There were several problems that I encountered while trying to accomplish the goals of writing project one. The biggest challenge that I was faced with was the fact that this was the first time that I had ever worked with a photograph and then needed to respond to that photograph in a rhetorical manor. I have never done so much analyzing of a photo ever before. It seemed as though I needed to look as deep in to the picture as I possibly could in order to gain a sense of knowledge of the photo and, in turn, write a persuasive paper on the knowledge that I had gained. When I began working with my piece, the first thing I did was check the date and location of the photo because I needed to find out what exactly it was that the people in this picture were protesting about. Without knowing the date and discovering that it was the Iraq War that these people were protesting against, I would have had no idea that these people were anti-Iraq war. I was immediately drawn to this photo because of the arrows pointing at me and, as I mentioned in my paper, I felt a connection with the people in the picture because of the rebellious emotions that were conveyed through the photo.
After researching the Iraq War and gaining a better understanding of the controversiality that was involved in it, I was able to put my pen to my paper and begin giving a summary and background on different viewpoints and ideas that dealt with the war. Reading through Compose, Design, Advocate also helped give me different rhetorical appeals and technical elements that were going to be necessary in order to write a well thought out statement of purpose and final paper. After analyzing the photo and discovering numerous ways to aid me while I made my argument, it was again back to my paper where I began writing about the different technical elements that are present in the picture. There were many pre-writing assignments that helped me in picking out what I thought to be the most important parts of the picture.
Another problem that I encountered when developing this paper was getting sick with mononucleosis during the classes that we discussed our papers and different elements and appeals that were going to be helpful when trying to come up with a distinguishable argument. I was so separated from our class that I didn’t even understand that the statement of purpose was a completely different paper from the actual final paper itself. Although having mono was a bit of a drag and missing class put me behind schedule, I turned to Compose, Design, Advocate for help. The text book was of utter importance when trying to finish my paper. Overall, I feel that this paper did wonders for me. I not only became a more educated American on the issues of the Iraq War, but I also feel that I was able to express many of my own feelings towards the War through the picture because I was so connected with it.
"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. 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.” (Wiki) Several countries in Europe were opposed to the war. The main c
ounter argument to George Bush’s stance on getting weapons of mass destruction out of Iraq was that the Iraqi people in fact did not even have weapons of mass destruction and that the only reason we were going over to Iraq was to drill for oil. People called Bush a power thirsty leader and viewed him as more of a dictator than a president. 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. 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. 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. It wasn’t just a few countries whose citizens turned out to 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. (Wiki)This picture takes an extremely anarchist, opposed view most importantly on the war in Iraq, but it also gives someone who has never seen this picture before a feeling of revolt. Typically, streets are places to drive automobiles on 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 norms. The street is a place where people on foot are usually not welcome except for when given the go-ahead to cross a street. Growing up, we are told to never cross the street without looking and definitely not to be congregating in the street.
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. 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. Your feelings towards the picture reflect your thoughts on the Iraq war. 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.
When viewing this photograph, it is important to take into account three very important aspects; The hue, brightness, and contrast are three elements that make this picture so powerful. There is in fact, very little brightness in this picture since it was taken in black and white. The black brings out a sense of focus, darkness, and anger. Being black and white gives this photo a sense of gloom and also shows very little hue. It seems as though the colors very closely represent the feelings of not only those who opposed the war in the United States, but the entire world. Growing up during the Iraq war, I don’t recall a single time when I would turn on the news and not see news anchors and politicians arguing over what was right and wrong in the war. The fact that this picture, along with every other picture in the album is taken in black and white gives it sharp detail especially on the main focal points, the arrows, but makes sure that the highlights of the photo are not completely blown out. There are smoother transitions from shade to shade so there is very little contrast and it is overall, a lot easier to view.(Jelling) This photo is incredibly divided. There are several ways physically, and emotionally that the audience is able to split the photo in half. The crowd is only seen on the top half of the photo, giving the top half a bigger sense of rush and hurry. The bottom half is extremely easy to view because of the fact that there are only two colors on it. The photo is split emotionally because it is a somewhat controversial picture. You are either for the Iraq War, or you are against it. There are also two vectors of attention that catch the eye. The two arrows pull the viewer much closer to the photo because they point directly at them. The photo is also slightly tilted, which makes it seem like the viewer is part of the crowd and not a third party viewing it.
When I first viewed this photo, I felt an immediate connection. I felt as though I was being pulled into the picture. This photo makes the viewer feel like he/she is a part of what is happening. It was as if I was walking
behind the crowd of protesters. I felt a direct connection with the people in the street. After learning that the picture was taken during the Iraq war, I felt closer to the crowd. Being raised in a Democratic family, I was never as ambitious about showing my thoughts on the war as these people were, but I still never thought the war was a good idea andwould consider myself to believe some of the same things that these people do.
The Iraq War is something that is still incredibly controversial today. The entire world was affected by the war and I believe that "new labour" conveys very closely the emotions that most of the world felt towards the Iraq War. To this day our country remains divided by not only the war, but by numerous political beliefs. Although some Americans think the controversy is unneeded, I think it is incredible to live in a country where I can freely express my opinions on such things like the Iraq war. Even though I was opposed to the Iraq war, I can still say that I am proud to be an American.
Works Cited:
"Protests Against The Iraq War." Wikipedia. 1. Wikimedia, 2009. Web.
"Iraq War." Wikipedia. 1. Wikimedia, 2009. Web.
Jelling, Jacob. "Black and White Photography." Faqs.org, Web. 9 Nov 2009.
"Millions join anti-war protest." BBC News: World Edition. 17 Feb 2003. BBC, Web. 13 Dec 2009.
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