Picture 1
Picture 2
The two photos that I have chosen were taken in Philippines right after undergoing the most destructive typhoon, Haiyan in November 2013.
In my opinion, the men in picture 1 and President Aquino III in picture 2 have the similarity that both parties were trying to do something in order to improve the situation at that time. After the devastating typhoon, we can see that in photograph 1, the brunch of men were carrying the boxes of relief supplies from a military helicopter to some people, maybe to the their family, friends, neighborhood or people who were particularly in need such as elderly and children. In photograph 2, President Aquino III, who is the president of Philippines, was visiting the victims in the severely affected area to pacify them and see what the government could do.
However, there is also a difference between both parties: the attitudes behind their action. From my point of view, the men in photo 1 were helping the victims in their own country wholeheartedly but I do not feel the same way from President Aquino III in photo 2.
In the first picture, we can see that the men were rushing to the helicopter to carry the relief supplies boxes. I am especially attracted by the man with a red cap at the front. Although the sunglass covered his eyes, I can still feel his eagerness of helping people because his lips was intense and his shorts were blown like two lanterns which means that he was running very fast and desperate to send the supplies to the refugees. Both their actions and facial expressions have implied their urgency and desperation to offer a helping hand to the victims they knew.
In the second picture, President Aquino III was listening to the female victim at the front telling him about their problems after the disaster. However, according to the photo, I doubt if Aquino was really listening to the lady because he did not even look at her while she was talking. Moreover, not only Aquino did not stand still, was he also trying to put his left hand into his pocket or fix his belt. It seems being too relaxed or even disrespectful for a president to listen to a victim from his country about her problems caused by the destructive natural disaster.
What is more, instead of holding her hands or shoulders a bit for encouragement like other presidents do, he kept a distance from the lady and there was also a fence between them. I wonder if this is implying that there is a gap between the president and his people, a gap distinguishing two completely different identities with social hierarchy which means this man may never truly want to know his people and see what he can do to help. His visit may be just out of his duty as a president but not truly wanting to care about his people. It might be just a political show, especially with many camera men from the mass media taking photos of him as we can see in this picture. As a result, from his body language, I think he did not try his best in this incident.
The same kind of actions with different attitudes and maybe even the intentions. This is the story I see from these two photos. It is ironic, isn't it?
In my opinion, the men in picture 1 and President Aquino III in picture 2 have the similarity that both parties were trying to do something in order to improve the situation at that time. After the devastating typhoon, we can see that in photograph 1, the brunch of men were carrying the boxes of relief supplies from a military helicopter to some people, maybe to the their family, friends, neighborhood or people who were particularly in need such as elderly and children. In photograph 2, President Aquino III, who is the president of Philippines, was visiting the victims in the severely affected area to pacify them and see what the government could do.
However, there is also a difference between both parties: the attitudes behind their action. From my point of view, the men in photo 1 were helping the victims in their own country wholeheartedly but I do not feel the same way from President Aquino III in photo 2.
In the first picture, we can see that the men were rushing to the helicopter to carry the relief supplies boxes. I am especially attracted by the man with a red cap at the front. Although the sunglass covered his eyes, I can still feel his eagerness of helping people because his lips was intense and his shorts were blown like two lanterns which means that he was running very fast and desperate to send the supplies to the refugees. Both their actions and facial expressions have implied their urgency and desperation to offer a helping hand to the victims they knew.
In the second picture, President Aquino III was listening to the female victim at the front telling him about their problems after the disaster. However, according to the photo, I doubt if Aquino was really listening to the lady because he did not even look at her while she was talking. Moreover, not only Aquino did not stand still, was he also trying to put his left hand into his pocket or fix his belt. It seems being too relaxed or even disrespectful for a president to listen to a victim from his country about her problems caused by the destructive natural disaster.
What is more, instead of holding her hands or shoulders a bit for encouragement like other presidents do, he kept a distance from the lady and there was also a fence between them. I wonder if this is implying that there is a gap between the president and his people, a gap distinguishing two completely different identities with social hierarchy which means this man may never truly want to know his people and see what he can do to help. His visit may be just out of his duty as a president but not truly wanting to care about his people. It might be just a political show, especially with many camera men from the mass media taking photos of him as we can see in this picture. As a result, from his body language, I think he did not try his best in this incident.
The same kind of actions with different attitudes and maybe even the intentions. This is the story I see from these two photos. It is ironic, isn't it?