July 20th, 1969 is arguably one of the most historic days in mankind’s history, but sadly some say it did not even happen. On this day, the U.S sent Apollo 11 into action in attempt to land on the moon(History.com Staff). The U.S wanted to be the first country to set foot on the moon. At the time they were in a cold war with the Russians to see who was truly a world superpower (Dunbar, Brian). The Russians and the Americans had been going back and forth for several years trying to out-perform each other in various non-violent events such as space travel, bomb creation and other scientific innovation (History.com Staff). After a few days in orbit the crew of Neil Armstrong, Micheal Collins and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon’s surface (History.com Staff). The symbolic flag shows American’s love and passion towards their country. The visual text of Buzz Aldrin looking at the flag is one of the most well-known photographs. This historic photograph of the Apollo 11 landing was taken for the satisfaction of Americans to give them a sense of happiness and hope for the future, unity for decades to come, and patriotism.

This picture was taken by Neil Armstrong, an astronaut, and he is no photograph specialist but there are still many things that can be taken from this photo. This picture has a wonderful angle and has amazing lighting. The camera used must have been very high tech for a picture to be taken on the moon Also, to get this amazing quality in space is outstanding. This was one of the most historic moments in the nation’s history. On top of that half a billion people are watching which was a world record until 1981(Guinness World Record). Everything that makes up this photo just gives off patriotism. From the footprints, to the flag, it just seems so real. Everybody likes to win and this was a win for the United States. It is hard to capture one of the most historic events in history in a picture but this picture is as good as it will get. The flag standing tall symbolizes patriotism. It shows that landing on the moon was for every American citizen, because the American flag stands for freedom and the first thing they did when they landed was put up the flag. The U.S wanted to send a message that every American was there as one. The United States shows its superiority by being the first country in the world to land on the moon. Apollo 11 was definitely a turning point in the Cold War which brought happiness to the American people. War is never a good time for anybody, for it causes financial struggles and possible impending doom. When Americans saw that they had conquered the Moon it made the Americans happy because they saw the Cold War coming to a close and that was one less problem that they had to face. In the picture, the center is a big American flag which emphasizes that the main point of this visual text was to show that the U.S were the ones that conquered the Moon and not the Russians. It is a symbol of unity to bring together the country. During this time there was a lot more than just a Cold War going on. There were also social injustices going on. This picture can stand for unity because it shows that everybody is an American whether they are black, white, orange, pink or whatever. It shows that being an American is not decided by the color of their skin but what they stand for. The footprints on the ground symbolize teamwork/unity. This is because there are a lot of them and only a few astronauts. That means that it must be a lot of work to make this event happen because they are all walking around so much after only being there for a few minutes. It just shows how hard this mission was and how they had to work together to make it happen. It shows the American people anything is possible if everybody works together.

Every single American was gazing upon their TV, or if they did not have a TV they were listening on the radio, smiling. They were smiling as if their favorite football team scored the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl except in this case the U.S. had just proved its superiority to the rest of the world. This mission was for the Americans, seeing this photo gave them euphoria in a well-known tough time for America. When looking at the visual text a big symbol is the astronaut gazing at the flag. This astronaut along with his ship symbolize the American people in its entirety. It is almost as if one watching is there on the Moon themselves. The picture captures a little bit of everything and seems so surreal. For an American, feeling as if they are there gives them complete happiness because they feel like they were apart of Apollo 11 instead of just watching it. One cannot even fathom how difficult it is to get to the Moon. Even with today’s technology it is no easy task, but one has to keep it mind this is 50 years ago as well. It is very impressive and makes all Americans happy knowing that they are the only ones smart enough and have the innovations to get to the Moon and back in one piece. Another thing seen in this photo is the light scheme. The moon is supposed to be a very dark planet with little light. Aldrin appears to have the little light on the planet gazing upon him along with the flag and the entire picture. This can be compared to as if light was shining down on you from heaven. This light on not only Aldrin but also on the flag shows hope for all Americans that life will get better and everything will turn around. It was a hard time for Americans because not only was there the Cold War but there was also the civil rights movement which involved African Americans gaining the same rights as Caucasian Americans, also the Red Scare was going on which is the impending fear of Communism (Dunbar, Brian). All these stressful and life-changing events disrupting peace on the home front along with poor economic situation due to the war created an uneasy living environment. Apollo 11 gave all Americans hope that things will start swinging their way and they will rebound better than ever.

Apollo 11 is by far one of the most historic moments in the United States history. Apollo 11 was a turning point for one of the country’s major conflicts because it altered the direction of the time period. This historic moment captured below was just the start of the rebound of the U.S citizens. It gave the citizens hope that it would get better and excitement for the future. Apollo 11 brought together a completely divided nation that was struggled to hold it together. The patriotism of the citizens never disappeared but it needed to be rejuvenated. This picture will be remembered for decades to come and it will always be a part of the U.S history for its symbols with many meanings along with its picture perfect quality.
