The Picture

Pictures and photographs were taken mainly because of the intent to share with others the interests in which are common points between them and the photographers. Some pictures were taken for the purpose of sending out the info about certain products in order to increase selling profit. Some other photographers took their photos and see them as the art in which are full of their emotions and feelings about particular moments or things in life. However, there are more than just those kinds of images. There are images that were taken to act as a bridge of knowledge and vision from one place in the world to another, knowledge about exclusive aspects of a country, a landscape or a vacation place from all around the globe, and visions of the lifestyles of different races from different countries, of those who enjoy their life more than anyone, and of those who suffer from eternal pain days after days as a result of endless wars. The image that I will be mentioning in this essay has the same purpose from its creator which is to show the world the atrocities in Africa causing by hunger and apartheid. The photo was taken in 1994, and the photographer ended up being the winner of a Pulitzer-prize, who later committed suicide due the extreme horrification of his own photograph not long after receiving the award. The image was a heart-breaking scene of world hunger, a powerful image for everyone in this world to look at and realize the privileges of being alive well and healthy. 

At the first glance, the image expresses no extraordinary feeling for its readers. The colors and contrasts of the image are quite simple. Clearly we all can see that there have not been much of its content being changed or edited. Even the photo itself was not taken as a high resolution image, and that is enough to tell that the photographer has captured this image in a totally unexpected situation. However, the horrifying part of this picture is that natural feeling of colors and its background, they are all seemed to be so real, so unedited that it seems like this image of the two main focuses within would certainly lead to a detestable sensitivity. There are no fancy cars, sexy girls or anything that can bring attractiveness to the readers, yet no one can really resist looking at it, not just to picture itself, but the entire reality that lies behind it. A vulture, a type of scavenging birds that are often hunting for dead or nearly dead animals for food, is standing not far from an African child, who is crawling on the ground, with its tiny little head burying under its skinny and bony hands, struggling with all its might to try to get to the United Nation food camp, which was located nearly a kilometer away from the child’s current position. What is it that is so compelling about this picture? It is the irony that this picture presents. The irony of a human being, laying and suffering, being stalked by a vulture, and soon will become dinner for the animal. The child in this photograph wasn’t fighting or struggling because of the vulture, but it was hunger that strained the child’s life at that moment. The vulture in this case was just an outsider, waiting patiently for its turn after death has done the job of killing the child. 

The meaning of the image must have been clear enough to its viewers. The anomalous, ironic and incisive scene created by esurience and misery, following by the fate of the unfortunate child was then decided by a mere animal, a lower class of living beings. What hasn’t been cleared enough in this image? The entire scene was about how harrowing life can be without food, how deadly hunger can be. Not very many people in this planet including us can easily trust the true nature of this photograph in the first view, life to them is something full with joyful, unstressed and ecstatic moments, days and days pass with new experience, new things to learn, and tomorrow will just be happy as always. Yes, troubles and struggles do occur in our life sometime, maybe every day, still those that we so often called “troubles” and “struggles” are nothing compared to what the image is showing us. However, to some others, this type of scenes is something very common and conventional as they are living and experiencing a life that is no worse than the child’s life in this image. What do we truly realize by looking at this image, at the suffering of this child when being pushed closer and closer to the edge of death.

It isn’t clear what the intent of this image really was. Basically, the photographer who took this picture was hoping it could bring him the award of Pulitzer-prize, and indeed it did not let him down. This image was created early in the year 1993, when there was a famine going in Africa, causing esurience all over the place. The child in this image was resting while on its way a UN food camp. Whereupon, a vulture suddenly landed near the child, and waited for its dinner to die out. It took the photographer almost half an hour to wait for the vulture to leave, but it didn’t. He then snapped the most haunting scene of all and chased the vulture away. Nevertheless, the most horrific part of the whole story was that this photograph left immediately after the photo was taken, without even helping the poor child to get to the food camp. Ever since, the fate of the child after it was abandoned by the heartless photographer is still unknown, and had the vulture come back stalking the child after he left? No one really knows. Soon after receiving a Pulitzer-prize, the photographer had committed suicide.

The image has said more than enough for us to understand how much prerogatives and birthright we have had since our life begins. In my point of view, nothing in this photo can really be considered as symbolic, everything single thing displayed within the frame is so real and pointing straight forward into us, making us feel guilty and shameful of our depreciation of food and utilities. When I first looked at this fearful scene, I hated and felt disgust of myself. How many times have I been trashing and wasting food? There have been many times even I can’t remember them all. I truly realized the moment I saw this photo how long I have been taking things for granted, always in my entire life? It was really hard for me to find a time when I really appreciate what has been given to me. I am also sure there are many, nearly countless people who do not think of such simple, tasteless and improper food that they are complaining about all the time can be so important and vital to others. We, as human beings, grow up in different places, at different time, and under different circumstances, thus we always understand, treasure and appreciate things in whole lot different ways. It takes more than just a mere picture to change a person’s habitue of wasting food, and it is even more difficult to make others become conscious of what really is happening out there.