





The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, better known as ISIS, is a radical Islamic terrorist organization that has caused a lot of problems in the Middle East as of late. Bryan Denton, a New York Times journalist and photographer, took his readers through some of the fighting between ISIS and Iraqi military forces in his essay, “At the Front in a Scarred Falluja.”  In his writing, Denton describes many of the different places that he visited and the pictures that he provides help add to the scene that he portrays. Some pictures show the aftermath of the fighting that takes place and others show militia about to engage in some sort of fighting. Bryan Denton uses the photographs in his essay, “At the Front in a Scarred Falluja,” to show the reader how dangerous and destructive a war can be. 

The first picture of Bryan Denton’s “At the Front in a Scarred Falluja,” shown above, gives the reader a good idea of how dangerous a war can be. Using the long shot technique, Denton photographed a group of Iraqi counterterrorist men walking into the war-torn city of Falluja, Iraq. Having fallen to the Islamic State more than 2 years before this picture was taken, the city of Falluja has been nearly destroyed. In the bottom right of the picture, there is a bike that looks to be covered in debris and broken. Also, nothing looks like it has been cleaned in a long time. It is interesting and also a little haunting to see things like this that emphasize the lack of civilian life. In the center of the picture, towards the bottom, we can see a guy without a helmet on looking up and pointing his gun at something that we cannot see. This extra-diegetic gaze helps put things into perspective: these men are walking into enemy territory without any idea of where and when they might run into someone hostile. They have to be extremely careful and look around at all times to avoid getting attacked without expecting it. Another interesting thing to see here is the contrast of the colors. The sky is full of dark grey smoke that contrasts with the predominantly white and tan city that is lit up by sunlight. The techniques that Denton used for this picture, whether intentionally or unintentionally, help stress the idea that war can be both dangerous and destructive.

The third picture in Bryan Denton’s “At the Front in a Scarred Falluja,” shown above, shows the reader how destructive a war can be. The establishing shot technique is used in this picture to show the aftermath of the war-torn city, Falluja. In the foreground of the picture, we can see a series of buildings in ruins. There is no sign of life inside any of the buildings, all of the windows are either gone or broken, and some parts of the buildings are in piles of rubble and debris in front of them. The closest building looks like it could have been someone’s home or business, and now it is completely destroyed. This shows how war can be dangerous and harmful not only for the people fighting in it, but also the people around. In the background, we can see that this type of destruction to the buildings continues on for miles. The streets are pretty much empty except for debris. In a similar way to the first photograph, Denton shows the contrast between the dark grey smoke and the clear blue sky. There is also a contrast shown between the debris filled city and the clear blue sky. The smoke, concrete, dirt, and debris all represent war and the aftermath that it can cause. The contrast between all of those and the clear blue sky represents the damage that war can do to something that was once peaceful. A place that used to be lively and full of people is now completely destroyed. In this picture of a nearly demolished city, Bryan Denton shows how dangerous and destructive a war can be. 

In both of the aforementioned pictures, Bryan Denton shows how dangerous and destructive a war can be. The danger of war is shown when he says “As we moved through the bombed-out streets, gun battles raged, and the insurgents’ improvised mortars exploded among the narrow alleyways and rubble…” (Denton). The danger of war is also shown when he says “They have been sent wherever the fighting was heaviest and the target most critical…” (Denton). Both of these quotes go back to the first image, where the counterterrorism force is moving carefully through the street and keeping their eyes open. They have no clue what kind of danger is lying ahead, whether it be improvised mortars or groups of terrorists with weapons. The destruction that war can cause is shown when he says “…improvised mortars exploded among the narrow alleyways and rubble…” (Denton). In this quote, the exploding mortar shells could result in making buildings look like the one in the second image. The city of Falluja and all of its inhabitants were unfortunate enough to find themselves stuck in the middle of a war. The people that were lucky enough to realize the immediate danger got out, but are now refugees living in terrible conditions, as Denton talks about later on in the essay. This shows that war and the destruction that it causes affects everybody around it, not just the people fighting in it. Bryan Denton’s recount and pictures of the things that he saw when he went to Iraq help give his reader a perspective on the true outcomes of war in the place where it was fought.

The danger and the destruction of war are the two things that Bryan Denton is trying to show with the pictures in his essay, “At the Front in a Scarred Falluja.” The things that he saw and the situations that he described give the reader an idea of just how bad the outcomes war can be. He is not trying to say that wars are bad and we should not fight in them, he is just trying to show what war can cause. The photographs that he uses in his essay help show his reader what war really looks like. 



