V-J Day in Times Square, a photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt, was published in Life magazine in 1945 with the caption, "In New York's Times Square, a white-clad girl clutches her purse and skirt as an uninhibited sailor plants his lips squarely on hers"
Portrait of Photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt (German, 1898-1995)
This photograph, taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt for Life magazine, went around the world. Taken in Times Square on August 14, 1945, it immortalises the kiss of a sailor and a nurse on the day of Japan's surrender. It owes its success to the euphoria of the victory it portrays: while the more romantic will see in it the reunion of two young lovers too long separated by war, the more patriotic will read in this fiery kiss the heartfelt thanks of the soldiers at the front to the women who helped, supported and saved them.
Be that as it may, the contrast between the nurse's light-colored dress and the sailor's dark outfit, and the couple's immobility amidst the Times Square marchers watching them, help to fix this kiss in a small second of eternity.
However, since the photograph, both protagonists have recounted the day, and it turns out to be a little different from what we had imagined. The sailor, who had to join his fiancée, drank too much to celebrate the victory and kissed every girl he met, including the one in the photograph. As for the nurse, she says she was surprised, unable to react to the sailor's powerful embrace. Today, we would speak of a sexual assault...
So let's be wary of what we project onto images...
