The VJ Day Kiss: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''Made almost 70 years ago, it remains one of the most famous photographs—perhaps the most famous photograph—of the 20th century: a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square on V-J Day in August 1945.''

''That simple, straightforward description of the scene, however, hardly begins to capture not only the spontaneity, energy and exuberance shining from Alfred Eisentaedt's photograph, but the significance of the picture as a kind of cultural artifact. "V-J Day in Times Square" is not merely the one image that captures what it felt like in America when it was announced, after a half-decade of conflict, that Japan had surrendered and that the War in the Pacific—and thus the Second World War itself—was finally over. Instead, for countless people, Eisentaedt's photograph captures at least part of what the people experience when war, any war, is ended.''

''(It's worth noting that many people view the photo as little more than the documentation of a very public sexual assault, and not something to be celebrated.)''

TakenThe photo was taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt and originally appearing in ''LIFE Magazine'' and, titled "[[w:V-J Day in Times Square|V-J Day in Times Square]]", and originally appeared in (not on the cover of) the August 27, 1945 issue of ''LIFE Magazine''. The subjects of the photo melted into the crowd before he could catch their names. As a result of this, and the natural obfuscation of the subjects' features, several different people have come forward claiming to be the kisser and kissee.