
The world watched in awe at the scene that was unfolding in a small town right outside of St. Louis named Ferguson, Missouri. Protestors filled the city’s streets, causing chaos so abundant that the National Guard was brought in to protect the city and its inhabitants. The protesting began after an unarmed 18 year old African American kid named Michael Brown was gunned down by a police officer. The town immediately went from a quiet neighborhood to what some referred to as a warzone. Sure some rioters were causing harm, and some were just there because they believed cops were all “pigs.” However, that is the side the media likes to portray. Everything that the media does has meaning behind it. This is seen in a picture captured by photographer Robert Cohen. It shows an African American male throwing what seems like a flare. It does not show what the flare is being thrown towards, it only shows the man with the flare about to leave his hand. This is a prime example. The media forces you to make inferences on photos and clips by showing only half of the story. They mostly only like to portray the bad and only the bad. As if all the cops were being victimized by these so called rioters. The quiet protestors that are there but are not causing chaos are never shown on TV because as Americans we love to see the violence. This is just one of the ways the media influences our minds, and with this gets us to form opinions without being given all the facts. 

In the still frame photograph by Robert Cohen, it shows an African American male with a flare in his hand throwing it towards something or someone. The picture is focused on this man and only him so you are not able to see what the man is throwing towards. In this frame you can only guess what is going on, or what the man is throwing the flare towards. However this is what most see. You see a man, who by the way is wearing an American flag shirt, throwing a flare at something. Most would presume it is the police. The flare allows light to come into the photo. The light brought upon by the flare illuminates the man and part of the background. This allows us to see the man and what is actually in the background. Along with the man throwing the flare, we see people in the background. These people in the background seem to be protestors as well, but there is no way tell if they are intending to be violent with their protest. This is where you imagination comes into play as the viewer. Since the photograph is a still frame you as the viewer get to paint your own picture of what you think is going on. You get to determine whether the people in the background are cheering out of excitement or out of disgust. This is why point of view, gaze, and lighting are all important in photographs. 

This photograph presents a good vs evil conflict in many ways. The main one is the man throwing the flare against whomever he is throwing it at. When you look at the picture you see a picture directly aimed at a man who looks like he is committing a violent act. This is intended by the photographer with the gaze and the point of view of the photo. In this photo you have a side angle photo, focused mainly on the man in the middle. If the view were an over the shoulder view we would be able to see more. We would be able to see whether the man was the attacker or the person being attacked, but instead we have to make up our own judgements. We as humans see a photograph or a scene and automatically want to take a side. With this we have an African American male throwing a flaming object towards what we assume is the police. Automatically we think the man is the villain, and the police are just doing their job outside the frame of the picture. This point of view makes us think badly of the man. We then turn our attention to the only other people we can see in the photo. We see the people in the background that are just standing there but since the point of view of the picture is the way it is, we think they are violent as well. Even though we have no right to say that, and have no idea if they are even slightly violent. We then go as far as to say that all the protestors are violent and that force should be used to stop them. Meanwhile we forget the innocent killing of Michael Brown by the police officers that are supposed to be “protecting” the community. 

Another good vs evil competition going on within this photograph is the one between the light and the darkness.  The flare that the man is holding is in combat with the surrounding darkness within the picture. Without this light the whole picture would be dark. The light brings the picture to life. It tells the story. It draws your eyes to the picture, and the brightness involved in the picture. It puts a sense of importance on the flare itself because it is the sole source of light. Also, light is usually associated with being good and darkness therefore is usually bad. In this picture that might not be true. The flare is what could hurt someone, and without it there would be no one hurt. Also, the man in the picture is holding the light and he might not be good. So in this picture the darkness might be the good and the light be the evil. It all depend on how you look at it. Along with this man throwing a flare, he is wearing an American flag shirt. This brings significance to the fact that he may be committing a crime against the people who are supposed to protect America. This also may be used to represent the injustice within America. It can show that America is burning from the inside. We may have more injustice on the inside of America than on the outside. The fire burning so close to the shirt. This picture went viral because of this. The photographer brings this to life with the angle and point of view of the photo. 

The truth of the story behind the picture is this. The man throwing the flare is named Edward Crawford. He is a citizen of Ferguson, Missouri and was quietly protesting the night of this picture. It all changed when the police force threw a flare into a crowd of innocent bystanders filled with young adults. Edward Crawford stepped up, got the crowd clear, and proceeded to throw the flare back from where it came from. Little did he know that his picture was taken during that event and it would be broadcasted all over the news. The media would pin him as a violent protestor and criticize him. Crawford just did what he thought was the right thing, while the media portrayed him as something far worse. All brought along by the point of view, the gaze, and the way the photographer does not show where the man is throwing the flare.

The theme good vs evil goes back as far as we can remember and will continue to go on as long as there is human life on this earth. With this the media will be right there to form their own opinions and tell the people what they want to hear. With all this talk of the protestors we lose sight of the bigger issue in America. A young, innocent man was killed. Not just killed but murdered. A fact that presents itself way to much nowadays. We as humans we have the right to stand up and stop this. We need to unite and stand up for what is right before it is too late. Do not let the media feed lies to you, and influence your thoughts. Form your own opinions. Get educated on the topics that face this country. Next time you see a picture on the news, step back and form an opinion based on your thoughts and knowledge. Also, think about the point of view in the photograph or scene, and see what catches your eye about the photo. 
