On September 11th, 2001 the United States of America came under attack domestically by a group of foreign terrorists that identified themselves as Al-Qaeda, under the direction of Saudi fugitive Osama Bin Laden. In just a few hours over 3,000 people were killed as terrorists managed to take hold of 4 commercial jet airliners, two of which crashed into the World Trade Center twin towers, one in the north tower and minutes later another into the south. The third flight crashed into the west side of the Pentagon, and the forth with an unknown destination was forced to the ground by a few brave civilians that attacked the hijackers. The image above captured by Thomas E. Franklin is the raising of the colors of the United States of America by firemen in the aftermath of the collapsing of the towers. By looking at the image of the aftermath of 9/11, we see that the United States flag is not only the center of the image, but that the flag itself is the center of our society and lives as Americans.

Beginning with the focal point of the image quite simply, many people will point out that the American flag is focal point of the image. Now although this is true; there is a number of underlying messages to the American flag being the focal point of the image. First, it can be construed that as the American flag was chosen to be the center point of the image because as a Nation one of the things that we unite under together is the flag of these United States. In any situation to almost any American, the most recognizable symbol to the United States is the American flag and as like it is in this particular situation, the raising of the flag is not only to the men raising it but those around it, it would present itself as a beacon of hope, survival and resiliency in the terrible situation that was at hand. Similarly, it can be said that the purpose of the American flag being centered and being the focal point of the image is to attest to the fact that like the flag going back up, the United States had only stumbled down and would be picked up and recover stronger than before the incident.

Next, the large figure ground contrast was very purposeful to this image not only to have the colors of the American flag pop, but as well as to emphasize the reasoning why the picture was even being taken in the first place. The background of an utterly demolished World Trade Center with thousands of dead is an atrocity enough to anger any American or empathetic human by that matter. The placement of the flag works as a statement, to all those who believe they can stop or will cause damage to the people of this great nation. The statement being, “We will not stop, we will not give in, we will fight, we will persevere, and we will not forget the suffering you caused.” America, the single most powerful nation on Earth had the sympathy of the world as thousands of innocent civilians were killed. Again with the figure ground contrast of the ruins to such a bold flag, would be the idea and reason why thousands of people across the nation would raise their right hand and complete the oath of enlistment to the United States military. For those few who are willing to fight for the very same idea, and wanting to prevent such an event from ever occurring again and to protect our American way of life, they will complete the Oath of Enlistment, “I, _____, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."(US Army) 

Last, the image has easily identifiable lines of continuation that allow through their own simplicity can hide an idea that requires a deeper understanding. One such example of this is the lines of the subjects in the image, the photographer chose to take it as all three subjects were gazing upward. This is highly significant to the fact that when people talk about going to heaven or talk about God they talk about “Upstairs” or “looking up to God and heaven.” It appeals to the emotional aspect of the image because embroiled on many things directly tied to the United States, as well as being the official motto of the United States, “In God We Trust” (US Treasury) it can be derived that the choice of the photographer to having waited till the subject all looking up was purposeful to allow it to be understood that even in the greatest time of tragedy we will always trust in God to help endure the struggle being presented. The flag itself also with its stripes pointed upward and in the stillness of the moments following the collapse of the towers hanging gracefully over the subjects is symbolic of the phrase “One Nation, Under God” whereas the subjects were reviving what to which we were united under God to.

Although September 11th 2001 will always be a historically painful memory in the minds and hearts of many, there are so many more meanings to the day beyond the surface. Photographers have the ability to capture and transmit these messages through a more understandable medium even if they may still be quite cryptic. This particular image taken by Thomas E. Franklin however, happens to have many deeper meanings that Franklin so effectively captured in a single moment; for a day that involved the killing of thousands along with a damaged governmental reputation for national security, this image alone allowed a small glimmer of hope in the hearts of Americans everywhere. The most important aspects of the image include the choice of the focal point being the Nations flag, the large figure ground contrast to further emphasize the magnitude of the meaning of that flag being raised, and the continuation in the image by the subjects represent the connection of the American flag and the American people to God.
