Exercise 1.9: Visual Research and analysis - social contrasts
Part 1
Find photographs depicting at least 2 different social perspectives of the same place. In this case I've chosen to use time rather than location as the differentiator representing differences between the poorer and affluent time periods.
The Gloucester Docks main basin was opened in 1827 and was the terminus of the Sharpness canal. Cargoes brought up the Severn estuary and Severn river into Gloucester docks were then transferred to smaller craft and and further up the river Severn to the Midlands. Coal was also transferred from the Forest of Dean where I currently live to Gloucester docks and used by the Great Western Railway
In my early 20's i used to got to one of the warehouses, Alexander Warehouse which was used as large gym. Now these warehouses have been converted to flats, a new shopping centre opened close by and a large number of trendy bards and eating places have opened and the area has become a tourist attraction. The Alexander Warehouse still proudly displays its name
An example of the change to modern day can be seen in this image below:
The location is still accessed once a year by the Tall Ships and and its historic setting has been used for many period films. Block buster filming took place as recent as August 2014 for Johnny Depp's film "Through the looking glass". In the summer the docks is often full of expensive moored motor cruisers as tourists take in the sights and ambiance.
Part 2
Find 2 photographs containing social contrasts within a single image.
Social standing has existed throughout history as has class systems within many nations. This image by an unknown photographer shows a clear social contrast within an urban landscape. Its interest how the poor boys are fascinated by the richer boys yet the richer boys simply ignore the poorer boys
Social contrasts are again between the poor and affluent and this time without people, from the buildings the contrast is clear of this location in Brazil:
I found a very interesting article that in modern times depicts the financial gap between poverty and wealth:
The article is a good read and below I've reproduced a few information bytes that highlight how vast this social gap in wealth really is:
"Brands like Starbucks, Red Bull and Oreo have well beyond 35 million followers on Facebook each, a platform we tend to call social media. Each year, brands spend $450 billion on advertising, while Mark Woerde rightfully mentions that only $6 billion would bring malaria under control.
Cities built 40-story buildings whether their citizens like the view or not, and the world’s richest 85 people have more wealth than the poorest 3.5 billion."
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