The fall of a pseudo-icon: The toppling of saddam hussein's statue as image management

On April 9, 2003, the 21st day of America's war with Iraq, the 40-foot bronze statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad's Firdos Square was pulled down in front of dozens of still and video photojournalists—and, thus, the world. Studying "icons" such as the Saddam-toppling pictures is of interest to researchers endeavoring to judge the relation of photojournalism to the events that it portrays both as news and as history (Domke, Perlmutter, & Spratt, 2003). This article analyzes the most published photograph of the Saddam Hussein statue toppling as an icon, including the activities leading to the toppling, as well as the event's significance.