“Ferguson, Uncensored” by Tim Dickinson is a visual text that presents a series of pictures capturing the raw hostility and distress that fractured the Ferguson community. The visual text as a whole consists of fifteen different pictures and each of them depicting struggles Ferguson experienced. Although each picture relates to the theme of the story as a whole, the picture depicted in The Carolina Reader is the seventh picture that illustrates the confrontation between a Hands Up, Don’t Shoot participant and law enforcement representatives. The text following the picture explains what is being shown and provides details about how chaotic the situation with Ferguson was. The picture and text help develop, illustrate and contribute to the theme of the work as a whole. Having the design of this specific visual text of a picture with a short description following it affects the way  it is interpreted, appeals to the reader’s emotions by making them feel bad and better understand the chaos of the situation, and includes multiple unstated assumptions within it. 

First, the design of the text affects the way it is interpreted. The visual text is set up with the picture first and followed by a short summary of the situation and what the picture is showing. Having the picture placed before the written text gets the reader to think about what is possibly going on, and then they are able to read about it and compare it to his or her thoughts. This is important because just a picture can bring a completely different idea to someone compared to a written text. So, given the picture before the written text allows the reader to visualize the situation, then better understand it with words.  The picture was captured seconds before “the killing of unarmed 18-year-old Michael ‘Mike Mike’ Brown-shot twice in the head by police officer Darren Wilson” (Dickinson 173). When first looking at the picture, one would not be able to determine what exactly is going on because it is a picture from a series and some people may not know the background of the situation, but having  the written text following it allows the reader to be informed on what exactly is happening. The picture draws the reader in and the text gives the reader a better sense of what is happening in the picture. The situation in Ferguson, Missouri was an intense and serious matter. If the photo essay was formatted in any other way, it may cause the reader to understand it in a different way. For example, if the description was before the picture then the reader may not think to look closely into it. With the picture placed first, Dickinson is able to grab the reader’s attention and make him or her want to read about it. 

The visual text “Ferguson, Uncensored” portrayed in The Carolina Reader contains a picture and a text describing the protest and law enforcement after the 2014 death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, which appeals to the emotions of the one viewing and reading it. This picture shows the back of an African American teenager in bright clothing facing about ten white soldiers dressed in their full, dark army attire. The unarmed boy is standing there patiently looking while all of the soldiers are fully armed with weapons pointing at him. When first looking at the picture, one may have multiple possible scenarios running through his or her head. After reading the text, the viewer is able to understand the situation and can put themselves in the place of those who lived through it.  This photo essay “captures the grit, hope, and horror of life on the restive streets of Ferguson” (Dickinson 174). Both the picture and the text allow one to fully feel the situation and capture the chaos of it. Knowing that the picture was taken seconds before an 18-year-old boy was shot to death, turns the reader against the police. This short essay brings a plethora of emotions because the situation itself is horrifying, even though the boy was later deemed untrustworthy.  Overall, this text appeals to the emotions of the one reading it, and allows him or her to visualize it as if they were living it. 

The unstated assumptions in the visual text help develop the work as a whole. The written text is not long and detailed because there are many things unsaid that the reader will just assume. For example, although it’s not stated in the text, one would immediately assume that the situation in Ferguson had to do with race. Shown in the picture, multiple white police officers are surrounding one black teenager with guns.  After the death of Michael, multiple protests were brought upon the city of Ferguson and mostly from the African American community.  In the text, the boy is described as an “unarmed black teenager” (Dickinson 173).  Those details of the boy are not needed to be mentioned, when it is noticeable in the picture itself. The fact that he was described in this way immediately leads the reader to assume that the outrage has to deal with race.  Especially in today’s world where sixty three percent of all Americans believe that race relations are in bad shape, this visual text is emphasizing this serious problem (Poll: Majority).  

In conclusion, the design of the visual text, the appeal to emotions, and the unstated assumptions all lead to the understanding of the text as a whole. This photo essay is a short depiction and summary of the beginning of an intense protest. As the famous saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words”, here the picture also says a lot and then lets the short text tell a little bit more of the story.  The picture shows one of many terrible things that went on in Ferguson and is followed up with a description of how escalated the situation turned out to be.  Reading about the death of an 18-year-old boy will lead the viewer into wanting to know more information about this horrifying time.  There are multiple things that lead to an overall conclusion of a visual text but the three things mentioned are the most noticeable in this specific photo essay. 
