Children at Play
Steve McCurry, born February 24th, 1950, is an American photographer and journalist. He is best known for his photograph “Afghan Girl”, featured on the cover of the National Geographic magazine in 1985. McCurry graduated from the College of Arts and Architecture at the Pennsylvania State University. After working for a newspaper company for a couple of laps, he left to India to go freelance. It was there in India that McCurry learned to wait and watch people going through their days, “If you wait, people will forget your camera and the soul will drift up into view.” The focuses of most of McCurry’s photos are of people, either portraits or full shots, portraying them going about their daily life in different ways and of where they live, as well as conflict and labour. Some of his photos have children with limbs blown off, some show people whose faces look unimpressed, sorrowful, enraged or depressed. The photos that do not relate to conflicts are of either his personal misadventures abroad or of sights Westerners do not normally see, such as the sinking of Ganesha statues or of the water under his plane just before it crashes.
One photo that really stood out to me was the one in Kandahar, Afghanistan, the first in the Children at Play section. In the centre, there is an old-looking abandoned tank on the road, with children climbing and shuffling up the tank’s barrel. I feel this picture reflects a range of viewpoints. One of them is that in Kandahar, tanks are almost commonplace. This is achieved via the men cycling past on the road, going about their business, not seeming to particularly care. The tank is stopped in the middle of the road, with no soldiers running towards it, also helping prove the point that it is not uncommon and that no-one seems to care. If it was unusual for children to be climbing on your tank, you’d run out and see what they’d be doing. I get the feeling that McCurry was trying to emphasize that in these parts of the world, people are so familiar with war and its impact, of its machines and weapons. Children always will play and do the same thing, no matter where they live. The children are climbing on the tank, just in the same way that Western children would typically climb trees and climbing frames. “No matter how dire the situation, how dangerous the environment, children need to play.” (McCurry, 1994) I agree with this quote, as I believe that children should not be put to work when they should be learning and relaxing. Their bodies cannot take the strain of the work, and when they haven’t done anything wrong they do not deserve to be shot, bombed or attacked. They also should be learning to achieve something later in life, so they can support their family and hopefully bring themselves above the poverty line. I have also seen children playing around when they should be working, both in my social circles and when I go on holidays all around the world. McCurry possibly took the picture not only to show that tanks are common, but to make people realize that although different things happen, children are the same world over, that we have very few differences. Seeing the picture in this light helps people connect, and once others believe that we are all the same, world peace may be a reality, since war is started over differences and greed. Looking at this picture, I feel a mix of emotions, a happy sadness. I’m happy that the children are playing, despite their lifestyle, and getting time to relax and unwind. However, the sad part is there is massive potential for the children to be killed, put to work and shot. They have a disrupted education and have many rights alienated (to relax and play, to have an education, to safety, to a free life, etc.). I feel McCurry tried to reflect all of this is his photo, and I also believe that when he took the picture, he felt the same emotions that I feel viewing it.
“The road to hell is paved with good intentions. The problem is that intentions which are based on faulty assumptions are doomed to failure.” (McCurry, 2009) Many places are not making use of aid, which is the true definition of hell. Hell is where no matter how hard you try, you can never get out of the rut you’re stuck in. It is a torture, as you’re still in the rut, tiring yourself out trying to get out and beginning to lose hope. Hope is the most valuable commodity in this world. Without hope, many humans have no reason to live, as they always want more than they have. The only thing you can cling to that keeps you happy and continues to help you live a happy life is hope. Without hope, you know something will never happen, and give up trying. When you give up, there is no possible way to get better, and you stay the same forever. That is what hell is, when you lose all hope of things being better and accept that you are doomed to a life of torture. McCurry’s photos show in even dire circumstances, his subjects cling on to that glimmer of hope, the glimmer so visible in their eyes.
Overall, McCurry’s work has helped me realise just how powerful photos can be. They can bring about change. They can inspire action. They can even make people realise how fortunate they are! How can a simple photo do all this? The answer lies in the people. When we see a gun, we just think “Oh, it’s a gun.” When we see men shooting at each other, we think “Woah, it’s a war! I never knew this was happening! Life must be so hard for those people!” I believe this is because we connect more with humans, as they are basically the same as us, with the same needs and rights. People’s faces can also convey many emotions. When you see a gun, the gun cannot show the emotions it feels. When you see a human, you see the fear, rage, regret and sorrow on their faces. We can relate to their emotions, only our personal experiences of them aren’t as life-changing as theirs. Photos are a constant reminder of the past and present. Faces are permanently captured on a lens. The emotions don’t change, not ever. These emotions make others want to help the photographed people out. It’s a natural human need. We don’t enjoy being in pain, in depression, in life threatening situations, so surely others are the same? We feel pity for them; therefore we search for ways to help them. Photos show reality. Real suffering, real people, real wars and real joy. On TV shows, things are normally staged, yet in photos, it’s all real. A good photo reveals the emotions in a certain situation; therefore allowing us to connect…it only takes one country declaring war to change the tables. Photos help us empathize, to understand the terrible pains and wondrous joys other must have. As McCurry said, “If you wait, people will forget your camera and the soul will drift up into view.”
