A young man sits with his hand on his chest, his face contorted with grief. His brother has just been shot and killed in a gang-related murder. The officer to the left has delivered the terrible news to this man and now stands solemnly next to him. An unknown photographer captured the scene in San Jose, California. This photo shows a dichotomy of emotion and shows the harsh reality of situations such as this one through juxtaposition of forms and feelings, color and framing.

 The photographer uses contradicting forms and lines in this photo to create a duality of emotion and to show the differences between the two men in this photo. The officer on the left stands, gazing up and out away from the situation. You can tell from the solemn, stiff expression on his face that he is uncomfortable. He shows reverence in his emotionless look, knowing how terrible this is for this young man. Also, as is human nature, rather than take a deep emotional stance in tough situations, his blank gaze shows an effort to detach his self from the heart-breaking scene happening in front of him. In contrast, the young man to the right’s face is contorted with grief. His eyes closed, hand on his chest, wailing into the sky with sorrow. He sits with his legs out and chest toward the viewer. This open stance directs this man’s overwhelming sadness onto the viewer and creates a sense of apathy between the two. 

The vertical lines created by the bars of the red fence in the background are like the bars of a cell, signifying that in a lot of communities such as this one in San Jose, those that grow up here, stay there and remained trapped in an area and a way of life. These bars could also stand for the bars of a prison cell, which can be a harsh reality for young people in areas stricken with gang violence. There is a strip of red tape that runs horizontally through the picture. It runs right behind the young mans head while he sits on the ground, creating a scene reminiscent of a shooting, with the tape being the bullet going through the victims head and the red symbolizing the blood, perhaps even his brothers blood.

Looking first at the officers clothing, he wears an all black uniform. With black being a color typically associated with death, his dark clothing symbolizes his role as the bearer of the bad news, a secretary of death. He is carrying a gun on his hip, just like that instrument that caused his brother’s death. The young man wears a white shirt, symbolic of innocence and another element in the photo that creates empathy for this afflicted man. The viewer can also see the tattoos on his forearms, possibly gang related, and represents the pain gang violence brings for those involved and their loved ones. 

The tree running through the center of the frame and dividing it down the middle serves as both a literal and figurative barrier between the two people in this photo. Nearly everything in this photograph has its antithesis. The officers dark clothing versus the man’s lighter colored clothes, the race of the two men in the photo, their response to the situation at hand, the way of life both live, nearly everything about these two people is different. One could even argue that the side of the photo to the left of the tree is nearly as compelling as the right side. The viewer can feel how uncomfortable the officer is delivering this news, how hard it is for him to watch this young man crumble with misery before him. The situation this man is going through is clearly unfamiliar to the officer, so rather than try to empathize, he simply directs his gaze elsewhere in reverence and respect for this young man for the tragedy he has experienced. I’ve already discussed the sorrow coming from the right side of the tree, but the differences between that side and the right side are very clear. The white police officer and the minority, gang-violence afflicted young man. The fence limits the viewer’s perspective by restricting their view into the background of the photo. This, coupled with a strong camera focus, pushes our gaze to the foreground and forces us to feel the power and emotion that comes along with this heart-wrenching scene.

When I first encountered this photograph, it immediately struck me. The subject matter of the photo is gripping and incredibly powerful. The viewer immediately feels the emotion in this photo, and it has many tasteful stylistic elements that add to the photo’s strong emotional message. It’s the latter that motivated me to pick this image for this paper, the photographer, whether they know it or not had created an image full of elements perfect for an analysis like this one.
