WP1 Pre-Writing 3

The photo I chose was taken in western Rwanda overlooking Lake Kivu in 2000. This was only six years after the terrible Rwandan genocide ended, a violent conflict between the Tutsis and the Hutus, the two major ethnic groups in Rwanda and its neighboring country Burundi.

The crisis began in April 1994, and by June, there were about 800,000 dead, mostly Tutsis. Rwanda has a long history of conflict between the two groups that culminated in the assassination of the Hutu Rwandan president on April 6, 1994. The Hutu backlash resulted in the mass murder of the Tutsis, and millions more fled Rwanda to neighboring countries. Conflict still remains however as the current Tutsi government continues to invade the Democratic Republic of Congo to attempt to get rid of the Hutus that are refugees there.

As a result of all this, about 95,000 Rwandan children were killed or orphaned. This influenced Rosamond Carr, an American woman who had been living in Rwanda, to create what would come to be the Imbabazi Orphanage. Over 400 kids have been cared for in the orphanage, and one of these kids was Musa, the photographer of the picture I chose.

"Through the Eyes of Children" was a photography project started at the Imbabazi Orphanage. The program gave disposable cameras to the children to take "pictures for themselves and to share with others, exploring their community, and finding beauty as the country struggles to rebuild" (Rwandaproject.org).

Knowing this sheds more light on the situation of the children at the orphanage and helps the viewer of the photograph to appreciate it more. At first glance, it is just a photograph of children looking out at a lake, but knowing the historical and cultural context of the photo appeals to the viewers' emotions, or pathos. It makes the audience wonder more about the particular photograph--Why was it taken? What does it show? Who are these children? And what about the photographer? While not a professional photographer, he had a specific purpose in mind when he took this picture. He wanted to show what life is like for these children, so often forgotten by the rest of the world. With the help of the Rwanda Project, Musa helped to ensure that these children will not be forgotten and that their story will reach the rest of the world.

Works Cited
Rwanda: How the Genocide Happened. BBC News. 18 December 2008. 17 February 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1288230.stm.

Imbabazi: A Home for Hope. 17 February 2010. http://imbabazi.org/home.php.

Through the Eyes of Children. The Rwanda Project. 17 February 2010. http://www.rwandaproject.org/index.html.

WP1 Pre-Writing 2

As mentioned in WP1 Pre-Writing 1, the children in the photograph are looking out across the lake. Thus, the vectors of attention are focused in that direction, away from the audience. This creates an appeal to pathos because it evokes a sense of curiosity in the audience. What are the children looking at? Where is there attention focused? Why is it so important that they all are looking at the same thing? The audience can't see what the children in the photograph can see so this in effect distances and separates the viewers from the photograph. There isn't as strong of an emotional connection as there would be if the children were looking at the camera.

Also appealing to pathos are the colors visible in the photograph. The sky and the lake are very similar hues, so they blend together and aren't very distinct. The children sitting on the rail serve as a kind of visual separation between the sky and the water to better distinguish them. The top line of the rail is almost exactly where the horizon is in the background, which provides a clear distinction between the sky and the water that otherwise might not have been very noticeable. In addition, the colors in the background are not very saturated. The sky and water are both a pale grayish-blue, and the ground is a light brownish-tan. These hues and the saturation of the hues elicit certain emotions with the viewer. They create a sense of neutrality--there doesn't seem to be much going on in the background of the picture and it may not seem very important. Emotions of indifference and bleakness tend to arise from the hues in the photograph, which may make the audience feel apathetic.

The children contrast with the background of the photo because they are a darker hue that stands out against the pale background. This contrast appeals to logos because it creates a visual hierarchy--the eye is first draw to the children, specifically the child in the yellow shirt sitting on the rail. He is seated higher than the rest of the children, and as a result, stands out more. The rest of the children are aligned, and the child seated on the rail breaks this repetition. He is also positioned near the center of the photograph which further helps draw the eye toward him first and makes him seem like the main subject in the photograph.

The framing of the photograph is interesting. The rail and the lake appear to go on forever on either side; there is no clear end in sight in the photograph. This creates a sense of vastness and makes the children seem smaller and possible less significant compared to everything else. However, since the photo doesn't show how big the lake really is or how far the rail extends, the children take up the bulk of the picture and are still the main focus, which is what the photographer probably intended. By looking at the photograph, the viewer can infer about the photographer and how he took this picture, appealing to ethos. The viewer appears to be where the photographer was standing, so the viewer puts themself in his place--standing behind the other children and observing them.