The Essay Notes

Model Answer: 20/20 IB English HL Essay (HLE)

LOI: How does P.J. Griffiths use photographic techniques to expose the realities of war and challenge its glorification in Vietnam Inc.?

Essay Outline

1. Introduction (150 to 200 words)
   1. Purpose: Set up your argument and establish your anti-war perspective.
   2. Include:
   3. Text, author, and context (Vietnam Inc. by Griffiths, Vietnam War)
   4. Thesis: Griffiths critiques the glorification of war by showing its brutal, dehumanizing realities.
   5. Line of Inquiry: How does Griffiths use visual techniques to challenge war propaganda and expose its human cost?
   6. Roadmap: Explore vulnerable children, traumatized soldiers, dehumanization, and moments of compassion.
2. Body Paragraph 1: The Vulnerability of Children
   1. P (Point): Griffiths undermines the heroic narrative of war by portraying children as its most innocent victims.
   2. E (Evidence): Image of a young boy fleeing a combat zone, his face filled with fear.
   3. E (Explanation): The eye-level angle and isolation in the frame create empathy and highlight the inescapable reach of war. The presence of a cropped rifle deepens the sense of danger.
   4. L (Link): By focusing on children, Griffiths presents war not as noble, but as unjust and indiscriminate.
3. Body Paragraph 2: Psychological Trauma of Soldiers
   1. P (Point): Griffiths humanizes American soldiers by exposing their emotional and physical suffering.
   2. E (Evidence): A wounded marine is supported by comrades while a second soldier stares blankly into the distance.
   3. E (Explanation): The lighting and body language contrast physical agony with emotional numbness, rejecting the image of the fearless warrior.
   4. L (Link): War leaves soldiers broken, physically and psychologically, challenging myths of heroism.
4. Body Paragraph 3: Dehumanization of Both Sides
   1. P (Point): Griffiths critiques how war strips both American and Vietnamese forces of identity.
   2. E (Evidence): Photo of “Little Tiger,” a Vietnamese child soldier surrounded by armed adults.
   3. E (Explanation): The boy’s uniformed body and the facelessness of nearby soldiers show how war recruits and erases individuals. Childhood innocence is replaced by weaponized identity.
   4. L (Link): War corrupts all sides, blurring lines between victim and perpetrator and reinforcing the dehumanizing nature of conflict.
5. Body Paragraph 4: Violence and Compassion Coexisting
   1. P (Point): Despite the brutality, Griffiths captures rare moments of empathy that challenge the war narrative.
   2. E (Evidence): An American soldier tending to a wounded Vietcong fighter.
   3. E (Explanation): Triangular composition and gentle lighting suggest human connection. The enemy is reframed as another victim of war.
   4. L (Link): Griffiths reminds us that compassion can persist, but it’s the war system, not individuals, that drives violence.
6. Conclusion (150 to 200 words)
   1. Restate Thesis: Griffiths uses his camera to dismantle myths of glory and show war’s human cost.
   2. Reflect on LOI: His visual techniques challenge media portrayals and expose the deep psychological and moral toll of conflict.
   3. Final Insight: Vietnam Inc. is a lasting critique of militarism and propaganda, urging viewers to rethink how war is seen and sold.

Model Answer

Introduction (150 to 200 words)

The media has long played a crucial role in shaping public perception of war, often presenting a glorified, heroic image of soldiers and combat. However, P.J. Griffiths’ Vietnam Inc. serves as a striking counterpoint, exposing the brutal realities of the Vietnam War through a series of unfiltered, harrowing photographs. By juxtaposing moments of extreme violence with deeply humanizing portrayals of both soldiers and civilians, Griffiths dismantles the romanticized notion of war as a noble endeavor.

This essay examines how Griffiths challenges the glorification of war by employing visual composition, juxtaposition, and perspective to evoke strong emotional responses. Through his portrayal of war’s devastating impact on children, the psychological trauma of soldiers, and the dehumanization of both American troops and Vietnamese victims, Griffiths forces the viewer to confront the true horrors of combat. In doing so, he conveys a powerful anti-war message that remains relevant in contemporary discussions about militarization and media propaganda.

Body Paragraphs (1,000 to 1,200 words)

1. The Vulnerability of Children as a Rejection of War’s Heroic Narrative

Firstly, one of the most haunting motifs in Vietnam Inc. is the vulnerability of children, which Griffiths uses to reject the glorification of war. In this powerful image, a young boy wails over the body of a girl, possibly his sister, laid out in the bed of a truck. His expression captures visceral anguish, frozen in a moment of unfiltered grief. Griffiths strips away any sense of war’s nobility by focusing on those too young to understand it, yet fully subjected to its brutality.

Furthermore, the eye-level camera angle collapses the distance between viewer and subject, making the scene feel intimate and immediate. Framing plays a crucial role: the girl’s lifeless body dominates the foreground, while the boy is positioned in the background but elevated, drawing the eye across the frame and emphasizing emotional distance despite physical proximity. High-contrast black-and-white tones further intensify the scene’s bleakness, stripping it of color and reducing the moment to its raw emotional essence. The open composition, with palm trees swaying behind the truck, ironically contrasts with the frozen violence inside it, underscoring how war can infiltrate even the most seemingly ordinary environments. Through these choices, Griffiths compels viewers to confront the reality that war does not forge heroes, it destroys childhood, fractures families, and leaves behind irreversible trauma.

2. Psychological Trauma and the Disillusionment of Soldiers

Secondly, in another powerful image, Griffiths captures a wounded American marine, supported by his comrades. His face, twisted in anguish, and the blood smearing his uniform starkly contrast with the glorified image of the fearless, indestructible soldier. Griffiths’ use of high contrast lighting emphasizes the rawness of his pain, stripping away any illusion of heroism.

However, perhaps the most haunting element of this photograph is the background soldier, sitting motionless, staring blankly into the distance. His closed eyes and vacant expression suggest shell shock, a visual representation of the emotional detachment that war fosters. The soldier’s posture and placement in the composition create an unsettling contrast between the immediate suffering of the wounded marine and the psychological scars that linger long after physical wounds heal.

Thus, this image challenges the glorification of war by humanizing soldiers as victims rather than conquerors. Instead of depicting them as unwavering warriors, Griffiths reveals the psychological toll of combat, reinforcing his broader anti-war stance. The juxtaposition of physical and mental suffering dismantles the idea that soldiers emerge from war as victors, instead, they leave as broken men, haunted by their experiences.

3. The Dehumanization of Both American and Vietnamese Forces

Thirdly, Griffiths underscores the dehumanization of both American and Vietnamese forces by capturing how war erodes individual identity and moral boundaries, even among the most vulnerable. In one of his most jarring images, a young Vietnamese boy, nicknamed “little tiger,” is dressed in full military gear, flanked by adult South Vietnamese and American soldiers. His helmet swallows his head, his chest strap drags under the weight of a metal canister, and yet his posture mimics authority. The juxtaposition is striking: a child who has reportedly killed two “Vietcong women cadre”, now absorbed into the machinery of war. This blurring of innocence and violence reflects how both sides of the conflict used youth as tools of propaganda and combat.

Moreover, the visual framing reinforces this critique. The boy is foregrounded, individualized just enough to provoke discomfort, while the surrounding soldiers are cropped, shadowed, or faceless, reduced to anonymous limbs and weapons. Griffiths subtly equalizes their dehumanization. The child’s participation in violence, whether coerced or voluntary, strips him of his childhood. Meanwhile, the adult soldiers, bystanders to this unnatural scene, appear emotionally numb, reduced to background operators in a system that recruits and rewards brutality.

Thus, Griffiths’s image ultimately reveals how war dehumanizes everyone it touches, not just the so-called enemy, but also allies, children, and soldiers alike. By placing this boy in uniform, the war machine has not only erased his identity but also blurred the distinction between victim and perpetrator. Through this single, haunting composition, Griffiths delivers a searing indictment of the psychological violence at the heart of conflict: that in war, humanity is not just lost, it is actively unlearned.

4. War as a Paradox: Violence and Compassion Coexisting

Fourthly, despite his bleak portrayal of war, Griffiths also highlights rare moments of compassion amidst conflict. In one photograph, an American soldier tends to a wounded Vietcong fighter. The soldiers form a triangular composition, a shape traditionally associated with stability and unity, which contrasts sharply with the chaos of war. The proximity between the figures suggests an unexpected moment of solidarity, undermining the conventional narrative of enemy divisions.

Furthermore, the soft lighting on the soldier’s face evokes a sense of humanity, countering the previous depictions of dehumanization. The Vietcong soldier, usually demonized in American media, is depicted not as an adversary, but as a fellow human being in need.

Therefore, this image introduces an important paradox, even in the most violent of conflicts, moments of empathy persist. Griffiths uses this contrast to reinforce his anti-war message, suggesting that the true enemy is not the individual soldier, but the war machine that pits them against one another. This reframing encourages viewers to reconsider their perspectives on warfare, dismantling the glorified hero-villain dichotomy often found in war propaganda.

Conclusion (150 to 200 words)

In conclusion, through a masterful interplay of visual composition, juxtaposition, and perspective, P.J. Griffiths’ Vietnam Inc.systematically dismantles the glorified image of war. By emphasizing the vulnerability of children, the psychological trauma of soldiers, the dehumanization of both American and Vietnamese forces, and moments of paradoxical compassion, Griffiths rejects traditional war narratives and forces his audience to confront the true cost of conflict.

His work remains profoundly relevant in contemporary discourse, as governments and media continue to shape public perceptions of war. By exposing the ugly realities that war entails, Griffiths delivers a timeless warning about the dangers of romanticizing violence. In doing so, Vietnam Inc. stands not only as a powerful anti-war statement but also as a reminder of the power of photography to challenge dominant narratives and provoke critical reflection.