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The photo I have chosen was taken in Rwanda under the program “Through the Eyes of Children”. When looking at this photo the visual hierarchy is as follows: the woman in dark clothing with two children standing in the shadows, the second woman standing with a group of children around her in bright clothing, then the greenery separating the two groups and the dark stormy sky in the background. This photo, I believe, is representative of the sorted and difficult history behind a country still struggling to rebuild itself from civil war and to fully understand the meaning behind the photograph one must understand the history of the land and the history of the photographer.I believe the argument trying to be made here is that Dominique challenges us
to climb out of our comfort zone of protection and security we feel in our own country and to try and experience the lives and hardships that others around the world feel and experience everyday of their lives. The ethos of the photo lies with the photographer, Dominique, an eighteen year old boy who was orphaned because his parents and family were killed by rebel forces. On account of the fact we know that he lives in this country, this country that is torn apart by war; the audience's pathos may be to feel compelled to trust him, trust him to depict the truth in a genuine and personal way because he in fact, lived through it. When you look at the photo the woman in the shadows looks scared and I feel as though you want to help these people. I want, as an audience member, to be able to take away their pain and suffering and to make them and their country whole again, however, other audience members may feel a completly different way.The history of Rwanda begins with Tutsi and the Hutu. The Tutsi, a tall cattle-rearing people, infiltrate the area and win dominance
over the Hutu, the people who already habitat the land and are living by agriculture. It starts with the reign of Rwabugiri; he comes to the throne and gains control over the land. His area is comprised of a feudal system; with the Tutsi as the aristocracy and the Hutu their vassals. After his death the Germans take over for a while before Belguim finally takes rule over the land from them and they further the racial conflict by making everyone wear race identification cards and force the Hutu into labor.Like any repressed people, the Hutu rebeled and killed some 14,000 Tutsi(HistoryWorld). After the travesty the Tutsi form a group the Rwandan Patriot Front (RPF) to try and infiltrate Rwanda. There are many unsuccessful attempts and shortly following was the issuance of the Hutu Ten Commandments under the rule of Habyarimina; because of this, extremist supporters formed groups, Interhamwe, to rid Rwanda once and for all of their "infestation". August of 1993 President Habyarimina signs a peace treaty, officially bringing the war to an end and allowing the return of all Rwandan Refugees(HistoryWorld). These concessions seem outrageous to the Interhamwe and their political masters, April 6, 1994, Hutu extremists fire a rocket and bring
down a plane, and in it contained two presidents- the head of state in Burundi and Habyarimina. The assassination of the president is the immediate prelude to the large amount of Hutu extremism. Radio broadcasts urge people to "do their duty"(HistoryWorld) and seek out the Tutsis and their sympathizers. "Eliminate the cockroaches"(HistoryWorld) is the message. On April 29th the radio announces that May 5th is to be the 'cleanup' day by which the capital must be cleansed of Tutsis. "One notorious broadcast even suggests a necessary precaution in the interests of thoroughness; unborn children should be ripped form the wombs of dead Tutsi women who are pregnant"(HistoryWorld). Between April and July some 800,000(HistoryWorld)Rwandans are slaughtered.With this new found information there are several new ways one can interpret and analyze the photo. One specifally being through a historical context. The woman in the shadows could be representative to the Hutu in the beginning under the Tutsi rule (who are represented by the woman out in the open). The dark hue of the sky and background suggests the dark future they will soon endure. The fact they are standing in green land and not around houses is symbolic to the agricultural start on which the land was founded. Another viewpoint one could take on this photo would be that the woman in the shadows is actually the Tutsi and the other group is the Hutu because they greatly outnumbered the Tutsi, and when you look at the picture the visual hierarchy soon focuses your attention to the colorful group in the open.
For the fact that Rwanda is still struggling to rebuild itself that could be the reason as to why there are not any houses or buildings in the photo. Also, with only showing women and children I believe the author was trying to convey that the initial rebuilding of a land begins with women and children.
Women because they bear the children and raise the children as well. so one must start with them, and the children because children are usually representative of purity and the future so perhaps by incorporating them into the photo they want the audience members to know that in a ailing country there may be hope for the future because the stronge women who bear and raise these children can do so in a way to tear down racial barriers and walls; the way their parents before them could not.
The way that the two groups in the photo are arranged shows that perhaps the photographer is demonstrating two sides of the people in his community. The woman on the left is the part of his people that is sad and disparaged, the Hutu; and the groups on the right in the brightly colored clothes and in the sunlight symbolize the happiness the group on the left is trying to obtain. However, because of "the land" in the middle (rebel forces) the happiness she yearns for is further than it appears.
At first glance you see the woman and children in the shadows, the colorful group on the left, and then the greenery and the sky. The photographer uses the contrasting groups and the sky not only as a visual hierarchy but also as vectors of attention. As aforementioned the group in the shadows could be representative of the sadness of the people while the group on the right is the happiness they could be a part of, while the sky emits an imminent danger to both.
What one should take away from this photo is that one does not have to show death and destruction in a photograph for it to be moving like the one above. One does not have to show death and destruction to capture attention and keep it. The photographer used the lighting in the photo to show the distinct differences between the two groups and the cultural history lying just beneath the surface. The fact that he used women and children says that he knew his audience exceedingly well because people in any area of life can relate to women and children. He utilized pathos in doing that as well. Also, what makes the photograph chosen so moving is that the photographer is only eighteen and his parents were killed by rebel groups in Africa. It makes the experience in his country all the more real to him on a personal level. With that knowledge and experience, I believe he was able to transfer that into the picture that he took. Looking at the photograph on the outside looking inward, I believe, that we are seeing that horrifying part of Rwanda's history through the eyes of children.
Works Cited
"History of RWANDA." HistoryWorld. Web. 01 Oct. 2009. http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad24.
At first glance you see the woman and children in the shadows, the colorful group on the left, and then the greenery and the sky. The photographer uses the contrasting groups and the sky not only as a visual hierarchy but also as vectors of attention. As aforementioned the group in the shadows could be representative of the sadness of the people while the group on the right is the happiness they could be a part of, while the sky emits an imminent danger to both.
What one should take away from this photo is that one does not have to show death and destruction in a photograph for it to be moving like the one above. One does not have to show death and destruction to capture attention and keep it. The photographer used the lighting in the photo to show the distinct differences between the two groups and the cultural history lying just beneath the surface. The fact that he used women and children says that he knew his audience exceedingly well because people in any area of life can relate to women and children. He utilized pathos in doing that as well. Also, what makes the photograph chosen so moving is that the photographer is only eighteen and his parents were killed by rebel groups in Africa. It makes the experience in his country all the more real to him on a personal level. With that knowledge and experience, I believe he was able to transfer that into the picture that he took. Looking at the photograph on the outside looking inward, I believe, that we are seeing that horrifying part of Rwanda's history through the eyes of children.Works Cited
"History of RWANDA." HistoryWorld. Web. 01 Oct. 2009. http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad24.
