Three young women from the New York Fashion Week pose next to a homeless man. [2012]
What is happening here? Are we living in a show-off society where the elites are given too much privilege that they are careless about other people?
My first reaction to the picture was how and why these three young women could post a picture next to a homeless man? I could never do that, it was so wrong.
What is your opinion about this photo? Do you think it is powerful enough to be considered as "Iconic Photo Will Define The 21st Century"?
Read more: http://news.distractify.com/mark-pygas/pictures-taken-in-past-10-years/?v=1
It didn't seem to me, upon first looking at the picture, that the women intentionally took the photo next to a homeless man. In fact, it doesn't even seem that they noticed him. Rather, it looks like the cameraman saw the homeless man on the side and decided to include him in the picture. Even so, the picture is striking. It is entirely representative of our society, where we are so attached to the belief (still) that "anyone" can make it in America. I just don't think this is still true. Every day you hear people trying to substantiate why the poor are poor "bad work ethic, etc." But it seems that, as this photo shows, we could all spare just a fraction of wealth for the needy. Every American city has these disproportionate, "showy" amounts of wealth, yet we are all so convinced that the wealthy somehow "earn" all of the money that they have. While this is sometimes true, it also helps to be born into a wealthy family, have access to a quality education, and have professional connections (from your parents) that could possibility get you a job. I think this photo, although not being the "photo of the 21st century," sums up this point well: we are still convinced that the poor are, for some reason, responsible their place in our society.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bret and would also refrain from passing moral judgement on the women in this photo. They're no more responsible for the plight of that man than we all are. I think it's important to distinguish between the problems the person in this photo faces and those faced by a struggling middle class. For someone who is chronically homeless, I suspect that the root issue relates to some terrible personal or health related crisis coupled with untreated mental health issues. Addressing that kind of poverty requires going beyond smart public investments like education and creating a state that can find and help the people who fall through the cracks. Our fraying social net is probably not helpful either; it's a lot easier to fall through the cracks without settled communities to back you up.
ReplyDeleteAs long as we're on the topic, Kalamazoo's (not religiously affiliated) Ministry with Community is always accepting donations and volunteers!
First off, I feel like these women intentionally took this photo with the homeless man. I say this primarily because it's an odd place to take a group picture. There's nothing in the background but a mundane building, there's a crowd of people about to pass by, and the women are standing pretty close to the man.
ReplyDeleteI think the intent behind calling it the "photo of the 21st century" was more to depict the growing income inequality in the country. The rich are getting richer as the poor are getting poorer. I didn't initially think that the intent of the photo was to negatively portray the homeless man as being responsible for his position in life. If anything, I thought it was to negatively portray the rich women and their lack of consideration of others outside the 1%.
The photo depicts the 21st century by showing disparity and where Americans place their focus and values. I agree with Q that this photo was purposefully done in terms of the posing. I do see this as an iconic photo particularly meaningful to the 21st century because of the growing income gap, and the fact that the rich are only gaining more and more wealth. I think this picture aims to show how America is focusing on the wrong things and negatively portrays rich American women.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that the photo does an excellent job of portraying the growing income inequality I doubt that the women in the photo specifically asked to have their picture taken next to a homeless man. I think it is much more likely that they wanted a picture to remember the moment and each other. I don't think the picture was taken to serve as a token of how much wealthier they are than another person. As many of the other photos in the album display, our generation also has shown a strong desire to help and care for each other. While I understand the power and statement behind the photo and how it shows the vast inequalities that exist within our society, I think it is unfair to the women to assume they had negative intentions behind an act so simple as taking a photo.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that these women took this picture next to the homeless man on purpose. It seems to me that the women are actually looking towards another camera that you cannot see in the picture. I think that maybe a passer by saw the situation and snapped a picture of it. This person realized how much it showed the income inequality of the time.
ReplyDeleteI'm not convinced with the context of the picture. Think about all the photographs taken everyday that do not accurately depict what happened even a few seconds before or after the picture was taken. There is no way to tell what is really happening. Also, I think that this picture is completely framed to look this way. There is no way the "intentional photographer" would snap a normal picture from this angle. I believe that this is a weak attempt at a social commentary about income inequality in the modern era. I do acknowledge the inequalities that this nation has, but this is not an appropriate way to show it. I'm not sold on this photograph, but I am sold on income inequality's existence.
ReplyDeleteI'm not convinced by this picture. In today's world of photoshop and other editing programs, this picture could have easily been faked by a photographer who wanted the glory of taking an iconic photo.
ReplyDelete