphs and struggles of another. In 1963, a Buddhist monk named Thich Quang Duc lit himself on fire to protest the discrimination his religion had received under the Ngo Dinh Diem regime in South Vietnam. A bystander’s photograph captured the moving scene. Thich Quang Duc sits cross-legged in the middle of a street; seemingly calm despite the fire that engulfs his body. Beside him sits a gasoline tank, and in the background, a group of monks watch, with what looks like no intention of intervening.

             An appeal to emotion is instrumental to the power of this image. A person being burned alive would be expected to elicit some sort of sign of pain, but the monk is instead calm and silent. The photographer, Malcolm Browne (AP), said in an interview with TIME magazine that there was panic and cries of misery all around the monk, but no one was even sure if Thich Quang Duc was dead or alive he was so quiet. Browne received a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting and the World Press Photo of the Year in 1963.

Upon its arrival to the press, the photograph was published in newspapers all around the world. Its audience was diverse, in age, occupation, and political stance, as everyone could feel the struggle that the monks were enduring in S. Vietnam through this picture. This seems to be its purpose, after all; Browne had waited after monks had informed him of a new, big demonstration, and when it did occur, he was the only western photographer there. Browne’s intentions probably also included spreading awareness of the turmoil in Vietnam and rallying support for the monks, who he had been following for the past months. As shown by the prestigious awards Browne obtained, as well as the striking appeal to pathos, Browne achieved his purpose.