
Colin Kaepernick, a football player and backup quarterback for the San Fransisco 49ers, has recently became a top story nationwide in the sports world. He has received a lot of attention from the media in the past two months or so because of his actions during the pregame national anthem. Kaepernick, instead of standing and paying his respects to the American flag, has been kneeling on the sideline during the playing of the national anthem. This is an attempt to shed light on the acts of police brutality against minorities, specifically African Americans, that occur too often across the country. 

When first looking at the visual text, the main focus is certainly on the two players in the center of the picture who are kneeling while everyone else is standing. Examining the text to a closer extent, I start to notice the details of the crowd. The fans in the crowd all have their attention focused on the kneeling players, as opposed to the anthem and the flag. When observing this picture more closely, we start to realize that it tells us much more than it seems to at first glance. If we analyze the deeper meanings of the components that make up the picture, the image of Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest is using visual elements such as symmetry, emotional appeal, and verbal information in order to raise awareness for the nationwide issue of police brutality and the reactions to the protest at hand.

Since there are no true and established imbalances in the image, the photographer, Mike McCarn of the Associated Press, shows the viewers a great example of symmetry with meaning. The symmetry can be attributed to the overall goal of the protest. Kaepernick’s objective is order and equality. Symmetry in general shares a definition similar to that goal. Symmetry is a visual element where both sides of an image are alike with no huge differences. This attribute in a picture can be interpreted as conveying a sense of recognizable order. If we apply this reasoning to the image of Kaepernick and his teammate, we can also come to the conclusion that the display of symmetry in this picture directly correlates with the goal of the overall protest: complete order and equality, specifically between the different races.

Another element that this visual text exemplifies is emotional appeal. To every argument or debate there are two sides. In reference to Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the two sides are those that agree with his stance and support his idea, and those that disagree and find his actions during the national anthem insulting and disrespectful to our flag and our country. This certain image brings out completely different emotions for the people of each perspective. Those agreeing with Kaepernick reveal a sympathetic feeling, since they also want this horrible nationwide issue to be resolved. The people that disagree with Colin Kaepernick’s stance react with anger, because they feel that he is insulting the same nation that already gives him so many freedoms. One quality of this image that is so intriguing is the way that it can extract two contradictory emotions from its audience at the same time. 

When observing the entirety of the picture, which includes the fans in the crowd along with the two players kneeling, we can take away three instances of verbal information. The three verbs at hand in the image are: kneeling, standing, and watching. This verbal information not only help us interpret what is happening in the picture, but it also helps us interpret Colin Kaepernick’s protest and how most people are responding to it. The first verb, kneeling, can be related to the active state of being a minority in this country. As much as we try and preach that racism doesn’t exist in the modern world anymore, it still does. Being a minority in today’s society is portrayed as being looked upon as less human or less significant than most others. This can be directly associated with how Kaepernick and his teammate are kneeling, they are physically closer to the ground than everyone else and seen as lesser, existing as a minority. The second verb, standing, applies to everyone else in the picture and can also be openly correlated to what it’s like being a minority. In fact, its explanation is the exact opposite of the description for the verbal information on kneeling. The people standing in the image can be viewed as those who are simply brushing away the protest and not listening to it, and are physically seen as taller in the picture. The final major verb that is implied in this visual text is watching. This verb undoubtedly applies to the crowd in the picture, but it also relates to those that aren’t directly affected by the protest. The fans in the crowd each have different facial expressions as they look upon the kneeling players. This accurately describes those who are observing the protest that aren’t pictured. Everyone has their own reactions to this movement and the crowd depicted perfectly portrays that.

All in all, Colin Kaepernick, who happens to be a minor sports figure, has struck society on a national level with the help of the media. His protest, which has been active for about two months, has singlehandedly turned many heads across the country, and informed them of the cruel acts of police brutality towards minorities that occur in our country. There are numerous people that stand on each side of the debate, and that is depicted well in this visual text. The image tells its implied story at first glance; however, when we observe further we can reveal much deeper meanings through the overlooked components that make up the picture. In conclusion, the image of Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest is using visual elements such as symmetry, emotional appeal, and verbal information in order to raise awareness for the nationwide issue of police brutality and the reactions to the protest at hand.
