The photograph above was taken on September 11, 2001 by Thomas Hoepker. He took this photograph minutes after the second plane hit the World Trade Center. It appears to show New Yorkers casually observing the devastating scene. The artist kept the image hidden for 5 years after the attack because he expressed concern that they, "didn't seem to care," and felt it was "ambiguous and confusing".
The controversial nature of this image and is still being talked.The author of the article describes the people in the image as, "The young people in Mr. Hoepker's photo aren't necessarily callous. They're just American." This picture displays the stereotype of the "typical American", and portrays American's negatively.
Do you think the Americans in this photo are portrayed negatively, or would you just consider them to be in shock? Why did the photography feel the need to hid the image for 5 years? Does this image actually portray the stereotype of the American society? Some people consider this picture to be a "cheap shot", and that there is more going on than what is seen.
The picture came from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/sep/02/911-photo-thomas-hoepker-meaning
I think that this picture protrays the americans in a negative way. I also think that this is unfair to them because we don't know what they are talking about or if they really know the extent of what is happening. I agree that this is a "cheap shot" also because it was only taken a minute after the trade center was hit. They could easily be in shock but the picture is only judging these people based on their body language at that very second. The typical american should not be seen as uncaring due to their body language in one picture, at one time.
ReplyDeleteI think in this picture the Americans are portrayed in a negative way. Because this picture is taken minutes after the second plane hit the building, the photographer may not know what happened at that time, so do these New Yorkers. And after the photographer knows what happened he turns to criticize these people be dispassionate about the accident. These people, because they may not have access to media, may not know what is happening then and just think of the accident as a small fire or blowing up for construction. Also, there is a chance that they have already talked about this accident before the picture is taken. So why can we view they co not care about the scene just according to a picture? The photographer of the picture can hide this picture as a result of being criticized for misunderstanding all the New Yorkers, and he just says they "didn't 'seem' to care" but not for sure. This picture has portrayed the stereotype of Americans.
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ReplyDeleteI do believe that this image creates negative attitudes towards the individuals in the picture, if not towards Americans in general.
ReplyDeleteBut what are they being judged on? Their reaction to the event? What is a "proper" response to something like that? For all we know they might not have seen the planes strike the towers and could be discussing what they think happened while watching the smoke.
I don't think that the image is particularly fair to the Americans depicted in it. The picture seems to have been taken minutes after the attacks began, and being outside, they would really have no way of knowing what was going on; these were the years before smart phones. They probably were treating the sight the same way one would treat a building fire on auto accident. They really had to way of knowing the gravity of what was happening. That being said, it is very understandable the author held onto the photo for five years. The people truly do not seem to be able to grasp the situation at hand and are shown in a very negative and uncaring way. Since hindsight is always 20/20, it is very easy for someone today to say that they were insensitive, stupid, american stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteI think this picture portrayed American negatively. First the picture just took few minutes after the tragedy happened. People may do not know how serious the problem is so that the reaction was not quite seemed to care. Also the picture was taking at that moment. What was happened next or before? We don’t really know. I think the photography don’t need hid that image for 5 years, because that easily to lead people to thinking the negative way that people in the picture ‘seems don’t care’ which emphases effect.
ReplyDeleteI think this picture depicts some of society perfectly. It's said that we will never forget the events that happened on 9/11, but I believe that some people have forgotten the past. This is something that America should always remember (not in a positive way) and it's a shame that some have forgotten about the tragic events that occurred on 9/11.
ReplyDeleteI think this picture can be quite misleading because we can't ensure that the four persons realized what just happened and the picture is not just a product of purely coincidence.
ReplyDeleteFor example，another famous photo of 9/11(although is proven to be a photoshop work )，http://tantan9600.web.fc2.com/junjun/omoshiro/last-photo09_R.jpg.
Also，based on all those memorial activities，it is irresponsible to stigmatize all Americans as a whole as callous people.
I don't see why them looking as if they don't care makes people believe that's true. I feel like this relates to a more current situation regarding 'Kony 2012' or various other activism movements that are spread through social media like Facebook. When the whole Kony 2012 thing first emerged, everyone simply shared and liked the video as if what they were doing truly had some sort of impact when, in reality, it just guilts even more people into sharing or liking something to make them feel like they are doing something good. Sure, spreading the word about something like that could potentially increase the amount of donators but unless you actually make a physical action about something, just sitting back and saying 'oh yeah, Kony is a bad guy, I did my part against him and liked the video' does nothing and is no different than people seeming concerned about the events of 9/11 versus those who don't since they know there really is nothing they can immediately do to help.
ReplyDeleteSitting there acting concerned and sending out your 'prayers' regarding an event like 9/11 is no different in my mind than doing nothing at all about it. If you really want to show your concern you need to get out there and physically do your part to help.
My belief is that this picture itself is not a good representation of the "typical American" stereotype. The photographer took a picture (as thousands of photographers did that day) of the reaction's of those around them and in this picture the reaction is somewhat obscured by the photographee's posture which appears relaxed, the photographic aspects of the pictures (the brightness and contrast in the picture) and the calm appealing scenery (apart from the plume of smoke from the collapsing towers). The reasoning behind the photographer being worried about pictures entering into the public stems from the fears associated with public outrage against those who appear to belittle a national tragedy. Abroad and at home stereotypes about Americans and 9/11 are not of being "callous" the actions are mostly associated with grief, fear and a desire for retribution. I feel that this picture is not a stereotype of the typical American,. only a striking photograph dichotomy between the emotions associated with that September day and this photo.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking this picture is not all a negative portrayal. In fact, it is utterly objective, it presents no opinion either way. All to see here is some young people miles away from the disaster area, happening to see it happen. There was nothing they could have done, and they realized that the moment it happened, realizing it without knowing it. This was made moments after the second plane, yes? How then could they have done anything?
ReplyDeleteThe picture does not portray Americans being American (in a negative sense or otherwise), it does not portray the people here as being callous or careless, and it does not give any opinion. The picture, therefore, is neutral.
About it being typical for Americans; no. I am Dutch and I know that if something happens here in the Netherlands most people will stop and stare at first, then perhaps talk a bit, especially if they realize they can't do anything. The people in this picture realized they couldn't do anything at that time and acted accordingly.