Born Into Brothels Activity

Part A: Questions?????

     1. What did Zana describe as the reason for giving the cameras to the children in the beginning of the documentary, i.e.: why didn’t she just take the photos herself?

  She wanted to give the children the cameras because other than going around and taking the pictures herself, she wanted to get more into the life and struggles that people in this life faced. By giving the cameras to the children, she gets to see the hard life through their eyes and how each child is living. With the children having the cameras, they will be taking pictures of multiple things that interest, affect or inspire them in some way.

    2 .Why is the photographer’s point of view or unique voice part of what we consider when we talk about pictues? Can’t we simply judge all pictures by the same criteria of good and bad regardless of took them?

The photographer’s point of view is important to because when you look at a certain picture, you automatically get your own opinions of what you like and what you don’t like. You need to also take into consideration the opinion of what the photographer was trying to convey or tell you about the photo and the reasons what they took  a picture of, how they took it and why they took it.

  3. Reflect on what Avijit first says about painting: “I like to draw pictures because I want to express what’s on my mind…I want to put my thoughts into colours.” What does this tell us about him?

This tells us that Avjit uses his talent in drawing and painting because he uses the different colours and pictures to illustrate his thoughts and feelings or how he feels about the life that he is living. Even though he lives such a hard and tragic life, he still manages to create such beautiful works of art with colour and pattern. I think that art plays a big role in his life because it’s almost like he uses it as an escape from everything that he has to face daily.

  4.Throughout this lesson, the term ‘personal expression’ is used to refer to art, sports, writing, and other activities. How would you define personal expression? How are photography, painting and writing forms of personal expression?

    

I would define personal expression as anything that someone is passionate about. Personal expression can be shown in many ways whether it’s a hobby, a talent or a sport. Photography, painting and writing are all forms of personal expression because they are all ways someone can express their thoughts and feelings even though its expressed by pictures, paint and words.

  

5.  How can art (personal expression) serve as a means of educating others about a particular issue?

Art can serve as a means of educating others about a particular issue because you can spread awareness about something by means of a photo, video or picture rather than talking or discussing about it.

Part B: Critique

Two part critique

1)      Select what you believe are the two most beautiful images based on traditional photography standards (Nice contrast, appealing colours and textures, clear focal point etc…) An in a sentence for each, explain why you like them.

First picture:

           

 I think this is a great picture because it follows the rule of thirds with the bucket being the focal point on one side. It also has two thirds land and a third water which made a nice contrast too. The colours are not too dull but still stand out such as the red and white on the bucket against the blue sky.

Second picture:

       

I think this is a great picture because I like the position of her body and how its angled the same as the car, it adds contrast to the shot and the black and white makes a clear picture yet still focuses on the focal point.

2)      Select what you believe to be the most effective pictures at conveying a message or educating you about the issue of human rights abuses. And in a sentence for each, explain why you chose them.

First picture:

 

I think this picture is effective at conveying a message about the issue of human rights abuses because it is showing a little boy covered in black ink and working.  There also seems to be red marks around his arms, on his neck and as well as his face which could mean that he had been beaten or treated poorly. This picture has to do with child labour and the fact that kids at a very young age are put to work and if they refuse the work , they will be either beaten or cursed at.

Second picture:

    

I think this picture is effective at conveying a message about the issue of human rights abuses because it is showing a man with a lot of red marks that look like bruises on his arms, chest and stomach.  This could also mean that the man was forced to do work and refused so he was punished severely.

3)      Does a picture need to be beautiful to be effective? Does it help?

A picture does not need to be beautiful to be effective because as long as there is some type of message that it’s trying to convey or there is some kind of explanation behind it then it is extremely effective. If a picture is showing someone in poor conditions that  looks like they have been beaten or another scenario, it is still considered an effective photo because there is a clear message that the photographer is trying to convey or tell his audience. it does not help the effectiveness of a picture if its beautiful because it doesn’t need to be beautiful to be effective. It just needs to be able to convey or show an explanation of what the photographer is trying to let his audience know.