Caption: President Obama Reassures Americans about the BP Oil Spill
Describe what you see:
In this photo I see President Obama and Thad Allen, two men, one Caucasian and one African American, possibly in their mid-50s. President Obama is wearing a light blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Thad Allen is wearing his coast guard uniform. President Obama's body language is relaxed, but confident. He is holding his hands up as if he is explaining something. His facial expression is serious, and he is mid sentence. It looks as if he is looking out into the audience he is speaking to. Mr. Allen's body language, on the other hand, seems tense. He is holding his hands together. His facial expression appears that he is upset with something. He is looking off to the side. In the background you can see the American flag, a map of the oil spill, and workers who are trying to clean up the mess. The camera angle seems to be from directly in front of the two men.
What does it mean:
From this photo three inferences I made are that the President is discussing something serious, he is trying to appeal to the American people, and the man beside him seems to be upset about something. I believe this photo is posed, because it is a press conference and the President knew that the media would be there and that they would be taking his picture. I think the message that the President is trying to convey is that he is one of them (casual button down shirt, no tie) and that he is confident in the efforts being made to clean up the oil spill. I have limited prior knowledge of this. I did watch some media coverage, and what I do remember is that people were very upset with the cleanup efforts and that they didn't believe it was happening fast enough. The message that this photo is trying to send is that the President does care and that every effort is being made to help the situation. Three questions that I have about the photo are: What is President Obama saying? Why is Thad Allen so upset? Did the President answer questions from the audience?
Caption: President Obama Gets Serious About BP Oil Spill
Civil War Photos: What Do You See? In this lesson, students will observe and analyze a photo from the Civil War.
Source
Library of Congress. (2013) Civil War Photos: What Do You See? Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/lessons/civil-war/
Abby, I feel that our analysis were similar; however, there is much difference. I see that you pointed out more of their physical traits that I did. Also, you stated that you felt as if the photo was staged or posed. I felt that it was not. However, reading your response makes me re-think my statement. You are right, there were large amount of press and media there; therefore, making Obama feel that he needed to look his best and look as confident as he did. He had no room for much error. Great analysis!
ReplyDeleteI think we all pretty much agree on photo #2. And I do agree with the staged picture. Because it has the flag and the pictures in the background. But I don't think it was posed. It was a conference and the President must be in the best light.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your photo analysis. We selected the same picture, but seemed to notice different things. I discussed how I thought the photograph was spontaneous, whereas you thought it was posed. After reading your discussion I agree with you! He was trying to appeal to America, so we could see him as one of us, and in turn have more faith that he would take care of things. You gave a wonderful analysis!
ReplyDeleteI was in the same boat as you when it came to prior knowledge on this situation. I watched some clips about it online but I didn't watch everything. I also agree with your thinking that Thad Allen looked upset.
ReplyDeleteYour analysis made me think about the picture differently because of what you said about Obama's confidence. It didn't even really occur to me until I read that part in your post. Yes, he does appear confident.