Would you ever put something you fought for against life itself? A man in China risked his whole life in front of a giant line of tanks that could easily take him out to end a military massacre of protesters due to the death of a leader that had been pushing the country to a more democratic government. This man was jeopardizing his life for the lives of others in the fight for a more democratic government. As the man stood there, he was not looking for fame in his act, rather a realization of the wrong doing of the military. The theme of this photo is the idea of perseverance through a lifeless action. Though this man probably knew he would be executed due to the countries harsh laws, he still was willing to stand for others and a change. 

In the beginning of this protest, it was started by a leader in the government, Hu Yaobang, and his death. This leader appealed to many young and open minded people since he wanted a more democratic government and leave the old communistic views. Following this death caused a group of students mourn in the Tiananmen Square and protest to fulfill Hu’s want of a democratic government. With the protest becoming more public, more and more people started to join in which caught the attention of the media and the government. The rallies begin to get so populated and so out of control that the Premier leader called for martial law to stop the protests. With this brought upon the halt of any media capturing the protests and how the government handled it. After the media was ordered to stop reporting about the protests, the military was then ordered into the Square and opened fire on civilians. The act of the military caused most of the protestors to scatter although the next day a line of tanks were ordered into the square to completely end the situation.

This than brings the man that stops this line of tanks into the image. As the tanks near the square, he has decided to step out and stop the line from moving in. A huge idea that pops up from the image is that the man is completely unarmed and facing a line of a fully armed, 62-ton full steel machines to try and stop the violent destruction that is taking place. This is generally showing the war between peace and violence that was going on this short time but puts it into perspective of how lopsided the advantage of violence has. As this picture is shown around the world, the feeling for the man is that he is the general “good guy.” This is primarily for the fact that the man has stood up for what he stands for but in a nonviolent peaceful manner. This action makes the feeling of the people towards it more tasteful and gives a sympathetic feeling towards the man. As humans, we have this feeling that usually when someone is on the weaker end of things and are fighting for a good cause, we will have this feeling that the person is doing something good.  On the other hand, the line of tanks can be referred to as the “bad guys” of the image. When people think of weapons or violence, the term bad or idea of it is usually brought up. This feeling and idea is multiplied many times over due to the man being alone, unarmed and fighting for the cause of a large group of protestors.

The first reaction that most have when this is seen, is bravery. Obviously, this man is completely brave when trying to stop the front line to stop the military from continuing to the destination. The leaders of China at the time were not aware that the picture had been taken and if the information was known at the time, the picture would have been taken down from the internet immediately since that the country believed it showed weakness by the government. Although the man failed in stopping the tanks, he knew that once he stepped in front of that first tank, that his life was in danger. However, he knew that if he stepped up and did what most would not do, that his fight may have been more recognized by the government.  

From knowing history of the image, we can tell that the image is aimed mainly at the government and military of the country. As people, we look at the image and at the man sort of as a rebellion from the action he is doing. The action is so simple although means so much to the people that he is united with. The point that peace is supposed to outweigh violence is completely overlooked by many people. We feel as though if we want something, we must take it forcefully. This has been imbedded in our brains from birth due to the way society is now. This idea has been spread through military and protest tactics because many people do not have the actual brain capacity to talk problems out and communicate needs and wants. This man standing so effortlessly should open the eyes to many people and show that one small action of not doing anything other than trying to stop violence can send a message to the world. 

To think about how this image is considered peaceful or meaningful, we could imagine if the man was armed with a gun. Automatically the viewers mind would look at the man and think that he was trying to hurt another human being. The thought of peace would be immediately kicked out of their minds since the weapon brings feelings of hurt and death to people’s minds. The attention of the image is the man. If this focus were to change by just what he is holding, then the whole meaning of the photo would change. This drastic change from something so simple lets us know how important the point of his moral over life idea. 

All in all, this man defied the normal stereotypical protestor and risked his life just to fight for the democracy he wanted in his country. From not caring about fame to being unarmed, this man put his morals completely over his life and made a point to people across the world to show what he wanted by one action. So, the next time when you feel for something or want something, always keep in mind and see if you would risk your life to fight for the cause. 