The NFL, which stands for the National Football League, is very popular in the United States.  There are many reasons why, such as the huge collisions and exciting athletic plays, these athletes are able to make.  The fact that the NFL is so popular means its own players are too, these players knowing this realize that they would be able to take a stand on a social issue and at the very least be recognized for what they were trying to do.  Pictured here is number 7 Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem before a San Francisco 49ers pre-season game this past summer.  He is doing so to take a stand on social equality of blacks and whites and how he does not feel the African-American population is being treated fairly.  I also will talk about how certain elements of an image like color, hierarchy, angle, and focal point allow us to dig deeper into an image and gives us so much to talk about.   

Social equality is a problem that even today is still relevant in society.  Most would think that with all the segregation laws ending in the 60s that the blacks and the whites would be at a place where everyone is thought of and feels as if they are the same.  However, this is far from the truth. The truth is that social equality is still a very prevalent topic and some feel that changes need to be made on how certain social issues are handled when skin color comes into play.

Heiarchy is present throughout this picture, the flag seems to be above everyone on the sideline.  The flag is seen as a very important object in the United States, it is almost fitting that everyone seems to be below it because it is thought that the flag is above everyone.  It shows that the flag is something that people look to and respect.  The way people show respect is by standing when the flag is present, especially during the national anthem.  Through further instruction we see Kaepernick taking a knee during the anthem.  It can be interpreted that he is now below all his peers around him due to his disrespect of the flag.  The flag seems to be above everyone else being that it is in the middle of the picture, but even more so Kaepernick since he is lower than everyone else.

Colin Kaepernick is making a stand to fight for what he believes, which is that not everyone is being treated equally.  He finds that with him being an NFL quarterback that this is the best way for him to be heard and make people aware of the extreme social injustice that has been going on in America recently.  As you can imagine this stand was not taken well due to the fact that usually kneeling during the national anthem is a sign of disrespect. Colin Kaepernick, when asked, said he means no disrespect and does not see how it is disrespectful to question the United States and make sure that they are doing what they stand for -- and that is for all to be treated equally.  People were very critical of the fact that he would kneel to the flag that gives him all the freedoms and rights that he currently has.  Some were beginning to wonder how he could not respect the flag that is the only reason he is allowed to freely speak without punishment.  This was a way of protesting never seen before and it made headlines everywhere for weeks to come.   

Another interesting thing to realize is how from this angle it is not easy to see Kaepernick kneeling right away.  There is much more going on in this picture than just Kaepernick kneeling.  There is so much else to see and notice.  One thing we notice is that the players are all looking different places, some with their eyes on the flag, some just looking around, and some just looking down thinking to themselves.  This leaves us to wonder what the players are thinking.   It is important to realize that like Kaepernick, all these people are thinking certain things for one reason or another.  You also notice the man on the other side of Kaepernick taking a picture of him kneeling.  The photographer helps us to understand the main point of the photo and leaves us to create our own meaning for what is going on in the picture. There are people on both sides of him, almost as if they are surrounding him trying to get a picture of what he is doing.  Something we have to wonder is what would it look like to be on the other side of everyone, looking at their faces.  We can only guess the facial expressions being made by the players, but the man taking the picture, in the picture, leaves us wondering what we could tell if we were able to see the players faces.  Would we see them making any gestures towards Kaepernick?  Any signs of disgust or approval directed towards Kaepernick?  We are only left to wonder, and this cameraman leaves us to question what we would be seeing from his point of view.  He has us wondering what the facial expressions of the players could be, and how it could change the meaning of the picture.  

The colors of red and white dominate the picture.  If you look closely in the top left you can also see a small blue part of what appears to be a flag.  The colors of red and white and some blue, clearly portray patriotism and the United States.  Also there are many men and women in white Naval uniforms holding the flags showing even more patriotism.  The color portrays the United States throughout the picture.  So when you see a man kneeling on the ground during the national anthem you begin to question that man’s reasons for doing so.  Most people would not be fond of an athlete kneeling during a national anthem of a televised sporting event.  This is not something that is seen very much, being that almost everyone stands for the national anthem, the color of red, white, and blue symbolize the United States and it is shown that everyone but one person is proud that these colors represent their country.  Those 3 colors when alone don’t have much of a meaning, however when put together are the symbol of an entire country.  They are the colors that everyone looks to when showing thanks and appreciation to this country.  They mean so much and they make this such a powerful image because you know that he is kneeling in front of the flag during the national anthem.  

The focal point of this picture seems to be the flag just because it is the biggest thing and right in the middle of the picture, however after further inspection we realize that it is the man kneeling on the ground.  We may not realize him at first because of the huge flag that seems to dominate the picture.  Also because there are many other people wearing the same thing as Kaepernick and we can only pick him out being he is the only one kneeling during this time.  This shows that the focal point of a picture is not always the thing that is smack in the middle that seems to be dominating a picture.  We realize that after further inspection of a picture we will be able to find out what the true focal point of the picture is.  

A simple motion can mean so much, all Colin Kaepernick is doing is taking a knee, however, he is doing so during a time where it is only seen as respectful to stand.  This image, even though it looks like a normal picture, carries huge meaning.  One motion, of one man can start a controversy through a simple action like kneeling.  We are able to capture these important moments through photography, and the way the pictures are taken help give us our own meaning and purpose for a picture.  A simple action like this can be the start of change, change towards the social justice that Kaepernick believes not everyone is receiving, yet deserves.  He feels as if it is his job as an American citizen to upheld the standards the country is supposed to follow, which is to treat all races and ethnicities the same no matter what.  Kaepernick is fully aware of his status, and that is of a popular, very well-known NFL starter quarterback, whom is looked to by a lot of people.  He was able to take advantage of his social status because he knew an action like this would be heard and talked about all throughout the country.   This seems to be a simple picture, yet it is far from that, this picture carries heavy meaning and will get people to ask themselves about the social justice in America today, and wonder if the United States is treating all citizens the way the constitution says, equally. 

By digging deeper into this image we are able to discover so much more than originally thought.  By using the elements of images like color, hierarchy, angle, and focal point we are able to discover the true meaning of a picture, and find out so much that you would not notice by first looking at the picture.  The elements of an image allow us to talk much more about an image, we are able to discuss every element of an image and go deeper into the true meaning of it.