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»I saw something white being grabbed«.Sexuelle Gewalt in V-J Day in Times Square


Authors: Jens Amschlinger, Lukas Flad, Jessica Sautter
[published in: IMAGE 25 (Ausgabe Januar 2017)]


The photograph V-J Day in Times Square by Alfred Eisenstaedt is a symbol of the end of the Second World War for many people. This paper tries to prove that the reception of the picture lacks a critical reflection despite cognizable indications of sexual violence. To get a better understanding of the significance and the meaning of the photograph the first step will be a recapitulation of the conditions of the origin. The following analysis takes place within the framework of the visual semiotic according to Roland Barthes and bridges to a more precise explanation of the term ›Rape Culture‹ and the meaning of it in the context of Eisenstaedt’s photograph. The following critique of the previous reception of the photograph exhorts to a critical distance to both, the photograph and the presented situation. Overall this paper will try to constitute the thesis that V-J Day in Times Square depicts an act of sexual violence within a ›Rape Culture‹.