Pieta in Reverse

This graphic scene of Iranian protester Neda Soltani dying on the streets of Tehran as her father weeps, which was shot by a cell phone camera and uploaded onto the Internet, is been shown on network news despite its graphic content, and users are warning YouTube against takedown, although several versions of this clip now require over-18 authentication.

The Twitter hashtag #Neda is already recognizing reaction to the rhetoric of martyrdom that the iconic image of her death seems to represent.

Update: More on the visual rhetoric of the image from Bag News Notes here. The New York Times provides biographical background here. The video is already being remixed by admirers on YouTube.

Second Update: Check out this excellent essay by Lisa Nakamura about the Neda phenomenon.