About this episode Dive deep into the fascinating narratives behind the world's most iconic photographs. Each week, a seasoned photojournalist uncovers the untold stories, revealing who captured the image, who graced its frame, and the pivotal moments surrounding its creation. Go beyond the visual to understand the profound historical and human context that makes these images timeless, gaining a new appreciation for the power of photography.
0:00 some photographs capture a moment and a very few they become a question that never gets answered and the tank man photo is maybe the biggest question of all isn't it just one person against this machine of the state exactly last week we talked about uncovering the real people and stories behind iconic photos but this one is different0:28 the story is what we don't know the power is in the void so take us there it's 06/05/1989 the day after the tiananmen square massacre what does that feel like on the ground it feels like the end of the world the city is under a violent lockdown soldiers are everywhere there had been this incredible hopeful student protest0:54 for weeks and then overnight it was crushed foreign journalists are being hunted hotels are raided it's chaos and the photographer jeff widener is in the middle of all this he is he's working for the associated press and he's actually been injured he's got a concussion from a stray rock that hit him during the crackdown so he's not1:16 on the street he smuggled himself into the beijing hotel oh wow so he's not shooting from the ground level in the action no and that's key he's on a 6th floor balcony looking down on the avenue of eternal peace he sees this column of type 59 tanks rolling out of the square he raises his camera shoots a1:39 few frames and then from the side of the road this man walks out just walks into their path with shopping bags i mean that's the detail that always gets me he looks like he was just on his way home from the market right it's so mundane it becomes profound and widener is frantic he's running out of film2:05 his shutter speed is too slow for the light he's trying to focus this huge 400 millimeter lens and he's sure he's messing it up he thinks the shots are gonna be blurry that he's missed it he thought he missed the shot the one that would define the entire event he was convinced he had no idea what he2:26 had he gave his role to film to an american exchange student kurt martson who hid it in his underwear and bicycled it over to the ap office jeff widener didn't even see the developed photo for days so let's talk about the man himself the person in the frame what do we actually truly know about him almost nothing2:49 and that's the core of it we call him tank man or the unknown protester and that's all he is he is a complete mystery but there must be theories i mean in the decade since someone must have come forward or a family member there have been rumors a few claims but none have ever been verified the british3:14 tabloids named a man named wang weilin but the chinese government said they couldn't find him he could have been executed within days he could have melted back into the crowd and lived a quiet life we just don't know so the chinese government has never identified him never to this day the image and the entire event are scrubbed3:38 from their internet it's a ghost and what's really telling is that widener wasn't the only one who got the shot stuart franklin of magnum got a wider version charlie cole for newsweek got one and actually won a world press photo award for it wait so there are multiple tankman photos at least four photographers captured it from the4:00 hotel but weidner's is the one that became the icon it's tighter more personal you feel like you're right there with the man not just observing a scene from far away that brings me back to what you always say what the frame leaves out the photo freezes this moment of absolute defiance but what happened next what does the4:24 still image not show us that's the most haunting part video footage shows more the lead tank tries to go around him he moves to block it again and again it's this strange silent dance wow so it wasn't just a single standoff no and then he climbs onto the tank he actually speaks to the crewmen in the hatch4:51 we have no idea what they said it's a conversation we'll never hear a conversation he wasn't just yelling it looks like a conversation and after a moment he climbs down and then you see two figures in blue run out from the side of the road they grab him and hurry him away into the crowd and that's it5:13 he vanishes and we don't know if those people were saving him or taking him away we don't were they concerned citizens trying to protect him from his own bravery or were they secret police pulling him into the darkness the photo is an act of defiance the video is an act of disappearance he becomes a global symbol at5:36 the exact moment he ceases to be a specific person it's like the photograph saved the action but it cost him his identity or maybe it's what made him eternal
