The Weight Of Gravity

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Peter Sords Professor Racon English 001 October 9th, 2008

The Weight of Gravity

The young Philippine boy in this picture seems to be floating, or as the title implies; defying gravity; suspended in air for an eternity defying not only gravity but all the restrictions of the world around him. “Defying Gravity” communicates a plethora of feelings with the simple image of a boy falling into a river; it is emotionally moving, provocative, visually stimulating, and full of symbolism. The photo shows a boy with outstretched arms and an ambiguous relaxed look on his face falling backward into a river. Behind him are slums where the child likely dwells. The boy is captured mid-fall, causing the sun’s rays to beat off his chest and illuminate his body. The message of the image is both emotional and political. And the expression on the boys face can be viewed as either content or grief. The boy could be enjoying himself, if so the

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photo celebrates the joy of childhood even in a harsh environment. The boy could also be seen as overpowered by his community’s situation and falling backward in defeat. The photo utilizes several visual elements to stir emotion, create an aesthetic quality and amplify the meaning of the shot. The focus of the image is on the young boy. The focus is drawn to him by the sharpness of his image considering the movement he is undergoing. The boy’s sharpness is augmented by its contrast to the blurry background of shanty houses. By focusing on the boy, the photo emphasizes the emotional and personal content of the composition rather than the physical. We can assume that the photographer’s aim is to capture the emotional expression concerned with the context around the subject. The photo also uses light to make the boy more prominent. Due to the boy’s angle, sun rays are reflected off of his body, illuminating the central figure. The effect makes the boy seem superimposed into the picture rather than originally a part of it. The boy’s superimposed quality is significant in implying that the boy is perhaps emotionally removed from the blurred background. Due to his ignorance or his child-like mind set he is mentally detached from the sorrows of his situation. His lighted body becomes a beacon of youth and optimism and distances him from his community’s complicated problems. The sharpness of the central figure despite his almost parallel position to the water creates the illusion of momentary suspension in air. To further develop the feeling that the Philippine boy is floating the image utilizes subtle lines. The majority of lines in the picture are horizontal: both banks of the river, the cables that cross the houses in the background and the infinite ripples in the river. The only vertical lines are the ones formed by the sides of the boy’s legs and body, making it seem like he is lying on top of the predominant horizontal lines like an invisible hammock. The photo’s sharpness and use of lines contribute to the title’s reference of defying gravity. But more profoundly, they express the possibility of defying reality, a mindset that characterizes youth and ignorance. These artistic elements are thus used to convey a symbolic

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message: instead of being burdened by the troubles of his circumstances the boy is unaffected and free. The use of lines also contributes to the composition in a more subtle manner. The boy is the only object going a different direction then the flow of the objects behind him, perhaps representing his lack of consent or understanding towards his community’s problems. The child in the photograph is one of over 600,000 soon-to-be evicted inhabitants of the South Manila area. South Manila is predominately made up of slum communities bordering the inter-state transit tracks. The recent projects to improve the Philippine transit system have pushed out the area’s inhabitants without the provision of future homes. The message of this photo, by Mike Rosales, is that life in a slum, although devoid of most amenities, still allows a sense of belonging and home. The government rehabilitation projects are destroying the only homes these inhabitants have by evicting them. This photo represents the mix of emotions involved in the ongoing evictions of these slum dwellers. When I initially saw this image, before I knew its context, I saw it as uplifting and optimistic. I saw a picture celebrating the joys of childhood; open-arms representing his embrace of life and the ambiguous look on his face—his closed eyes and relaxed mouth and cheeks— representing the look of ecstasy as the boy lets himself fall into the water. It was uplifting because despite the slums and deprived conditions behind him this boy was enjoying what he had, a river to swim in. It was later, once I learned of the eviction crisis that befell on the South Manilan inhabitants that I found the boy in the picture could be exhibiting a different emotion: defeat. After learning about the strife the slum residents have been subjected to, the boy’s relaxed faced and body seemed to be morphed into a lifeless child, a casualty of poverty and pain. His outstretched arms, adjoined legs and naked body became symbolic of Christ. His fall into the river perhaps symbolized Antinous, the Egyptian youth, who threw himself into the Nile after

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receiving a message from the oracle of Besa saying that a great danger was threatening his people which could only be averted by his own immolation. The boy in the picture now took on the entity of a savior. He was Christ nailed to an invisible cross to provide his people with peace of mind. He was Antinous throwing himself into the river to save his people from eviction. The title, “defying gravity” is likely a reference to a quote by Jacque Cousteau who said: “From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free.” This quote is fitting for several reasons. The first reason is due to Rosales’ use of placement in the picture. The gravity of the boy’s situation —the destitute houses his community is being evicted from—are pictured directly above the boy’s shoulders and outstretched arms. The placement almost makes the boy look like he is lifting up the slums and community in the background. In fact, the only other people in the picture appear to be resting on his right shoulder. The link to the quote and the placement of the boy merge to represent the boy mentally carrying all the weight of his destitute and soon-to-be evicted community. The second reference this image has to this quote is the boy’s soon-to-be plunge into the water. Cousteau implies that beneath the surface of the water the strains of life dissipate. This connection makes me picture the boy playing in the river, having fun and forgetting the strife of his community. He is letting himself escape reality through the absorption of his mind in entertainment and activity. He is letting himself fall into the arms of nature to forget reality. The dual nature of the young Philippine boy’s expression portrays the mix of emotions involved in the eviction crisis. The young boy could be enjoying himself despite the onset of eviction to the only sense of community he has, or he could be defeated by the circumstances and falling backward out of the encumbrance of sorrow. The photo’s ambiguity is its success. Its representation is significant in effectively linking the celebration of youth with the anguishes of

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reality. Even if the boy is enjoying himself in the river, he will sooner or later have to face the harsh reality of eviction. This message is analogous with the illusion of defying gravity in the photo: he seems to float but we know he is about to fall.