Gordon Parks was an African American photographer who was best known for raising awareness about race, gender and socioeconomic inequality by capturing the lives of many people through his photographs. ‘The Restraints: Open and Hidden’ is a photo essay published by Gordon Parks in 1956 which documents the everyday life of an extended African American family living in Alabama under the Jim Crow laws, which legalised racial segregation. Parks’ photo essay offers a different perspective on American culture, the side which is hidden from the rest of society – the daily lives of African Americans who live under racial segregation laws. Through his photography, Parks suggests that the various forms of inequality present on African Americans cause their lives to have great discrepancies compared to the lives of the rest of America, and it also causes African Americans to be stereotyped in such a way that doesn’t reflect their true selves. However, Parks suggests that despite this prejudice imposed upon them, African Americans continue to show love and care for their families, and protect them from all the inequalities bestowed upon them.

(link to the annotated photographs)

Parks uses the juxtaposing mise en scene of the boy holding the gun in the foreground and the three children reading a book in the background to convey the effects of the segregation laws on African American children. The children, who are reading a book in the background, are framed by the doorway of the room that they are in, hidden away from the rest of society, while the boy holding the gun is placed outside the room, exposed to the real world. By framing the kids with the door, Parks suggests that the world the kids are in is different from the world that the boy holding the gun is in. The children are in a place where they are free to pursue education and be curious, they are oblivious to the segregation laws and the other inequalities prevalent in society, such as gender inequality because the girl is reading the same book as the other two boys. They all are equal and balanced in the world they are in, which contrasts with the imbalance associated with the boy holding the gun since his chair is tilted back. Furthermore, the boy with the gun is exposed to the outside world and to the segregation laws and inequalities that are bestowed upon African Americans. The gun he is holding, which symbolises the violence and danger that African Americans are associated with, is in the centre of the frame. The juxtaposition between the gun on the outside and the book on the inside suggests that although African Americans are seen as violent and dangerous people, in reality, they are peaceful and innocent children full of curiosity and a passion for learning. It could also imply that once African American children are taken out of their perfect little world and exposed to racial inequality, since they are prevented from obtaining the same opportunities as the rest of society and developing their curiosities, their passion for learning turns into spite and violence. This is reinforced through the dull colour scheme of this photograph, which illustrates the lack of any brightness or luxuries in African Americans’ lives hence highlighting how different their lives are compared to the rest of America, therefore causing the children to develop feelings of spite and anger. However, by placing the boy in the foreground and in front of the door, Parks suggests that he has more power than the children and is preventing them from leaving the room, hence conveying that the boy is protecting the children from prejudice and segregation faced by African Americans. This could also emphasise the measures that African Americans take to ensure that the younger generations maintain their innocence and face minimal prejudice.

 

This is the political cartoon that Kai and I drew, and it is based on the “cures” that Donald Trump found for COVID-19.  The two sides that this cartoon conveys are:

1. Trump continues to provide protection and safety to the people of the USA, and he also keeps reassuring the residents of the USA in order to prevent panic
2. Trump takes advantage of the blind trust that the residents of the USA have in him, therefore conveying false information to them in order to get more power and money

What have I learned about creating meaning through the interaction of visual and lexical elements?

From this task that we did, I learnt that we can create a lot of meaning by paying close attention to both the small details of a cartoon and the wider picture. It is not necessary for a political cartoon to have words in order to convey meaning since the alignment of the subjects in the cartoon, the colours used in the cartoon, the art style used in the cartoon, and the other details of the cartoon will be enough to convey a universal theme.

How are ideas communicated through the interaction of visual and lexical elements?

Ideas can be communicated through the alignment of the subjects in the political cartoon, or the colour used in the political cartoon, hence it is not necessary for it to have many lexical elements. However, cartoonist often uses labelling (when objects in the cartoon are labelled) to make it clear to the viewer what these objects stand for. Symbolism is also often used in political cartoons and these symbols usually stand for larger concepts and ideas. Through these elements – along with irony, exaggeration, and analogy – cartoonists convey their ideas and opinions in their political cartoon.

What are the similarities and differences between an opinion article and a political cartoon?

In both an opinion article and a political cartoon, the author/cartoonist shares their opinions on a controversial political issue, they both also convey both sides of the political issue and through their work, persuade the audience towards the author/cartoonist’s point of view. However, opinion articles are serious and straight to the point, but on the other hand, political cartoons often include humour in them through the form of irony or exaggeration. Political cartoons are also not straight to the point, unlike opinion articles, political cartoons need to be thoroughly analysed in order to fully understand what point of view the artist is trying to convey.

You Clap for Me Now is a poem in the format of a video, and it is spoken aloud by multiracial essential workers in the UK.

• Clap – showing appreciation for what all the essential workers are doing during the time of this pandemic. This emphasises that foreign workers should be appreciated not avoided. It is now their turn to be respected. The poem highlights the crucial role they play in helping with the outbreak
• Stethoscope – symbolises what they do, how they help people, shows that they are doctors, hence saving peoples lives which links back to the content od “you clap for me now” and this shows who “me” is
• The background – we can see in the reflection that the sun is setting (or rising) which shows that these essential workers work all the time, no matter the time of the day
• Ethnicity – She is white, which shows that migrant worker and all local people re working together, so the immigrant shouldn’t be discriminated because they are all doing the same work, which is helping to save people’s lives

• In this screenshot, this is a person of colour, and she is also working as a doctor, hence showing that the ethnic minorities are working the essential jobs, hence they need to be appreciated and respected instead of looked down upon
• This lady had a badge with NHS on it hence showing that she is someone important during this pandemic
• She is wearing a uniform hence showing that she is a part of a group of people, conveying to the viewer that she belongs, unlike what racist people say
• In this scene, the lady is talking about the virus, and immigrant, a virus has come from overseas, and people that faced racism and discrimination have also home from overseas to help cure the virus

• The line is “don’t forget when it’s no longer quite” so this is talking about the time when the whole pandemic is over. This line conveys to the audience that we shall not forget about these essential workers who are part of the ethnic groups that helped with the pandemic, even when the pandemic is over and the case is closed
• The curtain is closed and this indicates that the pandemic is over now, the whole situation is closed now
• The person narrating this line is also wearing normal clothes (just a t-shirt) rather than uniforms/clothes they will wear to their jobs, hence enhancing the this line is about when the pandemic is over, and these people have come back to their normal life

Gone Viral is a poem written by a Singaporean teacher, and it discusses the multiple perspectives on the epidemic that is spreading around the world. The multiple perspectives can be viewed through the structure of the poem and the different ways this poem can be read. Through our class discussion, the three thesis strand we noticed are:

1. Fear of others:

1. “we scramble for masks” – This shows that people are panicking to buy masks which will protect them from the people who have the virus. The word scramble shows the panic, and the fear that the people have, and the word mask conveys the measures people are taking to protect themselves from others. This also conveys the xenophobia that many people have due to this virus.
2. “foreign disease-ridden walking pathogens” – Many people are treating people as the virus itself, people are becoming increasingly xenophobic due to this virus. This hence conveys the fear that many people have of others
3. “anyone coughing or sneezing, be on your guard” – This conveys that no matter who it is that coughs or sneezes, people are scared of them since they are scared that they might spread the virus. This conveys the xenophobia of people, how they are scared of everyone but themselves since they are scared that others might give them the virus

2. Masking true thoughts:

1. “xenophobes are plagues of terror, they mask their true intentions” – This conveys that the xenophobes are using the virus as a reason for their xenophobia, they are masking their racism with the virus and saying that it is from China, etc.
2. “media sources that paint visitors and immigrants as virus spreaders” – This suggests that the media is twisting the reality – which is that anyone can have the virus, not only immigrants – this conveys to the reader, that like the xenophobes, media sources are just using this virus as an excuse to be less inclusive, and more racist
3. “we believe our own delusions” – This conveys how people believe whatever they want to believe, and this can be connected to how people are just believing their xenophobic thoughts and fears and making decisions based on them. Many people are using this virus as a reason to have xenophobic thoughts and beliefs, so they are masking their true thoughts with this virus

3. Fear of fear itself:

1. “this disease of our own ignorance” – Here the word disease refers to the global pandemic, and it also refers to how our mind is being infected by xenophobia as well, due to this pandemic
2. “all this paranoia is as lethal as any other pandemic” – The word lethal conveys how deadly something is, and the word paranoia suggests our xenophobia and our paranoia of getting the virus. Hence the poet conveys to the audience that the paranoia and xenophobia that we start to develop is more deadly than the actual virus
3. “until we know what truly has gone viral is fear itself” – This conveys to the audience that the xenophobia and the paranoia that many people develop due to the coronavirus is actually more widespread than the actual coronavirus, hence it is more deadly and infectious than the coronavirus

After reading this article, I realised that I agree with the perspective of this author. I also believe that the process matters more than the product itself because it helps others to understand how much effort and time you truly put into your work, and I also convey your creativity to others. By showing you process, it can inspire others to do better and rethink their choices.

Through sharing the process, students are able to participate more in class, and they will also be able to get a lot of feedback from their peers and mentors. This will lead to a better final product. Sharing the process allows the students to reflect on their work and clarify their misconceptions. Its also allows them to plan better for their final product.

Sharing the process also allows the students to build their trust since they are sharing their mistakes, sharing their vulnerability. Since the students are sharing their mistake and their vulnerability, they also build courage. It also leads to more collaborative learning, which can help to improve a student’s understanding of a topic, and it also helps to improve a student’s social life.

Overall, I agree with the perspective that is shared in this article, and I also believe that it is important to share one’s process as well as their final product.