I see this photograph as a positive image of America, for one it shows the close family circuit, Obama and his wife and children together, looking out on the people, smiling and happy. They come across as warm hearted and inviting, this family image is very important, it portrays them as people you can relate to instead of Obama just being seen as a politician. By having his whole family involved he is more appealing to all ages and people, it widens his demographic. 


In addition, the way the Obama has his hand raised to the people, as if to thank them and show his appreciation. Also it could be seen as a link with the famous American landmark The Statue of Liberty, which is an iconic symbol of liberty and freedom, making him come across as a sign of hope for the people. The last point I would make about the photograph is the writing on the stand to the side of them, reading 'American Dream'. In a way this photograph symbolises everything about the American dream, Obama is living proof that anyone can make it and someone to look to as inspiration.

 

I see this photograph as a negative image of America, of course it is the famous Times Square in New York, known for its shops, restaurants and general atmosphere. However, I see it as a negative image of America because for one, it is completely packed, full of people that know where they want to go and not stopping for anyone or anything that is in their way. You can't simply stop and take in what is around you. Secondly, the amount of cars on the road, majority of which are yellow taxis, being not only bad for the environment but noise pollution as well. With so many cars on the road and people on the streets it creates an extremely fast pace, everyone is on the move, it can put you on edge and can create an uncomfortable atmosphere. Adding to this, you are surrounded by skyscrapers, obviously there is a space issue in New York as well as cost, therefore the only way is up. However, it can make the streets quite claustrophobic, as if you are packed in, there is no free space.

Adding to this, the whole place is covered in Billboards and signs to attract tourists and passing New Yorkers, there is not a free space anywhere. When looking at the photograph, the whole square just looks like one big advert which, I suppose, is much like the rest of New York.     

i have chosen this image of route 66 as a positive image representing the United States. This is a positive image in my opinion as it epitomises the freedom that simply being in the US allows you to have, route 66 is 'the open road' and this image sums up the idea that when you are in the US and you are a US citizen you can take any route you wish in order to obtain the American dream. All roads lead to success and happiness when living in America, at least that's the idea and this image is capable of conveying that in my opinion. Route 66 also bares significance as it spans across about 3/4 of the US and has been the inspiration for countless songs as it represented the freedom of America and the ability to travel almost anywhere you want simply by following this one road.


I have chosen this image of Tony Montana from the film Scarface to represent a negative portrayal of the US. Tony Montana achieved the American dream, he came to the US looking for a quick route to wealth and success, something that only America could offer a foreign immigrant, fleeing poverty and crime and Tony Montana found money and success through crime. i believe this to be a strong image to represent negative America as it can be easily argued that it suggests the only real way to find success in the America is to rob, murder and steal from your fellow Americans, through this image you can argue that America really is a dog eat dog world and the only way to truly obtain the American dream is to be ruthless and vicious in order to gain the benefits of American capitalism. This image is particularly effective in my opinion as Tony Montana's view and experience of America (apart from the violence and eventual downfall) is what many foreign immigrants thought America could offer them and to this day still can. This image infers that America is the land of opportunity but to obtain it you have to be a willing to endure corruption, violence and pretty much become a criminal other than that the poor foreigner will just become another American living in poverty with nothing more than a US passport.

I have chosen this image to represent a negative approach to America. I believe that this image shows how little faith and respect the American's actually had for George Bush whilst he was in power. This is shown by the expression on the infant's face as being one of great upset. Alone this image speaks multitudes, shouting out that "this man cannot be trusted" due to the way that the small child he is holding is screaming a great deal. The added text "CHARACTER - Babies are an excellent judge of it." adds emphasis to this distrust of Bush.

I see this as a highly negative image due to the way in which this man who is able to upset the baby in the way he does was, in fact, the President of America. This means that this man was in control of one of the most powerful countries in the world which is a truly worrying fact to beaware of.

This photograph of the current President, Barack Obama, with his family helps to represent a positive aspect of America. I see this as a very positive image for a few reasons. The informality of the focal characters (Obama, his wife and their two little girls) emphasizes that they are a happy and secure family. This shows Barack Obama as a good family man with a happy life, happy family and happy heart, all good features for a Presidential leader of one of the world's biggest powers. It helps us to trust him a lot more and inserts faith in him. This image also can be seen to represent how important family is to the Americans as a unity. Family closeness in America is HUGELY important, and this photograph just about sums it up. :)

This is a very negative image and one that is almost iconic to America now. It is an image taken from a very popular television show called "My Super Sweet 16"
In the image you can see a 16 year old girl that is very has almost shaped her life around the peope she sees on the television a celebrity lifestyle. She is holding two small dogs who she has 'dyed' pink? She is holding the dogs in a rather negative way, by this she is holding the dogs for an accsessory opposed to holding the dogs from a caring and affectionate point of view.
Obviously the connotations of this picture are that she belives that she's a 'princess' with the sterotypical colours? This picture is negaive also in a sense that the chidren are now growing up carefree in a society where children are spolit as parents would rather throw money at a problem opposed to solving it rationally. It could also be argued that growing up in this enviroment doesnt teach girls like this morals or feelings and that empathy towards other human beeings is never seen.

This is the 'ground zero' site in New York City. There has been a dramatic transformation from 9/11 in such a short period of time, from the scenes that once horrified and shocked the world and changed modern politics and philosophies as we knew it.
This picture was taken in October 2007, 6 years after the attacks. This is a very positive picture for many reasons. The first and most dominant connatations of this image is the sense of Unity. After the attacks took place America became unified, as every citizen shared a common ground in their beliefs such as Justice, Mourning and most importantly the future and rebuilding. In this image you can see construction is already underway and that there has been significant progress in such a small time. You can also see that there is alot of work being done, this also suggest that America has been unified and that everyone has come together to help rebuild the damage caused.

I believe that this picture was also taken to promote as sense of patriotism. This is because they are not concealing the obvious fact that America suffered one of the largest terror attakcs in history. But instead this image was taken to reassure and show the world that America is strong and united in the face of evil and that they are not affraid. The image also shows the American people that they will rebuild and that the country is united.

However after taking this into account it could also be argued that this image has a negative meaning. For example it could have been taken to remind the American people that their country will always face imminant danger in thier politics and philosophies do not change? For example the image reminds America that they will always be fighting a battle whether it be in Iraq or at home?

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