| MATTHEW LYNCH,
EXECUTIVE EDITOR |
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Beginning tomorrow, the eyes of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, and perhaps a few more casual observers, will turn to Rome, where the Church's cardinals will elect a pope to succeed Pope Francis, who died last month at age 88. Taking stock of what's at stake at the secretive meetings, Paul Elie, who's written about the Holy See for Vanity Fair for more than a decade, looks to one of the last major gatherings of the Church's elite, how it encapsulated Francis's tenure, and what may come next. Elsewhere, longtime Vanity Fair editor David Friend takes a deeper look at one of the most recognizable war photographs in history, the so-called "Napalm Girl" image from the Vietnam War—and the continuing controversy of its authorship. |
The Synod on Synodality—an oddly named gathering in Rome over two Octobers in 2023 and 2024—was an exercise in collective listening, centered on monthlong meetings of several hundred attendees, and was one of Pope Francis's main efforts to carry out his vision for the Roman Catholic Church. James Martin, a Jesuit priest, best-selling author, adviser to the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication, and delegate at the synod, snapped a photo "on the fly" on the final day in the Paul VI Audience Hall. Described as a "Renaissance tableau" by Martin, Paul Elie inquires about the figures in the photo and the mood in the room, and notes how it will contrast with the upcoming conclave. |
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The mystery…deepens. For decades, photographer Nick Ut, formerly of the Associated Press, was credited with taking the heart-wrenching Vietnam War image often called "Napalm Girl," which earned Ut a Pulitzer Prize. Then, in January, a documentary premiered at Sundance and convulsed the photojournalism community. The Stringer, directed by Bao Nguyen (The Greatest Night in Pop), made the case that the author of the famous frame was not Ut but Nguyen Thanh Nghe, a Vietnamese combat photographer.
Thus began a pitched battle: the AP and Ut's supporters versus the filmmakers, including photographer Gary Knight, a major force behind the movie. Now comes the AP's response, in the form of an extensive study that concludes: "It is possible Nick Ut took the photo. However, that cannot be proven definitively…New findings uncovered during this investigation do raise unanswered questions and AP remains open to the possibility that Ut did not take this photo." In its examination, which was published today with an interactive component, the AP pokes holes in the accounts of Nghe, the filmmakers, and Ut. The puzzle remains unsolved.
Herewith: a granular assessment of The Stringer—and the controversy—by Vanity Fair's David Friend, himself a documentary producer. The movie has not been screened publicly since Sundance. |
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