Buddhist Monk

by David Blamey
This is an image of a Buddhist monk who has set fire to himself in protest against the American war in Vietnam. I guess it appeared in newspapers somewhere around 1974, some time while I was still at school anyway. I can remember that there were constant calls for troop withdrawal, from Americans and Vietnamese alike, but the war continued despite its unpopularity. It's still a terrifying image today an extreme visualisation of an ethical position and it's interesting to consider the way that the image resonates so successfully. Where, for example in the context of the current Gulf war, suicide bombing is regarded as fanatical violent resistance, this could be seen as the most radical form of non-violent resistance: although the body itself is passive as the monk is in deep meditation, it is only the image of the body that becomes active as soon as it is circulated in the mass media.