A Retoucher Altered the Expression of Genocide Victims To Make Them Smile

In the mid- to late-70s, the Khmer Rouge committed a heinous genocide in Cambodia that killed 25% of its population. The government infamously photographed many of these victims at Tuol Sleng, a school which was converted into a torture facility. Inexplicably, retoucher Matt Loughrey decided to colorize and alter the expression of some of the depicted victims of the Cambodian genocide into smiles, and as you might imagine, people were outraged.

In this episode of Vision Slightly Blurred, Sarah and Allen discuss the controvery. Plus, the NYT publishes images from 28 different Asian and Asian-American photographers to show what love looks like in a time of hate, American Photography takes a stand on Chinese censorship, and Annie Leibovitz captures poet laureate Amanda Gorman for Vogue.