Especially in the last three months there has been a lot of talk about the government shutdown. I choose this topic because it has been a consistent topic even among people in my age range. A lot of my friends were asking peoples parents hey are your parents still working since the government is, “shut down.” The answer is usually yes or yes but they are low on funding which is interesting. There is a lot of political division in congress right now as we speak. They failed to pass a funding bill which lead to the shutdown. Politics have yet again over taken what is actually important. There should not be a gridlock in congress with all the internal and national problems we have. These phots show our governments dysfunction, but the strength of those who have been affected by it.
I choose a picture of the U.S. Capitol because it sets the scene of the where a decision couldn’t be made. The Capitol yet so beautiful always has its major flaws on the inside and outside. Since we live so close to DC I’ve been able to see the renovation of the capitol. The hallways in this picture are lit up, but now they are empty and dark.
A closer few with a sign that says closed due to government shutdown. These places seem often mythical because you never see the inside, but this adds a human element to it. You realize they are just people like us and right now they don’t have a workplace to walk in to over funding. This makes the issue more personable and real when you see the signs out front of these special buildings in DC. There are real consequences to these shutdown that could be affecting people in your own neighborhood or community.
Here is an action shot of protest here in the streets of DC. As you can see there are different types of signs some asking for jobs some strictly talking about the shutdown, etc. The stillness of the people actually represent metaphorically the staleness of our government right now. There is a divide between the public and congress which it feels like there has been for years now. The media is such an interesting topic now days. Media influences and everything and as they say a picture is worth a thousand words which is true.
Empty. This is what it looks like daily in the capitol building. There are no people and nothing getting done inside the walls. The government is in a literal stalemate. Yes, the government still exists and is working, but not active. There are people working from home, people not working at all, people out of job or not getting paid. Everyone is getting affected by it differently, but I bet most of them feel empty just like the capitol halls.
The people’s faces say it all. This is a picture of a Church which is down the street from the capitol and they are praying over the shutdown. These photo was taken after the government was shutdown for a full week. The attitude went from uncertain to uneasy in just a week. Even more time has passed now and the uneasiness and confusion has only been multiplied.
In conclusion, I felt like these images represent the shutdown in full. The emotion of the public is evident. My image arrangement was simple I tried to go from least personable photo the most, and all furthest angle to the closest. The images I chose don’t have any ethical concerns I believe. None of these pictures of any bias towards anyone politically. It is simply just scenes and people who want their job and job place back. I think visual reporting is essential to the world now. Most people don’t watch the news or read the newspaper. Most people figure out what is happening in the world through social media and visual media is a very important part of that. With the future of AI who knows where we are going with digital reporting. The thing is now anyone can make a fake picture seem real so have to proceed on social media with caution.
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