World poverty has become a reality that has been ignored for some time. This photo taken in São Paulo, Brazil requires the world to face the ever growing gap between rich and poor, and acknowledge it. The great imbalance that exists in this picture reveals a deeper meaning of world poverty and the relationship between the rich and the poor. Not only does the setup of this photo highlight the stark contrast between rich and poor and emphasizes it as a worldwide problem, but the stories this photo evoke creates a wider sense of poverty that not only affects the poor, but even the top 1% living in luxury. 

This picture’s visual makeup adds to the message intensity. Because the image is practically split right in half, there is balance that exists. At the same time, there is a sense of imbalance. The balance that exists in this photo is created by this literal barrier in the photo. The balance exists in part because on both sides, people are living in their dwellings. Both of these sides exist together, even though they are in different worlds. The balance in this photo does not reflect the truth that only the top 1% are living the life on the right, while there is a large majority of the world that is facing poverty. There is imbalance that exists in this photo as well. The right side is more vertically appealing than the left. The right has tall hotels and even pools on each balcony that stick out. The tall white buildings contrast with the short, small huts on the left. The right side also pokes out into the left, being showy. Just like a rich person, the hotels stick out and almost show off to those who are considered “lesser” than them. This photo mimics the showing off those people who have money do, making those people living on the left side feel less about themselves. This photo shows the truth that the problem of poverty is becoming more and more glaringly obvious, and requires actions to be taken. 

The colors and shapes in this picture also add to its purpose and message. The “imbalance” in this picture is due to the colors and shapes. The shapes on the left side are so simple, while the shapes on the right are very different and contrasting. There is a limited amount of colors on the left while the right side has many colors and shades. The right side reflects expensive looking clean white paint and sparkling pools, while the left has unpainted, exposed red brick and dirty grey roofs. The right side has greys and faded oranges that have a somber feeling about them. Although there is little variety and very faded colors on the left side, there are people walking around that create life and happiness. The right side has all the showy bright colors, the tennis courts, the pools, and the rooftop decks, but there are no people visible. Although the right side may seem more glamorous, it is an empty, misleading brightness. The money required to create this extreme display of showy architecture should be instead used to create better housing and living conditions that the left side requires.

The stories that you can imagine from this striking image create a sense that poverty not only affects those who are poor, but those who are rich as well. Although there is a wall between them, they exist in very close proximity and there is an undoubtable relationship between these two communities. The people living on the right would deny that they have any connection to the people on the right, but the placement of this wall is a reminder how bound together these two communities are. There is more life on the left side, people are walking around, but you don’t see any people on the right. The community on the right may have a small amount of money, but they are rich in happiness; the community on the right have a lot of money but may have less happiness. The left community has houses; a neighborhood of people who have probably been there for years, which creates a very close community, and this is something that the right side will never have. The residents on the right are staying in that hotel for a couple nights, so it is not their home. The contrast in this photo highlights how close those people living in luxury are to being so poor in different ways. These communities are oblivious to their counterpart on the other side of the wall. The left side faces daily struggles to survive, and no less lives right next to people who are thriving and have endless meaningless material possessions. The contradictions in this picture touch on the contradictions that exist among these communities. 

Not only do the visual shapes, colors and design of this photo create the overall meaning, but the stories and relationships we understand from this photo reveals a deeper meaning for the relationship between rich and poor. The undeniable connection between these two sides is contrasted by their great differences. The bright colors on the right side may look nice, but they will never compare to the stories and deep relationship on the left. This photo forces us to think about world poverty. The wall in between these two sides represents the attitude towards world poverty that so many people have; people deny it and pretend they do not see it as a problem. The wall was put there to block out the left side from the pristine white walls and pools on the right. From the view of this photo, the wall does not block out the poverty that exists, it exposes it. This is the view that people need to see in order to understand the problem of world poverty. 