The Legendary American Kiss in Time Square

868 Words2 Pages

An icon is an image that refers to something outside of its individual elements, something or someone that has great symbolic meaning for society. Icons are often perceived to represent universal concepts, emotions, and meanings. Iconic images are recognizable yet, known not for their origin, time of production or for the people who created them, but for their great symbolic and historical meaning. Iconic images have an important role in American history that has shaped our identity through controversy, cultural awareness and historical events. A single image can trigger memories of a moment in history that the universe will cherish for a lifetime like the “Time Square Kiss” photograph. The Times Square Kiss, was taken with little known information to begin, so today it is even more of a mystery. For this reason, there is a significant amount controversy today over what is really going on in the photograph. Much can be said about The Times Square Kiss that captured a moment in time. The photograph shows a couple, an sailor and a nurse passionately kissing in New York's Times Square. The photograph became an iconic image frozen in American history because it represents the end of war and a new beginning. Every shade and line of the photograph will be analyzed, the time period when the photograph was taken and how society views itself through images will be discussed.
In the case of the Times Square Kiss, the photograph was taken with little known information to begin, so today it is even more of a mystery. For this reason, there is a significant amount controversy today over what is really going on in the photograph. At a glance, the photograph depicts a couple kissing in New York's Time Square. The young man is wearing a form...

... middle of paper ...

...ing love, hope, peace and the end of World War II. The photograph told the story proudly.
My next interviewee was INSERT THEIR NAME.
I stopped here because idk what this stuff is below the “Time Square Kiss”, photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt. Eisenstaedt was a photographer for Life magazine, who traveled to Times Square after hearing that Japan surrendered to the United States. Eisenstaedt wanted to capture the end of war celebration in Time Square for Life magazine. He took several spontaneous photographs that day but only one photograph was published in Life magazine. The photograph depicted an American Navy sailor and a nurse passionately kissing in New York's Times Square celebrating the end of World War II. The photograph of the American Navy sailor and the nurse signified a

Works Cited

Rose, Mrs. "The Kissing Sailor." Personal interview. 18 Apr. 2014.

Open Document