Images possess the extraordinary power to normalize what should be considered abnormal, and nowhere is this more evident than in the visual documentation of military personnel on the streets of Washington, D.C. As military deployments become increasingly common in the nation's capital, the way these events are photographed and presented to the American public plays a crucial role in shaping public perception and acceptance of what many consider unprecedented displays of military power in civilian spaces.
According to filmmaker and cinematographer Azza Cohen, who served as Vice President Kamala Harris's official videographer in the White House, Americans are witnessing in real time how military takeovers are being marketed through carefully crafted photographs and videos. Cohen, who studies the politics of visual power, warns that citizens must not take these images for granted, as they serve a purpose far beyond simple documentation.
The deployment of military forces in Washington raises significant questions about necessity and cost. Data from D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department shows that violent crime in the district was down 27 percent during recent periods, contradicting official justifications for military intervention. According to an analysis by Nick Turse for The Intercept, the price tag for deploying the National Guard in D.C. reaches approximately one million dollars per day. Yet beyond these policy debates lies a crucial visual dimension that demands examination.
Official government imagery reveals what appears to be a carefully orchestrated visual strategy for presenting military deployment to the public. The White House and Department of Defense social media accounts showcase compositional choices that seem specifically designed to create impressions of strength and legitimacy. These images employ classic techniques of authoritarian visual rhetoric that have been used throughout history to justify military presence in civilian areas.
One particularly striking image from the White House Instagram account shows three soldiers walking toward the camera using a low-angle photography technique that makes the soldiers appear tall, authoritative, and powerful. Their gaze is directed toward the right side of the frame, a visual technique that suggests forward movement and progress in cultures that read from left to right. The compositional choice frames military presence as positive momentum, with the soldiers centered in the frame, mid-stride, looking purposeful as they walk toward the camera as if they are coming to save viewers.
A Defense Department post displays armored vehicles and soldiers positioned outside Union Station, the iconic transportation hub that serves as a backdrop. This creates a visual association between military presence and civilian infrastructure. The way the soldiers are posed bears an unsettling resemblance to wartime photography, similar to a July 2011 photograph by the Department of Defense showing American soldiers at Joint Base Balad in Iraq. In both images, soldiers pose in front of armored vehicles, looking directly into the camera to convey power.
By positioning soldiers with wartime equipment in front of iconic civilian locations, the Department of Defense sends what Cohen describes as a disturbing, warlike message. These images employ low camera angles that emphasize power, strategic positioning at symbolic locations, and compositional elements that suggest legitimacy and progress. The photography doesn't simply document military presence; it actively argues for its appropriateness and necessity.
Independent journalists and D.C. residents are creating different visual records of the same events, offering counter-narratives that challenge official messaging. Associated Press photographer Jacquelyn Martin has used clever compositional techniques to tell a different story of this moment. In one image, she captured National Guard members walking toward the Capitol with the building positioned in the middle of the frame, flanked by soldiers in motion.
At first glance, Martin's photograph appears straightforward, showing a bicyclist framed between soldiers as a classic element of street photography. However, upon closer examination, the composition proves metaphorically brilliant, articulating the symbolic weight of military personnel approaching the seat of democratic government. The soldiers appear to be encroaching on normal civilian activities, with the biker and walker representing ordinary citizens. The photograph evokes a sense of unease and demands viewer skepticism.
In another powerful image from the Petworth neighborhood of D.C., Martin captured federal agents making an arrest, showing both the agents and the person being targeted. The photograph reveals a gun being drawn and captures the facial expressions of all people in the scene. This isn't merely another camera angle but represents a fundamentally different perspective that helps viewers ask critical questions about what they're witnessing.
The contrast in visual approach between official government imagery and journalists like Martin reveals how photography can and must construct multiple narratives about events. Official imagery emphasizes strength, protection, and legitimacy, while independent journalism can emphasize disruption, human impact, and departures from democratic norms. This distinction underscores the vital importance of both professional photographers and citizen journalists in documenting these events.
Perhaps the most concerning aspect of current imagery is its potential to normalize extraordinary circumstances through repetition. The more frequently Americans see authoritative images of National Guard personnel at Metro stations, outside government buildings, and in civilian spaces, the more normal these scenes begin to feel. Images that initially seem shocking or concerning become familiar through repetition, reducing their emotional impact and political significance.
Citizens must actively resist this normalization by maintaining their initial reactions and continuing to question what they're witnessing. Photographers and editors can counter normalization through conscious choices about context, framing, and presentation. Images that emphasize extraordinary disruption, center civilian reactions, and use composition to question the alteration of democratic spaces can help society resist rather than normalize military presence.
The images of military deployment in D.C. will outlast the deployment itself, creating a lasting visual record that will influence future perceptions. Photographs of military personnel as protectors of civilian spaces tell one story, while photographs of them as disruptors of civilian normalcy tell another. Both might be factually accurate, but they construct different political meanings through visual emphasis and compositional choice.
As Cohen emphasizes, anyone creating and sharing images, from official government photographers to independent journalists to residents with smartphones, participates in a larger conversation about democratic norms and acceptable governance. She encourages people who see soldiers and tanks to document these scenes with their phones for history and for all Americans. As Melissa Wasser of the ACLU wrote for MSNBC, the aim is clear: make fear the norm, and if society doesn't call it out, this playbook will be used again and again.
The camera doesn't just capture reality; it constructs political possibility. The images of military deployment in D.C. and potentially in other cities will either normalize authoritarianism or preserve democratic accountability. That outcome depends partly on how conscious, outraged, and skeptical Americans remain as they consume and create visual media documenting these unprecedented times.
