This image, created by the anonymous street artist who goes by the name ‘Banksy’, depicts a juvenile, naked female hand-in-hand with the famous mascot of the well-known fast food chain McDonald’s, as well as popular childhood character, Mickey Mouse.
The image of the young girl however, has been taken from a well-known photograph taken during the Vietnam War after a napalm bomb was dropped on the country, and doused the child (whose name has been revealed as Kim Phuc) in the flammable liquid as she ran helplessly from the bomb site.
To me, Banksy’s work of art depicts the loss of innocence that occurred to all of the children involved in war. An image of a young child holding hands with two popular childhood characters in today’s media should hold happy connotations, as this is something many children can relate to or have experienced. This is juxtaposed however, with the look of terror and pain among the girl’s face, and although uncomfortable, this forces us to see the difference between the lives of children in war-stricken countries and our own and face the realities of what our world has become.
On the other hand, others may hold a different understanding of this image. They may see it as showing us that although war is terrible and cruel, what we are fighting for is for the children’s innocence to be RESTORED, and that one day the children will be able to live happily with appropriate childhood memories that don’t involve bombs and terror, but watching Disney on a Saturday while eating a Happy Meal.
Though the current state of politics, unfortunately I believe it will be a long time before that happens.
josiehowl 
Such a good and current image to use for your Complex Image, it really captures the essence of your post. The image you chose was amazing and really told a story, however the way I would look at it is how these international brands such as Mickey Mouse (television) and McDonald’s (fast food) are actually taking away from the lives of children and influencing them into unhealthy habits such as watching Mickey Mouse on television whilst eating a Happy Meal. Potentially they could be robbing the youth? Maybe just something to think about. Although I really did enjoyed reading your blog post, it was very insightful and helped me to look at things differently rather than choose to see whats on the page. Your writing is clear and concise which made it an enjoyable read.
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