http://www.flatrock.org.nz/topics/odds_and_oddities/ultimate_in_unfair.htm
This Pulitzer Prize winning photo was taken by Kevin Carter in 1994 during the Sudan famine. The photographer circled the boy for 20 minutes hoping that the vulture would spread its wings and fly away.
The angle of the photograph prioritizes the small child as the subject to be considered by the viewer. It allows for the viewer to see the look of despair on the child's face and the severity of starvation that he has been subjected to. The angle makes the vulture appear even closer to the child than would seem if the photo was taken with the vulture directly behind the child. The child's size is comparable to the vulture's which effectively conveys to the viewer that the child has been reduced to a bare animalistic state.
The child's legs appear to have buckled under him and his head is held up by his hands in a way that indicates defeat. He is noticeably aware of the vultures presence and, like the vulture, awaits his own imminent death. The photographer has skillfully left a lot of territory exposed behind the vulture to indicate the degree of desolation that the area has been stricken with. This image generates a powerful emotional response from its audience. The viewer of this photo is left with a need to know the fate of this child.
This is the saddest thing I have ever seen.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Marissa, this is really hard to look at. It's amazing how every one of our daily troubles is completely insignificant when we see this kind of reality that is happening in the world around us.
ReplyDeleteJust to comment further on the image itself, it is interesting how the angle of this photograph captures the proportions of this child. It almost appears as though his head is as big as his body. This particularly illustrates that this poor child is extremely malnourished. And this crouched position as you call it suggests that the child has little to no strength to even hold himself up.
Wow what a powerful image.
We actually discussed this photo in my English seminar and what I think is most interesting or disturbing is the question of ethics this photo raises. Part of what I think makes this photo so sad is that we are able to see the child's position but aren't offered much hope for the child. The boy positioning almost dehumanizes him in a way that upon my first viewing I didn't even realize it was a little boy in front of the vulture.
ReplyDeleteAs you've noted the photographer watched for 20 minutes hoping the vulture would fly away but never did anything to help. Kevin Carter actually committed suicide the same year he won the award for this photo and it has been suggested, in a perhaps over simplified way, that his suicide stemmed from his guilt over this photo.