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THREE 

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The Health Crisis of Detroit through the lens

PROPOSAL                                                                                                                                 

I decided that for this experiment I would do an analysis of photography. This is something I thought would be really cool to do, as I could take pictures of various parts of Detroit and analyze the deeper meaning. I think it is worth attempting because I know many artists have changed the world around them through their paintings. For example, an artist, Banksy, is known for his/her street art that has conveyed messages about social justice. I think I can do the same thing but through photography. I hope the ultimate effect will be that, through various photography techniques, I can have the opportunity to show people what Detroit really is: the refineries, the class divide, and other things as well.  

GENRE ANALYSIS                                                                                                                   

It is hard to describe what I am trying to actually do, as there isn’t anything similar to what I want to achieve. To answer the question, there isn’t anyone in the Public Health sector that has done this, so only independent artists who want to convey a message have worked in this mode. As I am using multiple photos and analyzing each to build one big message, many artists usually do it in one photo or painting. Aside from the analysis, I will be including other pictures that I will use to connect to statistical information available about the current health problems in metro-Detroit. I will most likely have to alter the pictures (intensity, brightness, and etc.) to convey my message a bit better. I will be using a range of photo editors (MacBooks have their own editor). I will also be using third party editors like photoshop. I believe I will know excellence has been achieved when I talk to the people afterwards to see how they feel about the project. If they get a sense that many people are struggling in Detroit while some are thriving and understand that by struggling, I mean lower than being impoverished, then I think I have achieved my goal. 

SKETCH DRAFT                                                                                                                        

  1. Picture of Detroit and Grosse Pointe border

    • Analysis of picture: one side will be Detroit and I will talk about some stats about Detroit (ie. Flu shot rate, wealth, race) and I will do the same on the other side. 

  2. Picture of Detroit Refinery 

    • Analysis of picture: chemicals produced by the refinery. Impact of pollution on health, actions of the refinery, number of people potentially becoming sick because of the refinery, and etc.

  3. Picture of Detroit Department of Health building

    • Analysis of Picture: Current things being done (legislation), their own data on the current health of the community, legislation that hasn’t been taken up or ignored.

  4. Picture of map of Detroit 

    • Analysis of Picture: I will show some parts of Detroit (specifically where are healthy food markets, health clinics, parks). Detroit is a food desert (meaning there aren’t any areas to get healthy food), so I want to demonstrate the need for helthy food markets. Also, in the map I want. To demonstrate wealth information and race as well, to further talk about the first claim in the first picture. 

  5. Spirit of Detroit Statue

    • Picture analysis: reason for why statue was built and how it relates to what is currently happening in the city (health-wise). Here I will talk about health concerns that outweigh many other health concerns (this will make sense with the statue since it looks like the statue is balancing two things).

SAMPLE EXCERPT                                                                                                                  

In our world, the gloom and smog of wealth overshadows the light and joy of Health. Detroit’s refinery produces over 100,000 barrels of oil every day. The smoke consists of chemicals like carbon dioxide, hydrogen cyanide, Sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, benzene, and other gases. Some of these chemicals, when inhaled, can lead to serious health conditions like cancer, bronchitis, and asbestosis. Cancer is in high risk in this area due to the creation of hydrocarbons like benzene. Benzene is a carcinogen because it has the ability of causing cells to rapidly divide in tissue causing tissue overgrowth (tumors). When you drive on i-75 northbound, the refinery is on the left side. On the right side, however, a neighborhood of around 100 homes is there. The neighborhood is around 600 ft away from the refinery and aside from the noise from the highway, the smoke from the refinery seeks to destroy their health. Every time I drive past the refinery, I hold my breath in anticipation I don’t have to breathe in any of the toxins. This lasts 20 seconds. Then I let go and continue to breathe in good air. For the people in the neighborhood, however, they breathe in the toxins every day. They are pretty much paying to die while the reinter is making millions of dollars every day. It is very unfortunate to be living in this area. The risk of getting cancer in this area (Melvinville) is higher in other areas without a presence of a refinery. “In a study conducted by Fares A. Masri and Amer sheikh Yusuf, counties closer to an oil refinery found higher incidence rate (10% of total cancer incidences) of lung cancer in comparison to 7% in farther communities.”

REFLECTION                                                                                                                            

What did you like best about working in this genre or mode? What did you find most limiting or challenging?

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I found that this genre was different than what I expected it to be. I am still learning how to edit photos, but I didn’t expect it to be this difficult. Also, I felt like sometimes I wasn’t sure if I was conveying my message or not. In order to check this, I think I would need to run this by a few people before deciding whether this is the final project I will be working on. So, with this being said, I think actually conveying my message is the most difficult part of this, and unfortunately, the biggest aspect/part of this project. This has made me rethink how I would approach this picture. I will most likely use more focused pictures near the community (a view of the factory from the perspective of the neighborhood homes)

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What were the most radical ways in which your ideas about your subject changed as a result of this experiment?

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I was not aware of the fact hydrocarbons were being produced from the refinery. I always thought that it was only NO2 and CO2 that was produced, but never hydrocarbons. I know the impact of hydrocarbons on health because 1) My grandfather was in the military in Iraq and had to go into a war where chemicals were heavily used. This, unfortunately, led to him getting cancer that is caused by mutagens like hydrocarbons 2) I have learned about the hazards of hydrocarbons in Organic Chemistry lab, so knowing that these chemicals are produced makes me think that these companies do not care at all about the lives of these people in the area. 

 

How did working this experiment alter your understanding of audience and/or genre? 

As I said earlier, I found conveying my message difficult mostly because I was looking at the prescriptive of the audience and tried different ways of achieving my vision but none of them seemed like they were good enough to make the audience understand them. So, it made me rethink constantly about the audience.

 

If you were to continue working from this experiment, what would be your next steps? Would you simply finish/polish your sketch draft, or go in a different direction? 

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I would probably take better pictures, obviously, and try to find a way to make the captions pop out and then format the pictures into a slideshow. Also, I think that it would possibly be favorable to look more into detail about how artists utilize color to convey their message. I think once I know that I could be able to actually show people what is wrong with the community.

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