In the chapter “Images, Power and Politics” by Sturken and Cartwright, there is a clear distinction made by the authors in the tradition of still life painting. The paintings were either deeply symbolic, like Henri-Horace Roland de la Porte’s “Still Life”, or a reflection of “material objects as they appear in the world” (Sturken and Cartwright 12). When this distinction is applied to Weegee’s photograph “The First Murder”, the practices of looking and a fascination towards violence are revealed, making the photograph more symbolic than mimetic. Weegee’s photograph displays the reaction of women and schoolchildren to a murder scene in the street, calling the viewer’s attention to the act of looking at a forbidden scene. The photographer, Weegee aka Arthur Fellig, was known for arriving at crime scenes quickly and capturing the hard- core depictions of crime and violence in the streets of New York (Sturken and Cartwright 10). “The First Murder” portrays a variety of expressions on the onlooker’s faces. Each face expresses a unique expression of pain, shock, wonder and curiosity. This image does not just display a moment in life, it also shows the emotions and thoughts running through a person’s mind while looking at the crime scene. This photograph of Weegee also brings the viewer’s attention to the morbid fascination that people have towards violence. In the image, a few children, ignoring the wailing relative of the victim, are gawking at the crime scene in shock, wonder and fascination. “The First Murder” illustrates the raw truth about people’s reactions without any pretense or filter. Seeing the dead body of a gangster, the children do not appear to be afraid or disgusted by the gruesome scene. Instead, they look on with amazement and shock at the murder, something very novel to them. This photograph also fascinates the viewers, as it shows a rare moment in a person’s life and their honest reaction to it. Visual images are taken for different purposes and elicit different responses from the viewers. “The First Murder” cannot be viewed as a mimetic form of representation due to it underlying emotions. The photograph can be interpreted differently by the people as the subjectivity and perception differs from individual to individual. Weegee’s photograph of people’s reaction to a crime scene is not just a brilliant capture of fleeting human emotions, it is also a source to understand the different practices of looking and the revelation of human fascination towards violence. English 101 Research Project Proposal: 5% | Research Essay: 20% | Oral Interview: 10% The research project centers on sustained academic analysis of a single image of your choosing. Your job is to analyze an image (a photo, a painting, an advertisement, an Internet meme, literally any single image) created within the last year, using the concepts from either or both of “Images, Power, and Politics” and “Signs” as the basis for yo ...

1. In the chapter “Images, Power and Politics” by Sturken and
Cartwright, there is a clear
distinction made by the authors in the tradition of still life
painting. The paintings were either
deeply symbolic, like Henri-Horace Roland de la Porte’s “Still
Life”, or a reflection of “material
objects as they appear in the world” (Sturken and Cartwright
12). When this distinction is
applied to Weegee’s photograph “The First Murder”, the
practices of looking and a fascination
towards violence are revealed, making the photograph more
symbolic than mimetic.
Weegee’s photograph displays the reaction of women and
schoolchildren to a murder scene in
the street, calling the viewer’s attention to the act of looking at
a forbidden scene. The
photographer, Weegee aka Arthur Fellig, was known for
arriving at crime scenes quickly and
capturing the hard- core depictions of crime and violence in the
streets of New York (Sturken
and Cartwright 10). “The First Murder” portrays a variety of
expressions on the onlooker’s faces.
Each face expresses a unique expression of pain, shock, wonder
and curiosity. This image does
not just display a moment in life, it also shows the emotions and
thoughts running through a
person’s mind while looking at the crime scene.
This photograph of Weegee also brings the viewer’s attention to
the morbid fascination that
people have towards violence. In the image, a few children,

2. ignoring the wailing relative of the
victim, are gawking at the crime scene in shock, wonder and
fascination. “The First Murder”
illustrates the raw truth about people’s reactions without any
pretense or filter. Seeing the dead
body of a gangster, the children do not appear to be afraid or
disgusted by the gruesome scene.
Instead, they look on with amazement and shock at the murder,
something very novel to them.
This photograph also fascinates the viewers, as it shows a rare
moment in a person’s life and
their honest reaction to it.
Visual images are taken for different purposes and elicit
different responses from the viewers.
“The First Murder” cannot be viewed as a mimetic form of
representation due to it underlying
emotions. The photograph can be interpreted differently by the
people as the subjectivity and
perception differs from individual to individual. Weegee’s
photograph of people’s reaction to a
crime scene is not just a brilliant capture of fleeting human
emotions, it is also a source to
understand the different practices of looking and the revelation
of human fascination towards
violence.
English 101 Research Project
Proposal: 5% | Research Essay: 20% | Oral Interview: 10%
The research project centers on sustained academic analysis of a
single image of your choosing. Your
job is to analyze an image (a photo, a painting, an

3. advertisement, an Internet meme, literally any single
image) created within the last year, using the concepts from
either or both of “Images, Power, and
Politics” and “Signs” as the basis for your analysis (other class
readings may be used in addition to one
or both of these readings). Do not simply summarize or re-
report background information about the
image: instead, consider what new insights or realizations the
application of class concepts to your
image would yield. Our class readings discuss many concepts
and theories that will inform your
analysis and argument, such as representation, semiotics, media,
etc. However, for this research project
you will also need to examine scholarly sources outside of
course texts.
You will broaden and deepen your knowledge of your chosen
image by using peer reviewed academic
journal articles: essays written by scholars for academic
journals. A large portion of academic writing
involves establishing what positions other researchers in the
field have taken by citing and
summarizing existing scholarly research, and using this material
to support your arguments.
Wikipedia, other newspaper articles, and blogs are not
sufficient academic sources. You must use
at least one peer reviewed academic journal article. Contact me
if you are uncertain if an article is
an appropriate source. While there likely will not be any
academic articles dealing with your image in
particular, there will be articles dealing with the issues your
image is connected to, as well as articles
dealing with the types or categories of visual representation
your image fits into.
You will need to access electronic library resources to find

4. appropriate journal articles. The College's
online library catalog can be accessed at:
https://explore.proquest.com/login
Username: 28-91836
Password: bigchalk
Additionally, the JSTOR catalog has made many of its holdings
freely available during the pandemic:
https://about.jstor.org/oa-and-free/
Proposal
Your typed (double-spaced) proposal of 200-250 words will
introduce the image you have chosen, the
class concepts and/or readings which are related to it, and the
general approach to analysis you will
take in your paper. Consider the proposal an opportunity to
begin to formalize your thoughts and
analysis about the image, and perhaps to draft a thesis statement
in which you make an argument about
the image in relation to class material. The proposal should also
include either the image itself. The
introduction of at least one peer reviewed journal article as part
of the research process at this stage is
optional, but will likely be helpful in planning your essay and
pursuing further research. The proposal
must include a Works Cited page: a list of all your sources
formatted using MLA bibliographic
citation. This should consist of the source of the image itself,
class texts, any academic journal articles
you have found in your research, and any other background or
related materials you plan on using. See
the pages from Fit To Print and links to the Purdue OWL site
posted on MyCC for information on
preparing and formatting your Works Cited page. Proposals are

5. due by 11:59pm on Friday,
November 19th, and should be submitted to MyCC in .doc or
.pdf format.
https://about.jstor.org/oa-and-free/
Research Essay
Your 1000 word essay should support a clear thesis statement in
which you make an argument
about the image in relation to class readings and/or concepts.
Your essay should briefly introduce
and provide context for the image, but needs to focus on
analysis of the specific image you have chosen
using class materials. Think of yourself as applying the ideas
and concepts we have worked on in
this class to the image, in order to produce a deeper
understanding of it which might not have
been available without those ideas and concepts. In addition,
your essay needs to use at least one
peer reviewed journal article (again, likely dealing with the
issues your image is connected to or the
types or categories of visual representation it fits into). This
journal article(s) should be used to explain
and support your arguments about the image, as well as to
provide additional understanding of the
issues related to the image. The essay must also take into
account feedback given by myself on the
proposal. You must use MLA formatting, adhere to citation
protocol and include a Works Cited page
(again, See the pages from Fit To Print and links to the Purdue
OWL site posted on MyCC for
information on this). Essays are due by 11:59pm on Friday,
November 26th, and should be
submitted to MyCC in .doc or .pdf format.

6. Oral Interview
I will be scheduling individual Zoom meetings of between 5 and
10 minutes with each student to
discuss the structure and contents of your essay. You will be
expected to answer questions about the
news article or image itself, the arguments made in your essay,
and your research materials. These
interviews will be scheduled over e-mail shortly and will take
place during regular class time on
Tuesday, November 30th and Thursday, December 2nd. Grades
for both the essay and the interview
will be provided shortly after the interview.
Evaluation/Checklist
Proposal
-ability to clearly introduce and summarize your image and the
issues related to it
-selection of concepts/theories relevant to your chosen image
-clarity and quality of writing in terms of style and mechanics
-correct use of MLA formatting and citation
Essay
-quality of research and critical thinking
-creation of a focused thesis statement making a clear claim
about the image using class materials
-effective support of thesis with textual evidence and research
-sustained application of class and research materials to image
-effective support of thesis with textual evidence and research
-clarity and quality of writing in terms of style and mechanics
-implementation of instructor's feedback on proposal to further
develop your analysis
-correct use of MLA formatting and citation
Interview
-knowledge of and familiarity with your image and the issues
related to it

7. -ability to clarify or reframe essay material
-ability to respond to counter-arguments or critiques of your
arguments
-ability to extrapolate ideas put forth in essay to other examples
or situations
Remember to cite all sources at all stages of the project: failure
to do so constitutes plagiarism
and will result in a grade of 0%.