7)

When discussion of this image runs dry, I give them the surrounding text from the newspaper:

Using this sequence invites them to think of the photo as addressed by its context: it is used for illustration of a newspaper article on a post-9/11 public event meant to bring members of three faiths together. However, it occurs in the framework of a heavily Christian, especially Protestant, area, Dallas, Texas, and two of the girls are ethnically marked. In discussions, students reliably leap to the observation that the headline sequence matches the order in the photograph; however, that conflicts with their names below, as Rachel is likely to be Jewish, Amanda Rivera Mexican-American and probably Catholic, and Unsa Bakali presumably the Muslim present. However, in the headline “Christians” come before Jews or Muslims.

Following the analysis of the photo, as initially presented and as labeled, allows us next to apply Burke’s pentad:

• Act—I point out that this has a circumference which can be expanded or contracted, ranging from a photograph to mark a particular public event, to public performance exhibiting one’s faith, to attempts to reconcile and pull together public opinion following a catastrophic public event, to the media’s role in shaping public opinion
• Scene—Again, there are several applications, from the Interfaith Gathering sponsored by the mosque in Dallas, to the publication and circulation of the news story to largely Protestant readers in a conservative state. The story is likely to be read casually, without much analysis or attention going into its interpretation.
• Agent—They are to notice several agents: the girls, the photographer, organizers of the event, the editors at the newspaper, the audience involved in its interpretation
• Agency—Here is the opportunity to point out that photographers take many photos of such events, from different angles and distances implying a relationship to the subjects of their photos. These are then selected with a very few being used for publication. The image is juxtaposed with a news story, headline and caption which provide verbal cues for its interpretation, drawing on the further context of the newspaper’s specific reputation and American journalistic history.
• Purpose—After these discussions, the class is prepared to talk about the various cross-purposes involved in the act (public service, publicity, ideological positioning).

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