Exposing War
Medium prompt

The strongest medium for displaying the horrors of war would be photographs. That is not to say that words cannot also have a strong effect on someone. Describing a war in words can vividly depict a violent, disturbing war image. Written words can intensely place an image in someone’s head on what it must have been like to be at a scene of war. Yet photographs are better at depicting the horrors of war. A good example would be the photographs by Ronald L. Haeberle, My Lai villagers before and after being shot by U.S. troops. One image shows a woman crying and suffering as another woman holds her for comforting purposes. There is a scared little girl in the background, clinging onto someone upon sight of the guns. If someone were to read an account of My Lai, it would be easy to understand that the villagers were upset. Yet actually seeing the villagers suffer makes it so much realer and horrifying. Looking at their faces and the poor little girl is so much more upsetting than just reading about it.

Another photograph shows two people lying dead. Both are bleeding, which is disturbing enough. Seeing blood as opposed to just reading about it is always much more upsetting. Yet, what is even more upsetting is the fact that one of the two dead people is only a little boy. He is only a kid, probably no more than ten years. The kid should be alive and healthy at such a young age. Yet he lies dead and bloody on the side of the road. No matter what words were used, a written account of the poor child could never express the horror that a photograph does.

One last example is the poster of Emina Uzicanin. Emina’s story is a tragic one – when she was just five years old, a land mine exploded, severing her left leg. The story is deeply upsetting. No five year-old deserves to lose a leg. However, it is more disturbing to see an actual photograph of Emina. The photo shows a beautiful girl, so young, with a leg missing. Seeing Emina without her leg makes the story more real. It is more disturbing to see the missing leg rather than to just hear that some girl in the world lost a leg. Seeing Emina has a deeper effect on the viewer, just as all photographs do.

Memorial
Method prompt

If I were to create a print ad for 9/11, I would place an image of a family on the poster. I would have the photograph set in a living room with a sofa and a table in front of it. On the table would be a framed photo of mother, father, and their young child. They would all look happy together. On the sofa, however, only the child and one of the parents would sit, looking upset. On top, the poster would say “Remember those lost on 9/11.” Underneath the image of the family would read, “They do.” The viewer of the poster would hopefully understand that one of the family members has been lost due to the events on 9/11. I would want my poster to pay tribute to everyone that died on 9/11 all while also paying tribute to the families who lost loved ones. Many families lost their closest friends and family members due to the tragic events that took place on 9/11. Therefore, it is important to think of those families as well as the victims. It is extremely to lose someone, especially in such a tragic manner. Therefore, I would want people to remember the poor families that had to lose someone they loved. I believe that showing a family missing someone from their household would be a very moving way of reminding people to remember those who died.

“Forms Stretched To Their Limits” by Art Spiegelman
Message prompt

Though comic books are not quite as popular as they used to be, superheroes still remain important in today’s society. Many movies on superheroes have been made recently – Batman has a few films, as well as Superman and Spiderman. The message they seem to send out in society today is that there is always someone looking out for us. I feel that superheroes are a form of comfort. In bad times, many people like to have hope that someone is watching over them. While people not expect Superman is looking out for them, they usually believe there is something protecting them, such as religion. Superheroes can stand for this belief. Superheroes can also send the message that anyone can be a superhero. People do not have to be able to shoot webs out of their hands or fly through the sky in order to help someone else. I think superheroes send a message that in bad times, we all need saving and unfortunately, we do not have Batman to help us. Therefore, superhero movies can enforce the idea to help those in need and not just to look out for ourselves.

Currently America is dealing with the war in Iraq. 9/11 was also an extremely upsetting event that took place not too long ago. Many people lost family members that day, and thousands of people lost their lives. On top of this, there is still a lot of crime found in the news. There is murder, rape, robbery, and so on. Life is not always a pleasant thing. This is why the idea of superheroes strongly applies to our current society. We all need looking after and hope in this life. With so many negative aspects in the world, we need something to rely on. Superheroes can provide this comfort for people, as well as encourage others to help others in need.

“Three Teenagers in Kitchenette Apartment” by Wayne F. Miller
Medium prompt

A photograph, though wordless, is possibly the strongest medium for speaking an idea. By looking at a photograph, a viewer is able to observe the faces of its subjects or the situations presented. Words are not always necessary to tell a story. Wayne F. Miller’s photography “Three Teenagers in Kitchenette Apartment” is able to speak for itself. The situation the teenagers find themselves in is not a great one. A kitchenette is a very cramped way of living. They typically consist of one room, but sometimes they are separated into a bedroom and a kitchen. A bathroom is shared by several members of a family, as well as several other families.

However, one does not need to know the definition of a kitchenette in order to understand the condition of the teenagers in the photograph. Their home is not warmly decorated and does not appear comforting at all. The walls are bare with holes and the room appears to be cold and completely uncomfortable. Yet the teenagers in the photograph seem to tell a story. The boy has a smile on his face, while one of the girls is doubled over with laughter. They appear happy even in what most people would consider a bad situation. The room they are in does not resemble a home that is considered safe or warm. Yet the teenagers seem to make the best of it. They do not appear to be upset living in such a place. Instead, they are enjoying themselves. The photograph speaks for itself – the teenagers are able to have a good time with each other even in bad times.

“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” by Sherman Alexie
Method prompt

In Alexie’s poem, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, he compares the popular horror film to the Sand Creek massacre. Yet it is not crucial that a reader knows about both subjects prior to reading the poem in order to fully understand its meaning. If someone does not know much about Sand Creek prior to reading his poem, he or she should still be able to understand what Alexie is trying to get across. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a horrifying title. It does not matter if someone knows anything about the movie or the brutal murderer Leatherface at all. The title is very clear – a chainsaw massacre. There is nothing pleasant about this at all. It is a frightening thought to anyone regardless of whether or not they have even heard of the movie. In the poem, Alexie says that the vicious killing that takes place in the horror film reminds him of another scene, Sand Creek. A skull being crushed on the killing floor in the film is similar to the killing ground of Sand Creek. The cows in the slaughter farm of Leatherface remind Alexie of the men, women, and children being slaughtered at Sand Creek. “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and its violent scenes are compared to Sand Creek. Therefore, any reader should be able understand that Sand Creek was also a brutal massacre.

Because Alexie feels so strongly about Sand Creek, he might expect his readers to know about the subject. Yet as aforementioned, knowledge of the massacre are not necessary for appreciating the poem. Reading the history of Sand Creek by Verlyn Klinkenborg will clear up everything that happened. However, Alexie is sure to mention the graphic and disturbing scenes found in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He describes these horribly unsettling scenes and then compares them to Sand Creek. If the reader understands the brutality found in the film, he or she can understand the brutality found at Sand Creek. Reading about the history will explain a lot, but it is not necessary to understand Alexie’s point of view.

“The Real Declaration” by Thomas Starr
Message Prompt

The Declaration of Independence has been written in calligraphy as well as typography. While the document may remain the same, there are different ideas behind the Declaration depending on which style it is written in. Starr believes that calligraphy idealizes handwriting but is not legible to all who read it. Typography, however, idealizes letters and is much clearer. He also feels that calligraphy implies a single author while typography implies multiple authors. The National Archive displays the text in calligraphy. This may be because it makes the document look more authentic and plausible. Calligraphy written on parchment gives the document a more artistic look all while making it seem more real to the viewer.

Starr seems to prefer typography over calligraphy. He feels that because typography consists of different authors, it is thus collective and democratic. The Declaration of Independence was a group effort. There were different people involved in its writing, different people in its audience, and several different ideas within it. It became a combined effort, and united people. It was a symbol for democracy. Therefore, because it is considered democratic by Starr, typography is the best way to represent the Declaration. The manuscript of the first draft, containing all of the revisions, would further enforce this idea of democracy and collectivity. The manuscript shows the ideas originally expressed by someone and then altered by another person. It shows how several different people worked together to make the Declaration of Independence the best it could be. It would further enhance the idea that it was created by several authors as opposed to just one.