Bill Schaff
Writ 1122
Professor Leake
February 20, 2013
“Faces of the Day”…
Analyzed
Andrew
Sullivan on his blog forwards an article from Andrew Cush and Jakob Schiller.
The blog post is called “Faces of the Day”. This article is about a man named John
Schnabel who, back in the 90’s, was taking photos of planes from the end of the
runway. It was about how this was acceptable back then but would raise some
controversy in today society. In this article, Sullivan compares the writings
from Cush and Schiller to show the meaning of two photos but does not include
his own opinion on it.
The photos
in the article are the entire story. While yes the article does a great job of
describing the picture, the text does not have the same power that the picture
has. In Sullivan’s article, the pictures are placed at the very top of the
article, right below the title and above the text. By doing this, Sullivan is
showing the importance of these pictures. If the pictures were placed on the
side or bottom, they would not have the same meaning. Having the pictures at
the top makes readers think about the pictures and what they might mean or
represent. It leaves some uncertainty for the reader so they are intrigued as
to what the photos may represent. This makes the reader want to continue reading
the article and find out the whole story.
Next is the
importance of the connection between the photos, article, and the readers. At
the time these pictures were taken, they would not raise any problems but that
changed with time. “John
Schnabel took these eerie stills using means that might have landed him in jail
or an interrogation room today,” notes Andy Cush. Back when the photos were taken there was, as Cush puts it,
“not the same kind of suspicion of cameras.” People
in this time would not see a man taking photos as something bad. Whereas in
today society, if a man was seen at an airport taking photos of planes, he
would be assumed to be plotting something bad. When the reader understands this
part of the article they get a different feeling toward the photos. The reader
will look back at the photos with a new understanding. Because the photos and
the article are together, it allows the reader to constantly look back at the
photos as he or she is reading it. This gives the reader a way to constantly
connect with the photos.
Lastly is the importance of the
pictures and the caption, or lack there of.
By Sullivan not putting a caption under the photos, Sullivan wants the reader
to question what the photos is and what it means before he or she reads the article. The idea is that the reader will see the
photos and make his or her own opinion on it before he or she actually finds
out what it means from the article. Most likely, because of today society,
individuals will look at these photos and assume something bad. He or she will
assume that the photos were discovered in a plot to take down a plane or
something along those lines. Because there is no caption, it allows the reader
to make his or her own opinion before finding out the true meaning of the
photos from the article.
All in all, the photos have a huge connection
between the article and its readers. From the placement of the photos to how a
reader will be able to reference the photos as they are reading it and even the
meaning of not having a caption. Without the photos in this article, the
article would not have the same deep meaning to its readers.
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