How does an image become iconic? And when it does, will its meaning change? Host Vincent Brown explores these questions as he zooms in on one of the most well-known photos from September 11: “Raising the Flag at Ground Zero.” Photographer Thomas E. Franklin talks about the instant he captured the actions of the firefighters and the experience of watching his work become a cultural phenomenon.
A Public Media Initiative from The WNET Group
More From The Bigger Picture
Why Gordon Parks’ Most Famous Photo Almost Wasn’t Released | The Bigger Picture with Vincent Brown | PBS
During World War II, renowned photographer Gordon Parks created an image seen as a searing indictment of racial politics in the United States.
How an FBI Poster Became a Black Power Symbol | The Bigger Picture with Vincent Brown | PBS
How did an FBI Wanted poster transform activist and academic Angela Y. Davis into a symbol of Black Power and liberation?
This Photo of U.S. Immigration Isn’t What You Think | The Bigger Picture with Vincent Brown | PBS
This episode of "The Bigger Picture with Vincent Brown" explores the story behind Alfred Stieglitz’s iconic photo “The Steerage.”
This Photo Isn’t What It Looks Like | The Bigger Picture with Vincent Brown | PBS
Host Vincent Brown challenges the most common assumption about an iconic photograph of ethnographer Frances Densmore and Piegan Blackfeet.
The Story Behind Earth’s Most Famous Photo | The Bigger Picture with Vincent Brown | PBS
Find out how “Blue Marble,” NASA’s iconic photo of a fully illuminated Earth, was taken.
Did This Photo Make Lincoln President? | The Bigger Picture with Vincent Brown | PBS
Can the spectacle of modern politics today be traced back to a photograph of Abraham Lincoln taken during the presidential election in 1860?