The vectors are distinct and establish the heavy dramatic imagery that surrounds these famous images. The participants in the photos with vectors are part of a transactional process and are represented as “doing something to or for each other.” These vectors are what establish these images as being narrative.
The picture of Ho Chi Minh is a non-transactional image. There are no vectors which show the give and take that defines transactional images. He is however addressing the audience, but his action is like a verb with no object.
The image of the French soldiers watching the supplies dropped to them does exhibit vectors. The desperate French troops are trapped at Dien Bien Phu, and eventually suffered a crushing defeat. They are looking up at the supplies with wide eyes, we can tell this even though we cannot see their faces. This effect is established by the vectors connecting the troops to the parachutes.
The image of the South Vietnamese officer executing a suspected Vietcong is possibly the most dramatic vectoral photo ever. The gun of the officer is pointed directly at the man’s head. The transactional process creates tension and anticipation, as well as empathy. The power of images like this helped to bring the American public’s attention to the escalating crisis.
These pictures stirred the emotions of the people, and this only led to further opportunities to capture dramatic images. One of the most famous photos from the Vietnam war was taken in Kent, Ohio. The Ohio National Guard fired on a rowdy protest at the State university in the town. The female student’s reaction to the death of her classmate, or presumably friend described the pain of the incident. Her attachment to the fallen protester jumps from the picture regardless of whether or not they even knew each other. The passersby are looking on in shock and horror unable to remove their gaze from their heartbroken classmate.