One of the girls in the car explains the photo here. (link originally found here)

In a way, both are wrong. As the woman with the mobile phone has explained in the article zoss links to, the five people in the car were from the area and going back to see what had happened to their appartments (and they had borrowed the car).

They were middle-class but also victims of the conflict - it's just that they didn't look the way we (ie: Westerners) usually imagine victims (they weren't dead or wounded, they didn't look poor or malnourished - they had "only" been forced to flee their homes).

When you reflect upon the picture - and the story behind it - it is a very interesting picture because it shows you something, which isn't obvious. But you also need to know the story of the people in the car in order to understand the story the picture tells.

This also tells us something about the limits of photo-journalism.

This truly is a great photo. When I first saw it some months ago, I interpreted it much like everyone else - an image of hip, well-to-do young Labanese kids gawking at the destruction like tourists - a portrait in contradiction.

When you know the story of the people in it and why they are there, the photo is even more powerful. Jacob says it tells us something about the limits of photo-journalism. That's true. But on the other hand, it also tells us something about the power of photo-journalism to distort the truth. And we saw plenty examples of that last summer when the "Zionist war machine" was depicted as the villain of the earth with staged images - while the icons of media like AP and BBC fueled the flames of distortion with their almost gleeful participation and contributions of their own.

Dan C.

Frankly, I don't find this picture that great. The contrast between the nice car and pretty girls with the destroyed background is strong, but the effect is diminished by the passerbys peacefully waking their way and not looking too tired or concerned. The picture is not well framed: the pretty girls don't stand out, the car is in the way of the destroyed buildings, the face of one of the girls is partly occluded by another whose nose wiping is no very gracious. This could be anywhere in the US as well. Journalistically, the intended story is very cliche. I don't think this picture deserves the prize.

It almost looks staged, doesn't it? Kind of like an Adi Ness photo, which only makes it all the more powerful, because it isn't.

I hate to seem shallow, but my first thoughts on seeing this picture concern the womens "ahem" attributes. Are all Lebanese women well endowed? Have boob jobs? Wear push up bras and too tight clothing?

And I ask this as a woman.

For me, this photo is an illustration of the coexistence of simultaneous realities; the banality and spectacle of war.

Well as a Lebanese, this photo doesn't seem so surprising or unrealistic to me because this is who we are and what we look like (I don't know the exact percentages here but it is safe to say a good portion of the Lebanese population). A pair of sunglasses, coloured hair, sleevless t-shirts are the usual you see on the streets of Beirut during the summer and it is not at all an indication of being rich or anything. Any individual making a basic 300 or 400 USD a month would look like this in Lebanon any day. Some choose to be covered and some don't. The ones in the photo just happen to be one of those who don't.

I think what makes this photo a hit is the fact that it contradicts the perception the world has of Lebanon and the Lebanese during war, creating some kind of a shock, a shock to see more than one face of Lebanon and life in Lebanon. The world expected to see only dead people, crying people, women fully covered, etc. and it's just not the case. Sorry folks ;)

And if we're able to snatch a prize for it, so be it, well done to us ;)

Hi Lisa,

this photo is great and becomes even more great when it uncovers the fact that the West didn't realize the diversity of the Middle East yet

The photo is focussed on what's inside the car, the 'cosmopolitan' libanese, leaving what's outside, the destruction of a civilian area, as a secondary item.

I think its a reflection of the moral strength of the lebanese society... the war is over, they put on their make up and go out crusing.

The lebanese are known for being people who love life and live it to its fullest, as they'd say, because they've had enough with wars and atrocities.

Apparently, those in the car come from the richer part of beirut, and they were crusing in the less well to do areas, I think that says something too.

there is also something that reminds me of the 1950's - the cult of youth, the apparent wealth and optimism (down to the structured bustline and convertible) against a post-war backdrop of recent destruction.

I see the picture of the young women and young men as saying, I am just like you, I am a normal young person who wants to live my life in peace. I am not a part of the carnage going on in my country. Yes, I am Arab, but I am just like you. Remove the scenery from back of the picture, and we could be driving down Sunset Blvd, Hollywood. As a young women, I love pretty things, I love make-up to enhance my looks even more, I love to date, to have fun, to enjoy my youth. As a young person I could walk into Jerusalem and be friends for life with all of the Jewish youth, and I know they feel the same way. It Is not our fault that a small group of dictatorial, vengeful men want to ruin our lives as well as every one around us. Because we love people in general, we love life, we will get around this madness, and pray God, that we all survived this, and live a long and happy life. "Enchula. This is what I see as I look at the picture. Regards to all, Esther