Quick-Write Analysis

The photograph that I first did a quick-write for was the one of the segregated bus, taken from the side. I would say that my interpretation and that of the other individual weren’t very different, overall. We both discussed racism, segregated buses, the children who do not understand the societal system yet but are being raised into it, the white supremacist lady scorning in the front of the bus and perpetuating the problem, and the distress of the black male. The way we did this was a bit different, though. I began by describing the subject matter of the photo – such as the framing, what was going on in each window panel, and the passengers’ expressions – and then began to think about subject. The other individual discussed mainly subject.

There are some interesting content differences between the “subject” descriptions that were developed, with both of us picking up on some different important things. In his/her description, the other individual stated how the white children had more of a right to a seat than a black adult, the feeling of being ignored that the black passengers seem to express, the black individuals not having the opportunity to look as well-dressed as the white individuals, a feeling of pity that the photographer seems to draw for the children who don’t understand but are brought up with these ideals anyway, and the dark and sad vibe given by the reflections in the windows above the people.

A few things my description involved that the other person’s didn’t were that it seems as if the young white girl is upset and is maybe crying, that although the reflections in the top glass panel are of the town, the passengers’ expressions seem as if they are looking at the photographer, the connotations between the black adult male’s large frame (which takes up most of his window frame) and what would have been sought after during the slave trade, the parallel between the young white boy’s and the adult black male’s arm positioning, how this may express permeable, constructed and false boundaries in society, and the obscured driver panel and how this could be metaphorical for the driver of racism in society being obscure or invisible, and even a blind driver.

I think that all of these interpretations are important, and that it takes several eyes to pull from a photograph all of the material to support even the same conclusions. Although the other person and I came up with basically the same interpretation, we supported it in many different ways, and other individuals would certainly have found even more support for these or other interpretations. This is one reason I think that as a photographer and a poet, it is important to get feedback from various individuals, in order to get a fuller idea of how your work is being viewed and interpreted by others. In terms of this photograph specifically, although it seems to produce a consistent interpretive direction in our modern society, which educates its youth rather extensively on segregation and Jim Crow laws, the ways in which individuals support this interpretation vary quite a bit. Furthermore, other photographs – especially abstract ones – would probably have more diverse interpretations. It would be interesting to see how differences in types of photography create variations in the amount of disparities seen in their interpretation.