Neda Stirs and Inspires: Cell Phone Video Captures Latest Iconic Image

An amateur cell phone video captured the death of Neda Agha-Soltan during street protests in Tehran on June 20 and has gone on to be viewed by millions on the Internet. Her image has elevated her to the revered status of martyr and is known as the “Angel of Iran.”

The image has joined the ranks of John Filo’s 1970 photograph of shootings at Kent State University and Eddie Adams’ 1968 image “Vietnam Execution” as the new iconic image.

It was inevitable that the mix of cell phone cameras and social networking would propel an image to iconic status. CNN reporter Jessica Ravitz writes about the history, the effects and the place in mass media of these iconic images in her piece, Neda: Latest iconic image to inspire, on CNN.com.