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One image, multiple nationalisms: F ace to F ace and the S iege at K anehsatà:ke
Author(s) -
Wilkes Rima,
Kehl Michael
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
nations and nationalism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.655
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1469-8129
pISSN - 1354-5078
DOI - 10.1111/nana.12067
Subject(s) - plural , narrative , meaning (existential) , indigenous , tragedy (event) , siege , trace (psycholinguistics) , history , literature , sociology , media studies , art , philosophy , linguistics , epistemology , ancient history , ecology , biology
Iconic news photographs, particularly those taken during wars and national crises, provide visual synopses of important historical events – events about which stories of triumph and tragedy are superimposed. In this paper, we systematically trace the appearances and discussions of a single, iconic image, given the moniker F ace to F ace , over time. In the twenty plus years since its initial publication, media discourses around the image referenced Kanien'kehaka / M ohawk, Indigenous, Q uebecois and C anadian nationalisms. We conclude that discourses surrounding war and conflict imagery can be read as reflecting plural nationalisms and that while a dominant meaning can be projected onto such imagery, this is neither singular nor fixed.