The Individual Oral:(November 2024)

Global Issue: War Profiteering by the powerful and the impact of this on the innocent and
the vulnerable.
Literary work: A compilation of songs by Bob Dylan
Literary extract from: Masters of War

Come you masters of war

You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin’

But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it’s your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old

You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten the triggers

For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young people’s blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud.
Non - Literary

Global issue: War Profiteering by the powerful and the impact of this on the innocent and
the vulnerable

Non literary Body of Work: A collection of photographs by Don McCullin

Focal Image:
Starving 24 year old mother with child, in Biafra.
Supporting Images:

1. Grieving woman in Cypress

IO Script:
Good morning the global issue I will be discussing for my individual oral today is War Profiteering by
the powerful and the impact of this on the innocent and the vulnerable.

Wars have been waged since times immemorial for power and control and have caused untold damage.
This is an issue that is truly global and it stands across timelines and geographical locations, be it the two
World Wars, the Vietnam War, the war in Afghanistan and most recently the war in the Ukraine. Thus it is
a problem that remains global in its impact and relevance, causing trauma that devastates the innocent and
the vulnerable and destroys economies and livelihoods while the perpetrators of these wars profit from
them at the cost of the victims.

The literary work I have selected to explore this issue is a collection of songs by Nobel Laureate Bob
Dylan with the focus on Masters of War and the non literary body of work I have selected is a
compilation of photographs by award winning photojournalist Don McCullin with the focus on the
photograph titled The Starving 24 year old Mother with Child in Biafra.

Masters Of War is a powerful anti war song through which Dylan condemns those in power who profit
from war and yet remain detached from the violence they instigate, leaving ordinary people to suffer the
consequences of their greed. This is expressed through the accusatory and venomous tone that underpins
the lyrics and powerful imagery.

The title : Masters of War is significant as it encapsulates Dylan’s scorn for those individuals who hold
power and just like puppeteers, they manipulate events for their selfish interests, leaving the ordinary
people to bear the brunt of war’s suffering. The focus on ‘War’ in the title is an authorial choice
indicating these masters cause wars to become more powerful and rich without taking ownership of the
devastation they cause.

Stanza 1 opens with the direct address ‘you’ and a confrontational tone, ‘Come you masters of war.’
Dylan lists all that they do, building guns, death planes and big bombs, while hiding behind walls and
desks. By emphasising that they are ‘death’ planes and ‘big bombs’, Dylan highlights the devastation and
suffering they cause for the innocent and vulnerable while the masters profit and escape judgement by
‘hiding.’ Dylan addresses them directly and can, in line 8, ‘ see through their masks’ of deception,
another authorial choice to focus his critique on the ‘Masters’ who manipulate both civilians and soldiers.

In lines 11-12, Dylan’s angry tone intensifies at the indifference of the “Masters’ who ‘ play with my
world like it’s ‘your’ little toy. The juxtaposition of ‘my’ and ‘’your’ sets up the complete indifference
these masters have for the lives of ordinary people and frames them as morally bankrupt figures who
destroy lives for their own profit.

Dylan takes this further through powerful imagery in line 18, using a Biblical allusion to Judas, who
had betrayed Jesus Christ for money, highlighting hypocrisy for just like Judas betrayed an innocent man
for profit, the ‘Masters’ pretend to protect the nation but betray the people for profit.
Furthermore, in line 26, the haunting image of the masters fastening ‘the triggers for others to fire.’ and
watching young people bleed to death from their safe mansions and the Active voice used emphasises
their active role in creating a world not of peace but suffering.

Dylan says that the Masters have created a world where people ‘fear to have children’ condemning them
to hell, stating their money would never enable them to buy back their souls, closing the song with the
powerful image of him standing over their grave.

This global issue finds resonance in other songs by Dylan as well, such as John Brown, Blowin’ in
the Wind and With God on our side.

John Brown is an anti war song about a proud mother who sends her “soldier son” off to fight in the
Vietnam War blinded by tales of glorious warfare the nation has been fed on as propaganda by the
government. This song creates a stark contrast between the fascination for war as created by the Masters
who propagandise war for profit and its devastating impact on the innocent.

The proud mother went joyfully to the station to receive her son when she heard he was returning.
Expecting to see a decorated army hero, Dylan captures her shock through the line “Oh! his face was all
shot up” The exclamation oh! encapsulates her shock at seeing her beloved son’s face disfigured by war.
The repetition of the phrase ‘she couldn’t even recognise his face’ in lines 12-13 and the exclaimed
invocation of “Oh Lord!” highlight the extent of her trauma This is Dylan's critique of the Masters of War
who justified war by saying God was with them but failed to protect their people.

Through Blowin’ in the Wind Dylan comments via powerful imagery and metaphors on the morality of
war, asking in a series of rhetorical questions How many seas must a white dove sail before she sleeps in
the sand AND How many times must the cannonballs fly before they are forever banned, AND how many
deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have died? Indicating that people in power continue
to pretend not to see the brutal impact of war, letting the innocent suffer.

Dylan finally explores War Profiteering by the powerful and the impact of this on the
innocent and the vulnerable through his song With God on Our Side where he critiques the way
governments use God and religion to justify war and the killing of innocent people, claiming morality is
on their side through haunting lines such as ‘The reason for fighting, I never did get,
But I learned to accept it, accept it with pride
For you don’t count the dead when God’s on your side
The song thus offers a powerful critique on the justification of violence and bloodshed by manipulative
governments who hide their power hungry and morally bankrupt nature behind the cloak of religion and
cause untold suffering to the vulnerable.

NON LIT
The global issue of War Profiteering by the powerful and the impact of this on the innocent
and the vulnerable has also been explored through the photographs of Don McCullin with the focus on
the photograph titled Starving 24 year old mother with child, in Biafra.
McCullin is known for his black and white photography with the emphasis on texture, tone and
composition that highlight the human condition while exploring the theme of war and conflict.
Characterised by raw realism, he focuses on the impact of war on the vulnerable while obliquely
criticising the perpetrators of this war and their selfish motives.

The Focal image is characterised by this unflinching realism. One of his most powerful images taken
during the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-70, it draws attention to humanitarian crises and selfish profiteers
of war.
McCullin’s preference for black and white photography adds a haunting and timeless quality to it,
underscoring the relevance of this issue. It also amplifies the emotional intensity and forces the viewer to
focus on her plight while the greyscale highlights the bleakness and hopelessness of her plight.

The photograph centres on a young mother, her emaciated body embodying the devastating impact of war
shortages and starvation. There is an equally emaciated infant clinging to her and trying desperately to
suck nourishment out of her shrivelled up breast while malnourishment has made their bellies swell up in
grotesque contrast.

McCullin’s choice to focus in a mid level shot on her face and bony frame, directs the viewer’s
attention to her hollow cheeks, sunken eyes and stick-like arms. Her body is visibly wasting away and her
skin is stretched tightly over her bones, highlighting the desperation of her situation and the fact that she
is unable to nurture the future generation because war has robbed her of the present.

Her youth - she is only 24- serves as a powerful reminder to how conflict caused for selfish motives by
those in power can strip the innocent and vulnerable of their right to life.
Her expression is hauntingly vacant and conveys a sense of deep despair and resignation as she stares
into the camera without registering the presence of anyone, making her a powerful symbol of how the
system that was created to support its citizens is run by the war profiteers who have ruined the lives of the
innocent through their greed and corruption.

This global issue finds a resonance in other photographs by Don McCullin as well.
The Grieving Woman in Cypress is a photograph taken by Don McCullin in 1964 during the Cypress
conflict. Composed by McCullin as a midshot, in it a distraught woman dressed in black mourns the loss
of her husband while other crying people surround her. Her face is contorted into a mask of misery and
her mouth is open in a soundless scream. Her crying young son reaches a hand out to her to either comfort
her or look for comfort from his mother but she is oblivious to the presence of anyone around her. The
second crying woman, facing in the same direction while lost in her own grief, makes this a scene of
collective despair. The image evokes a powerful emotional response and conveys the devastating impact
of war on civilians, particularly women.

The Shell Shocked Marine photographed by Don McCullin in 1968 during the Tet offensive of the
Vietnam War is a powerful visual depiction of the impact of war on people who were forced to fight by
those in power. Shot on a 35 mm camera, it is a gelatin silver print. The composition is a midshot that
depicts a shell shocked and traumatised young American Marine sitting in a bunker and staring vacantly
into space and clutching his weapon as if for support. The soldier's intense expression, staring into the
middle distance beyond the camera’s lens, shows the deep personal impact of the war on many
individuals. His face and clothes are muddied and stained from either the battlefield or a bomb blast. His
knuckles are white with the pressure of clutching his weapon and his body is slumped in a posture of
defeat, highlighting the psychological trauma of war. The fact that he is not named is an authorial
choice by McCullin to universalise the impact of war on the vulnerable.

The photograph titled A Palestinian woman returning to the ruins of her house during the Beirut
conflict of 1982 is a haunting image of a woman dressed in black standing inside the shell of her bombed
out house. The picture is a long shot which is a clever choice by McCullin as the audience can see the
steel girders of the house have melted due to the heat and impact of the blast and look like skeletal hands.
The graphic weight of the black hijab draws the reader's eye to the woman who stands with her hands
spread out in complete despair. Through this emotive picture McCullin highlights for the reader the
devastating effects of war on vulnerable civilians while obliquely criticising the war profiteers who have
instigated this war at unimaginable human cost.

In conclusion, both Dylan and McCullin have successfully encapsulated through different mediums
the global issue of War Profiteering by the powerful and the impact of this on the innocent
and the vulnerable.
Dylan uses songs with hard hitting lyrics, evocative metaphors and impactful imagery to criticise war
propaganda and the glorification of war by those in power for their own selfish gain, as well as highlight
the meaningless destruction of life and suffering of the vulnerable, McCullin on the other hand, uses the
medium of photography to construct the gritty reality of war and the way it destroys people both
physically and emotionally, bringing this devastation out into the open for the world to see, while
criticising the perpetrators of war.
This way, Both artists have been successful in highlighting this global issue and sparking conversations
for change.

● Wars- cause suffering and destroy economies and livelihoods while the powerful
profit.
● Masters of War- anti war song condemning war profiteers.
● Accusatory tone with direct address and figurative language highlighting their
callous indifference.
● John Brown highlights war propaganda and the suffering of soldiers and families.
● Blowing in the Wind highlights the lack of desire to right the suffering- With God on
our Side critiques the justification of violence and suffering.
● Don McCullin focuses on impact of war on vulnerable- obliquely criticises war
profiteers.
● Focal image focuses on plight of starving mother and child in Biafra-
● Condemns failure of government to protect citizens from war - critiques war
profiteering.
● Supporting images- convey devastating impact of war on civilians and soldiers.
● Relevant GI successfully highlighted through different mediums by both artists.