blog 5

The first example that stuck out to me in the Half Past Autumn documentary was the story of Parks first trip to washington DC. He thought DC would be the heaven of democracy but he soon found out, on advice from his white supervisor, Striker, that DC was the same as the rest of the south. It sort of unmotivated him for awhile until his supervisor gave him an assignment to capture that feeling, not the white bigot but capture the people it effects and how it effects them in daily life, same way you felt today. His first photograph was leaving the building when he saw a janitor lady cleaning. He asked her to hold a broom and a mop in front of the american flag and bingo, symbolism is blacks in america are janitors yet we are the backbone of america even though they treat us like this.
The next example was parks photographs of red and his gang. He captured, without words because you don't need them at all if you follow the photos, inner city black life at the time. Kill or be killed is the motto. He explains that red would kill over something remedial, such as an accidental bump or even a game of stick ball. This false machoness of black males is still apparent today, that physically disturbing somebody makes you a man and making blood oaths is with your best friend is ok, because death is real and right around the corner.
The last example of my blog will be his trip to paris. even though he had been on staff only a year, he was sent to a choice job in paris and his family relocated as well. I think LIFE magazine did this to keep his troublesome photos away for awhile because they were so good. He felt that in paris, the energy was better because the energy in america had been hampered by racism. his photos reflected happiness and more colors as compared to those he took in america.
Apparently, Parks was the friendliest of fellows because he made friendships with a wide range of people. He was very observant of his surroundings and his photos seemed to capture that perfect moment, everytime, in his real life photographs of blacks. He is probably the only photographer to openly follow around a gang leader and be cool with it, and then report back to work at an all white organization. I think Gordon Parks most meaningful message to me would be to simply follow your dreams, be nice but firm with people trying to get in your way.