The Power of the ‘About-to-Die’ Image

They’re some of the most famous photos ever taken: the Vietnamese general firing his pistol at a handcuffed man’s head; the starving Sudanese girl being stalked by a buzzard; Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald. “[The] about-to-die image draws us into the action, forcing us to complete the unfinished sequence we’ve been shown … We’re active participants whether we like it or not.”