This image depicts a man in a dark, closed off room with one barred window out of reach and a solid door slightly ajar, with the man using a periscope in the shape of an f to look out the window - the “f” is the Facebook logo. Looking at the picture it appears the man is in a prison cell of some sort, secluded from a much brighter world. The viewer can see that he has an easy way out of the cell and into the world; the open door, but he either does not see it or chooses to ignore it. Instead, he stays in his cell with the periscope, looking into the world, seeing it from a safe distance rather than being a part of it. Perhaps him viewing the world through a Facebook periscope could be like only seeing the world through the posts of people who have strong opinions or beliefs, and someone seeing the world only in this way may only get to see one side of things, and develop opinions and beliefs based on that without knowing the full details or all the sides to something. The picture addresses the way that when one chooses to view the world not for themselves, but through the filter of social media, one unintentionally gives up their own ability to form their own opinions because they only see things through the opinion of someone else. The way that the majority of people get their news is through social media, and people on social media can write and portray anything in any way they want, skewing the truth and leading people to form opinions based on the way the news is written. The man looking out the periscope sees the world through the filter of Facebook, he sees the world in the way the media wants him to. Even though the door is slightly open and he could walk out and view the world and form his opinions and beliefs based on the real reality, he chooses to continue viewing it through the filter of the media and use the periscope of social media to stay secluded from the real world. The meaning is that so many people, over social media, express strong opinions and even get into heated arguments on subjects they only know the side expressed online. To further interpret the picture, this paper will examine the use of color, hierarchy, space, balance, and texture, throughout the image, as each plays a vital role in its meaning.

The use of color in this image plays on the mood of the different areas of the image; inside the room and outside the door. The dull and dark colors of the room the man is in makes it feel like a prison cell, especially with the solid steel door and the barred window. Contrasted with the dark and dull interior, outside the window and cracked door a bright world can be seen, bright green grass and blue skies can be seen. The world is bright and full of events and stories and issues, and the man as the opportunity to go out the door and experience it first hand and know the truth, but he chooses to stay isolated in his cell and view that same world through only what is posted online, but not everything or every side of a story is posted online. He does not realize that he can view these things from his own perspective. The dull color of the cell and the bright color of the outside world plus the empty space inside the cell also lead to a focal point of the “f” periscope. It’s bright blue coloring contrasted the green grass of the outside and the dull brown and tan of the cell walls make it so that when someone views the image, their eyes are immediately drawn to the big blue “f” and after that they notice everything else about the image. The “f” being the most attractive piece in the image is not only because of the contrasting colors; the texture differences also add to the focal point.

The texture of the walls in the man’s cell is very rough, and looks quite a lot like old steel that has been weathered and rusted, while the smoothness of the “f” contrast that. The reason the walls look so old and rusty is to let the viewer feel how the man in the image feels in his cell; trapped and secluded from the world, and it gives more of a feeling of being lower class, lower than those who write articles and posts on websites and social media. The reason for the “f” to have a texture to contrast the walls and be smooth is to show that reading about events and forming opinions based on the way an issue is portrayed is very attractive because it is very easy: it can be done without leaving your house or wherever you are and articles are many times written with bias, so forming an opinion is also very easy. Going out and experiencing is for one’s self and not facing bias and having your own opinion on something is not so easy, so having it done for you online through media such as Facebook is very appealing to many people because of its ease. The big blue “f” also shows a hierarchy, which is in place to belittle the viewer compared to the views of others on social media.

The window in which the periscope looks out is above the man, not beside him or below him, but above him. This shows that the articles he will read on Facebook, or online in general, will seem to be written by people above him, more qualified to write about it or have the time or the ability over him to experience it. The door, slightly open, however, is on his level. This indicates that reality is not what the window above him leads him to think. He does have the ability to go and view the world and what goes on within in it in his own perspective, not just view it from the writings of someone else’s perspective. There is no qualification for having an opinion on a topic except for knowing the topic, but the filter of Facebook will attempt to make opinions for you, it is used as a way to persuade people into supporting their stance and become a follower. Because Facebook is positioned above the man but below the window, the common person is made to feel smaller and less qualified, but also allows Facebook to act as a bridge, connecting them to the opinions of those who are more “qualified.” The hierarchy in the image joined with the space in the image act to put the common man in his place.

The large empty space in the cell compares to the small little bit of the outside world that we can see. The empty interior shows that the man has nothing to do but look out upon the outside world, again choosing to do so through Facebook. This may not be a purposeful choice; he may be so blinded by everything online that he cannot even see that the door is open, he does not even realize that the real world is there in front of him, waiting for him to come and develop his own perspective on it. Because the door is only slightly open, there is an imbalance created in the image.

The balance of this image, or lack thereof, comes from the only brightness and color being the small portion of the outside that we, the viewer, can see and also the big Facebook periscope. This imbalance contributes the usefulness of this image by emphasizing the meaning -  that the man, inside his secluded cell, only learns of the outside world through the opinions and posts of others, although he has an opportunity to leave the cell and go experience it for himself. The imbalance of the image also helps define the focal point by directing the viewers’ eyes directly to the bright color of the “f”. 

All of these factors in the image provide a sense of unity for the viewer and create an image that is very simple yet is able to have a very extensive meaning that is even more applicable to today’s society, even though it was only drawn a few years ago by Polish artist Pawel Kuczynski. The image’s meaning after dissecting its components is simple: Facebook (or social media in general) is not a substitute for real life. It can be very useful and interesting, but it should not replace real world experiences and it also should not be forming opinions for someone because of someone else’s bias or beliefs. In order to have an opinion of your own you should experience topics and issues first hand and learn about all sides of topic and allow your own beliefs to be the main factor when forming an opinion.