Documentary Photography #3

As I mentioned in the previous post, there are several ways that the photo, “new labour” brings up the idea of defiance and resistance. You would need to understand the history and background of this photo to get the true meaning behind the picture. Obviously there is something wrong in this picture. Something out of the ordinary is happening. People have flooded the streets and there is something that is obscure about the fact that there are two enormous arrows pointing in the opposite direction of the large crowd.

Police said that in February of 2003, the biggest demonstration of protesters in the history of London took to the streets to shows their anti-war feelings. (BBC) Europe in general was incredibly upset with the Iraq war. “New labour” was taken in London, England in April of 2003. At the time, the governing party in was called “The Labour Party,” which explains the pun in the title of the photograph “new labour.” It was taken right in the heat of the invasion of Iraq, which was led by The United States of America, but was backed by British forces. (Wikipedia)
Although the United States was the main force in this war with 248,000 troops, Great Britain had the second most with 45,000. The leaders of these nations claimed that the reason for the war was “to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein’s support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people.” Opinion polls taken in Spain and Italy revealed that upwards of 90% of the population opposed the war. In London, it is estimated that between one and two million people marched in the streets to protest the war in April. There were over 600 cities across the world that marched during the time of invasion, which The Guinness Book of World Records estimates as the largest mass protest movement in history. (Wikipedia)

It wasn’t just a few countries whose citizens turned out to show endorse the protest of the Iraq war. According to Dominique Reynie, a French academic, between January 3 and April 12 of 2003, thirty six million people worldwide took part in around three thousand protests.

Works Cited

"BBC News World Edition." 'Million' March Against Iraq War. 16/Feb/2003. BBC, Web. 30 Sep 2009.

"Protests Against The Iraq War." Wikipedia. 2009. Web. .

Documentary Photography #2

In the photo, “new labour,” there are several ways that the photograph brings out the idea of resistance and defiance. Most clearly, the arrows pointing in the opposite direction of the protesters. There are many other ways that the picture has characteristics of anarchy though. Typically, streets are a place to drive automobiles and this street in particular appears to be a one way street. The group of people here refuse to follow the social norm of walking on the sidewalk because they have decided that what they believe in is more important than following typical social structure.

These arrows are arranged so that they are set about equidistant from the border of the picture and they can literally cut the picture in to two halves, making the picture almost look like a mirror. The ethos that is shown here allows the audience to view a picture that is very simple to find visual hierarchy. The large arrows are the first things that people notice in this picture. Seeing that the arrows are pointed directly at the audience, they can suck the audience into the picture. They become the main focal point because they point at the viewer. This draws the viewer in to more detail.

Pathos can be found in this photo, however, you would need to know the background of this photo to be able to make a knowledgeable, educated summary of it. Viewing this picture at first glance, without having knowledge of its background may lead an audience to think that its just a busy day in random city. You would not be able to gain any knowledge of what is actually happening in this picture. However, if you did know about the background of this picture, you would be able to make more of an educated synopsis. Since pathos is how your audience feels about what you are doing, knowing your political party and your views on the Iraq war would have an enormous impact on how you view this picture. This picture is trying to bring out the idea that the Iraq war was unnecessary. The people walking away from the arrows could put a “cause” in to play that says they are defiant towards the United States’ position in the war. The effect here is that you may have many people who are for this and many who are not. This means that this photo is not just a photo to look at and say “Oh, that sure is pretty!” Rather, it sends a message and the audience who views it can either be for it or against it. It divides the audience in half, just as it has done with the arrows on either side with the street line going down the middle.

Personally, I think this picture is very inspiring. After researching more about London and the social turmoil in Europe during the war, it is appealing to me that so man people can come together to show their disapproval of the war. I have been raised a Democrat and have never believed that the Iraq war was important enough for the United States to take such serious steps in trying to bring down the Hussein-ran government. All in all, this picture is not only a well taken photograph, but it is also takes a distinctive political stance.