Evaluating and Comparing Photo Essays

Transcription

1 Evaluating and Comparing Photo Essays ANALYSE THE FOLLOWING PHOTO ESSAYS. THEN USE THE QUESTIONS BELOW TO GUIDE YOUR ANALYSIS. PHOTO ESSAYS: Aging Inmates 1. THEME: What is the theme of each photo essay? 3. CONTEXT : How has your context affected the way you read a particular part of this text? How has understanding the authorial context influenced your understanding and perspective on the topic(s) explored? Did this give one text more authority than the other? My own context = especially with reading In Cold Blood, I have a negative perspective on people who could commit crimes bad enough to end up in prison long term. I perceive them as hardened criminals who are there for a terrible reason and so should do this time to repent. Author s biography gives her credibility: received the prestigious Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation Fellowship & Grant to photograph aging in American prisons; is a documentary photographer &

2 filmmaker based in New York, whose work focuses on criminal justice, healthcare and music. In the U.S., her clients include The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Universal Music, NBC News, MySpace, Newsday, amongst others. 4. LITERARY VALUE : How did each text use literary devices in a way that makes it universally literary and significant? Did this impact the text s authority and influence your perspective? Anaphora: "If I wanted something in life at three years old I had to take it," he says. "If I needed food I had to take it. If I wanted a drink of water I had to take it Loaded word s and hyperbole Seeing human beings behind heavy doors and bars about the institution of prison and the isolating effects on people when you cut them off from society. Rhetorical Question: As a society our general outlook is that people who commit violent crimes are dangerous but after 30-plus years, are they? Imagery and loaded words creates pathos : Robert mentors younger prisoners who have come in with drug addictions, something he's very passionate about. Anecdote: Creates an image that embodies the mainstream perspectives about prison. Makes the writer relatable to the audience. If she can change, perhaps we d feel the same way in meeting these people: I only understood prison in an abstract way before going inside. I had spent months researching the topic and knew the facts, but it didn't eliminate my fear before I walked in for the first time. But when deputy warden Michael Tausek introduced my first three subjects Steven, Robert, and Albert my fear dissipated.

3 Anecdote and imagery: creates an image of innocence: She spends most of her days coloring, doing crossword puzzles, and playing bridge with the ladies (often complaining when she suspects cheating). often feels outnumbered and anxious Parallelism: Hearing their stories, their remorse, their shame, and who they are now, was a lot to process 5. VISUAL RHETORIC: How does each author use visual rhetoric in the photographs to challenge or affirm your perspectives? How does the visual rhetoric support the written text? Photo 1: wheelchairs are illuminated which connotes vulnerability, Subject gaze is direct which would be inviting except that his eyes are in a shadow and so difficult to see which creates an isolating effect. The social distance (public social distance) enhanced by the special effects of layering shadowy reflections over the photo makes the viewer feel as though they are looking at him behind a window as if he is in a box to be viewed but not touched - very isolating effect. Photo 2: Neglect (splashes on the screen like he s dismissed), confronting stare (subject gaze) juxtaposed with the close social distance inviting intimacy. PHoto 3: vulnerability is created through the everyday activities mean to make us feel she is just like us (everyman image): elderly woman doing non-threatening, ordinary things. Listening To Those Who Were Photographed Context: The fact that these images started as an instagram feed turned into an interview and then a photo essay diminishes credibility. My own context makes me more sympathetic to these

4 subjects because they are children who were put into a difficult situation and didn t know any better. Literary: Imagery in the beginning: Taped to the walls of his room are printed photos of his brother David, his mother, other family members, too. These pictures, however, differ from most family photos; they ve been published worldwide. Syntax: His mother Eve had been physically assaulted by a family friend. Vinny had been arrested for stabbing the man. He was 13-years-old. Loaded words and personification:critics, the public and media outlets have distributed and consumed the stories of Vinny, David and their family. Strangers have clicked through galleries. These pictures reminds us of what dope has done. What incarceration has done. What we have lost. The last five years. David Use of interview (dialogue) : vulnerable, real, again short syntax - innocence and ignorance in diction as well

5 Juxtaposition of both brothers: vinny influenced by David seen in text and visuals. David influenced by life circumstance (juxtapose him and his mother). Juxtapose images: the harsh external and the devastation + time: innocent little boy to hardened criminal Ends, though, with Vinny and his girlfriend Krystle in Vinny helps raise Krystle s 2 year-old daughter.: caption and the visual rhetoric still make him into an innocent little boy Authorial: She takes an immersive approach to photojournalism, spending months and years imbedded in the lives of her subjects. For her, the relationships formed with the subjects are tantamount to the image-making. In addition, she is a teacher and has lectured at the National Geographic Seminar, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, the National Conference on Crime and Delinquency, and has instructed high school students on topics related. Won many awards and contributed to well known magazines and journals - gives her credibility + her immersive approach makes the subjects more real/relatable. LITERARY VALUE