The Bigger Picture show's poster

The Real Story Behind This Iconic 9/11 Photo

Images can tell powerful stories. One iconic photograph can symbolize an entire era. But if we expand the frame and examine the moment in which it was taken, a very different story can emerge. In this series of documentary shorts, Harvard University historian Dr. Vincent Brown meets with curators, photographers and other experts to challenge common assumptions about iconic American images.

The Real Story Behind This Iconic 9/11 Photo

Season 1 Episode 3 | 12m 16s | CC

How does an image become “iconic?” And when it does, will its meaning change? Host Vincent Brown explores these questions as he zooms in on one of the most well-known photos from September 11: “Raising the Flag at Ground Zero.” Photographer Thomas E. Franklin talks about the instant he captured the actions of the firefighters and the experience of watching his work become a cultural phenomenon.

Related stories

Arts & Culture
New political satire from Flamboyán Theatre spotlights Puerto Rican history
Puerto Rican theater company highlights Latin voices in new play series.
 | Carly Rose
News
Young Sand Creek and Amache descendants explore shared history
A new collaboration between the Sand Creek Massacre Foundation and the Amache Alliance is educating young people about their history on Colorado's southeastern plains.
 | Rae Solomon
News
Get your hands on history at History Colorado’s research center
The History Colorado Center’s vast collection of archives and artifacts is free and open to the public. Here’s what it includes and how to access it.
 | Carly Rose

The Bigger Picture

Watch more episodes

See more
See more
Major funding for THE BIGGER PICTURE was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional funding was provided by the Anderson Family Charitable Fund, the Tamara L. Harris Foundation, the William Talbott Hillman Foundation, the Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding for the digital production of THE BIGGER PICTURE was provided by Chasing the Dream – a public media initiative from The WNET Group, reporting on poverty, opportunity, and justice in America, and supported by The JPB Foundation, The Peter G. Peterson and Joan Ganz Cooney Fund, and Sue and Edgar Wachenheim, III.