Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Sadr Cease-Fire

Here is the link to the photo Mia, Laurel & I read:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/03/18/world/middleeast/20080319_IRAQWAR_TIMELINE.html#tab6 (Click on the bar for August 29th, 2007)

This photograph expresses a sense of hope in a time where the majority of things heard about the war are negative, depressing and sad. The focus is on the little boy in the center who appears to be shrouded in light in comparison to the burned cars on either side of him. As the photo pans out from the boy it loses its focus, and allows shadows to creep into the scene. The shadowing in the photograph appears to represent the destruction that had been occurring, and the little boy walking through might represent the hope of the cease-fire. The photo is balanced by the cars on either side of the boy, and the center is empty except for the sole subject walking away from the camera. The boy seems to be symbolically walking away from the violence of the war and towards peace and calmness, which could be represented by the stained glass. The lines in the photograph seem to draw the eye towards the center of the photograph and the boy walking. The tire treads on the ground lead up towards the edges of the stained glass windows. The artist framed the photo perfectly to include burned cars on each side of the boy, like a border of destruction around him. The value of the darker edges of the photograph are in deep contrast to the sharp light on the boy. The extreme tones seem to add to the picture's theme that all hope is not lost, despite the chaos and devastation caused by war.

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