Bouju’s photograph
Bouju’s photograph serves as an artistic response to war because it acknowledged the undying love between a father and son during the war in Iraq. The aspect of love is shown by the way the father embraces his son even when he cannot see him with the cover upon his head and by trying to protect his son from the scorching sun. From the photograph, the detention area appears to be covered with sand, and the weather shows that it is a hot day. The weather is further supported by the son’s bare feet after he had removed his shoes, which are placed near him. The father is in open shoes, which are functional in providing aeration in this kind of weather. The father also tries to protect his son from the heat by covering his forehead with his hand and protecting him with his torso and embracing him with his other hand. In times of war, families are often broken apart; however, some somethings will never change like the love between them. It did not matter that the father had been imprisoned; he was still a loving father to his son. The sacrifice of war and fatherhood is evident in this photograph as the father, a prisoner of war, has his freedom taken away, and he still has to offer comfort to his son at the expense of his wellbeing.
The setting of this photograph is two dimensional. From the caption, it shows that the military did not want to separate the father and the son, and hence they were in prison together; this is one dimension. A sympathetic military in time of war shows that even though military men are sent out to fight, they are also human beings with feelings just like the rest of us. The other dimension could show a military that is less sympathetic and is capable of holding children as prisoners. For someone who might not understand the reason for having this child imprisoned with his father, this could have a negative image towards the military. The fact that the photograph is taken near the mesh fences could be evidence for imprisonment, and hence the child is also a victim of the war. This could mean that the impact of the war did not consider whether there were children within; anyone could have been a prisoner.
An environmental analysis of the picture shows that the conditions during imprisonment are nothing close to habitable. Although the father and son were placed together, few considerations could happen in extreme weather. Given that Iraq is located within a desert, this means that the weather during the day is extremely hot and extremely cold at night. The father’s head is covered in a black bag, and for a hot day, heat absorption is extreme. For his son, who is wearing dark-colored clothes, he is also absorbing a lot of heat, and it could be catastrophic for an innocent child of war. This shows how Bouju wanted to present the dire conditions of imprisonment and what families experience in an attempt to remain together with those that have been imprisoned.
Finally, this photo can be analyzed as a way to warn prisoners of war about the extreme conditions that are experienced in war and the suffering that could befall their families. Bouju captures a message to those that are involved in the war on behalf of the United States military. This photograph can be used to caution those that intend to join the way as a way to show them that their involvement could affect other people and especially their families.