The Preamble of the United States of America Constitution, along with the rest of the Constitution, is complicated. Politics are complicated. But through the methods used in visual text, complicated things are able to be simplified and more easily comprehended by readers.   In ““The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation”, authors Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell simplify the Preamble by using various color schemes, scene transitions, and camera angles in order to depict our nations’ history more accurately. 

By adding color to text, more details can be addressed with fewer words. One specific example of this is on the first page, the depiction of a battle ship. This picture stands out from the others because of its bright blue color. This picture is one of the most prideful and positive pictures from this excerpt, so naturally Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell want to draw attention to it. On the other hand, a more negative example of this is near the bottom of the same page (first page), this picture portrays the change in voting eligibility. The picture is very dark because of the dark period in our nations’ history that it represents. The picture and these words show the struggle that many different groups of people went through just to gain something that should have been one of their natural rights all along. Whether African-American, Hispanic, Native-American, or just a woman in general. Suffrage has been a long and hard part of our history. What can also be seen that is interesting in this picture is the fact that the color goes from very dark and transitions to a little bit lighter color at the booth. This reflects how far we have come but also indicates room for even more improvement because the color at the end still is not necessarily a “happy” color, but it shows progress. Something else that I found interesting about the color choices was the fact that the red white and blue is constant. These colors when on a flag or a banner are not faded. This shows that even through turmoil and pain, we (Americans) push through and stay loyal and patriotic. 

In this visual text, scene transitions are used to show things either in unity or complete division. On the first page, the pictures are almost molded together to show the unity of our country in good times. It shows the various aspects of being American and having pride in our country. On the second page the images have stiff endings and beginnings, this represents the division, whether somewhat positive at the top of the page showing that we were very far ahead in technology, or negative shows the slaves completely away from the white Americans. These scene transitions add an important component of the text that would not be nearly as easily picked up on if they were not included. 

Camera angles are also used in this to further the readers understanding of the texts and pictures. They are used to draw attention to or away from things that are important. Camera angles are used similarly to lift something or idea up and down respectively. The first example of this that I have is at the top of the second page, where the authors acknowledge the technological advances that we have made since the constitution was written. The zoomed up frame not only lets the readers get a better view of the objects but also makes these devices seem important. Technological advancements have made this country what it is today, working hard to achieve goals in the field of technology has brought millions of Americans together, no matter what race or gender. Another example of this is the last picture of the entire excerpt. In this picture authors use multiple different types of camera angles in order to enhance understanding. In this frame the first noticeable use of camera angles is the zooming in on the slaves’ hands. This shows the importance of this topic and how much this means to many people. The second and more important use of camera angles is how we as readers are looking down on the hands, this shows a disliking and a negative feeling towards something. Typically, in film, looking down on something is the equivalent of minimizing it, or making it small and miniscule. I believe that this is no different, because as Americans that is what we have been doing since the constitution was written, maybe in small increments, but we have been taking racism down and working towards abolishing it completely. 

For me, I remember reading the Preamble for the first time in my middle school US history class and having absolutely no idea what any of it meant. Through further inspection, maturation, and teaching I have been able come to comprehend a good bit of it. But had I had this version of the preamble at that age, I believe I would have had a much easier time with understanding it. The pictures drawn by the artists for this work simplify everything. They simplify it by saying extra about each topic by adding a picture. After all a picture is worth a thousand words. Not only through the pictures, but also through masterful use of color, scene transitions, and camera angles, authors Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell are able to depict a very complicated topic in a very simple way. These pictures do not just help in understanding our Constitution, but they also assist readers in understanding our great nations’ history. 