1. Breanna Wethey
COMM420
Tiananmen Square and the Man Who Risked His Life
June 5, 1989 was the day that the Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing occurred where
over 700 people were killed by Chinese military in open fire. Chinese troops acted violently in
attempts to stop the pro-democracy protest that was started by students; this tragic event has
made history throughout the world. Demonstrators in Tiananmen Square at one point reached
about a million people and everyone was very passionate about making a change to the corrupt
government to improve their life and their country. What has become the most famous and
powerful from the tragedy for all of us to remember was the photo that was captured by Jeff
Widener featuring a man standing in front of four large tanks risking his life to make a stance
and stop the tanks from moving forward. “The Tank Man”, the name he has been commonly
referred to as, has remained anonymous to this day. He clearly had had enough of the wrong that
the government was doing and was willing to die in order to communicate a message to the
military, and unintentionally made history communicating a message to all who see the photo. It
was also a historic component fitting into a larger movement because the push for democratic
reform and the ending of corruption has been going on for many years before and after the event.
Despite the government suppression of information about the Tiananmen Square Massacre, the
legacy lives on in China and for the rest of the world.
We can apply the protest in Beijing and the man standing in front of the tanks to two of
Jasper’s claims about protest: that anyone can join a protest at any point, and that moral protest is
important for developing and spreading new perspectives. The protest in Beijing in 1989 started

2. out with students camping out in Tiananmen Square and ballooned to about a million other
Chinese citizens that wanted to take a stand against government. In addition, the man who risked
his life and stood in front of the tanks was a random Chinese citizen. We also know that the
protest stood as an example to future generations and helped to move our perspectives in a
progressive direction. For this protest, we also see the concept of anger as an instrument of
change from the Lorde reading. People get angry about the things they care about and the
protesters were very angry at the government and tired of the way they were being treated. “The
Tank Man” was clearly very angry as well; the video caught of him showed him yelling and he
even climbed up on top of the tank trying to look in at the driver and yell at him.
The man’s determination and willingness to sacrifice himself spoke to internal audiences
including the other demonstrators, as well as the photographer and the other American man that
was with him in the hotel videoing the tank scene. The action was also seen by the Chinese
military and everyone was very surprised that the man did not get shot or arrested. It spoke even
more to external audiences because this picture is one of the most famous and powerful pictures
representing passionate protest and the rage and power of the people. The Tiananmen Square
Massacre and the single man holding shopping bags standing in front of a line of massive tanks
has given us hope and the idea that the people can stand up against government, and that even
just one single person can make a difference.
“The Tank Man” reminds us of the concept from the movie V for Vendetta in that the
character called “V” was the embodiment of an idea carried through history based on Guy Faux
who sacrificed his life in bravely attempting to abolish the corrupt and overbearing government.
Although V dies, the idea he symbolized lives on, and his action continues to speak to internal
and external audiences. He made a difference when he sacrificed himself to destroy an important

3. government building (just as the protesters did in the class film If a Tree Falls) and passing along
his idea that people have a voice and when unified, can stop a corrupt government. “The Tank
Man” remains anonymous, but has stood as a symbol to the rest of the world and encourages us
to stand up as well. This can also connect to the anti-mainstream, anti-corruption social
movement group known as “Anonymous” who uses the Guy Faux masks to unify themselves as
an idea that cannot be arrested or restrained as a whole. These groups of people show us that
anyone can take a stand and pass on the idea of a voice in a better world without corruption of
authority.
The action of the man in the photo was not “successful”, per say, in stopping the
corruption of government in a direct sense, although he was successful in physically stopping the
tanks for a few minutes until he was physically pulled away by other Chinese civilians.
Unfortunately, as a result of the protest, laws and media regulations were tightened, and many
people were imprisoned, exiled, injured, and killed. But on the grand scheme, the action of “The
Tank Man”, which represents the efforts and sentiment of the protesters at Tiananmen Square,
became very successful and powerful, creating awareness and changing perspectives. There are
many different ways to think about the word “success” and everyone has their own unique
definition of the word. From the perspective of the demonstrators in the Tiananmen Square
protests, they would say that it was a fallback to have lost so many lives, but in general, the
legacy lives on within China and even the rest of the world. The people of China had their eyes
opened and became aware of their own power, developing a sense of hope and unity and
continuing to fight for democratic reform; by any means, I think that is considered “success”.