National Geographic Photo

In this issue of National Geographic, which is focused on Pakistan, there is a photo of a large group of male Pakistani men protesting something. They are all wearing black business suits complete with ties and shiny shoes. The protest appears to be taking place in a city square. The man closest to the camera is posed through an object, possibly a rock, at an unseen target. He is holding a stick in the other hand, which could be a picket sign. His shows what looks like anger and determination.
When I first saw this photo my initial reaction was: “That reminds me of Wall Street.” While this photo does not seem to “beautify the blood and the gore of the conflict” as Shekhar Deshpande suggests some of National Geographic’s photos do, I believe it holds an appeal to Western viewers for a different reason. I immediately connected these men’s plight with many American men’s problems in America’s economy. The photo didn’t have to be edited or posed to catch my attention, it was enough that these men resembled American business men.
The article this photo is featured with is about the controversy over the Pakistani government’s use of funds on the military instead of on the rebuilding of mosques. This photo does not immediately say to the viewer “religious controversy” and I believe it balances out other photos featured in the article; which featured images of groups of men praying and dancing, which are acts some Americans can’t relate to at all. I believe the protest photo distracts viewers from the bigger issues occurring in Pakistan, even though the article discusses one of them. Instead of helping us to accept their culture in its entirety, differences and all, the photo causes us to focus only on one part of it. Thereby not comprehending how intertwined the different aspects of their culture are, such as their religion and their military.