
Ferguson, Uncensored demonstrates the racial tension between the predominantly African American people within the Ferguson community and the local police department. Hands Up, Don’t Shoot developed into a movement that rallied thousands of citizens in protest of racism after the fatal shooting of a Black 18-year-old unarmed male by a white cop. This event infuriated the citizens of Ferguson, who voiced righteous grievance about racial injustice and police violence. Police responded with full military gear, refusing to accept that this unwittingly made them the receiving end of protests. The visual seen in these pictures of both the foreground and the background portray a very intense standoff of one man against 12 police officers decked out in military gear and armed with semi-automatic rifles. Given this close reading of the Ferguson, Uncensored pictures, there is a very definitive representation of the Hands Up, Don’t Shoot movement present.

The visual motif in this essay comes from two pictures that are pattern predominate and encapsulates the meaning of the text well. In the first picture, (Dickenson, 8) Tim Dickinson uses the eighth picture out of a series of sixteen to depict the narrative behind “Ferguson, Uncensored”. The first picture (8) depicts a black male with a light blue T-shirt, blue jeans, and a green baseball cap. The colors captured in these pictures are bright and stand out in contrast to one another to further draw attention to the events taking place. This gentleman is in the immediate foreground and he has his hands up in the air, symbolic of the Hands Up, Don’t Shoot movement. Mid-ground in the same picture is basically dead space. Within this dead space there is a sidewalk and a blue United States Post Office mail box that contains graffiti writing on it that says “Fuck the Police” on the upper portion. Then in the background, just at the point behind the mail box, there are 12 police in combat/riot gear, including military uniforms, knee and elbow pads, combat boots, Kevlar helmets, and protective masks (gas masks). The weapons that the police are shown as carrying are military semi-automatic rifles, and there is one police officer on the right who appears to have a paintball gun. Some of the police officers have additional equipment mounted to their helmets, such as video cameras. A quote from Ferguson on this particular picture (8), states “Picture 8 illustrates the confrontation between a Hands Up, Don't Shoot participant and law enforcement representatives” (Carolina 173).

Even though these two pictures are of the same situation, both give a different meaning of visual motif. In following the motif of the first picture, (8) the man appears to be stationary as the police move in closer to him and in the second picture, (Roberston) the same man appears to be either walking towards the police or walking backwards away from the police. It is difficult to discern the actual direction. It could be argued that the pattern of the man in the first picture (8) is just an innocent bystander of what is happening around him. 

For thematic concerns, a perfect example can be taken from the first picture whereby the author made it a point to capture the USPS mail box spray painted with the phrase “Fuck the Police” as part of the concept by which he wanted to bring about the intent of portraying police hatred with a single black male in the foreground. The location of the mailbox is integral in the point that the photographer may be trying to get across to viewers. Photographers and editors are able to modify pictures through the use of colors and text to draw extra attention to various objects.

The color scheme presented in these two pictures is vividly contrasting with orange storage unit doors in the background in the first photo to the neon blue T-shirt of the male in the foreground, as well as the multi-cam uniforms that the police are wearing. Drawing attention to the police in contrast to the unarmed man is a clear goal of this picture. Using filmic language, both of these pictures are a Longshot format so the entire bodies of those being photographed can be seen. Also visualized in these pictures is the over the shoulder shot to show what is in the immediate foreground. The gaze being wielded in the first picture can appear to be one of bias, whereas what is seen is a black male with his hands up in the air and 12 police suited up in military gear confronting him. The viewer may automatically assume that the police are pursuing the individual for no reason. 

This may in turn raise feelings of anger toward the police. In addition to all of this, the police have their weapons pointed directly at the male, while in full view of the mail box that says “Fuck the Police”. By including the mailbox, the photographer may either want the viewers to feel the anger from the individuals on the other side of the police. In the second picture, (Robertson) taken from a slightly different angle, however still using the same filmic language described above, does not have the mailbox in view. This can lead the reader to a different biased conclusion leading them to formulate a more negative opinion. The graphic language depicted shows the anger of the individual that wrote it. Furthermore, the words stand out in the picture of all the vibrant colors.

The motif in the first picture (8) asks the viewer to rethink their assumptions that might be gained from viewing the rest of the text or any preconceptions that might be held prior to reading the text. One can clearly see a major difference from the conceptual visualization between the two pictures with the simple input of a vandalized mailbox which leads the viewer to have difference of opinion. What the motif says about the title of “Ferguson, Uncensored” is the viewer is presented with the purest and rawest view possible from scenes with an added touch of police prejudice. Individuals may already have a prejudice against the police based on the repetition of the captions which indicate that the unarmed citizens are protesting against the heavily armed police men who are already being accused of shooting an unarmed black male. The first picture (8) motif is a jarring departure from the second and somewhat from the textual background as well, in that the author clearly had some biased angle injected into the picture when compared to the second picture, (Robertson) where it is a bit more open to interpretation by the viewer since the mailbox is not in the scene.

The outline of this close reading considers the level of racism and tension between the people from Ferguson community, as well as the police department and their stance on how far they were willing to take matters relating to the protest and the Hands Up, Don’t Shoot movement. The color scheme effect from the police in their military uniforms elevated the scene to a completely new level of perceived threat deterrence. Given the fact that 12 police officers are dressed in full military gear, all armed with semi-automatic rifles pointed at one man, the viewer needs to stop and think what kind of event or reason would provoke such an intense response as this and what this man could have been guilty of to solicit such an escalation of force. Given the comparison of these two pictures, there could be two completely different scenarios based on the placement of one simple object, a USPS Mail drop box with a message that reads “Fuck the Police”. The other issue that needs further insight is what is absent from the camera’s view. Is there something the police don’t want anyone else to see?
