Nobody's Child Image Analysis

In modern societies hundreds of images invade our mind everyday. Each image ingrains messages about what to wear, where to eat, whom to believe in, and even how to appropriately act within social situations. Mass-produced images, such as public service announcements or PSA’s, have become the norm for promoting prosocial behavior. From issues such as animal cruelty to childhood obesity, PSAs are usually produced by non-profit organizations hoping to persuade an audience to support their cause and engage in helpful, rather than harmful, behavior. This type of advertisement often walks a thin line between beneficial and threatening, and images used in PSA’s have historically been met with controversy. However, what is threatening and controversial

The background of the image is scarily sterile; the walls of the room are white with little furniture besides a dinning table that is set with the broken body of a child. The child herself is the most colorful thing in the image, but is still presented in a limited palette. Her hair is light blond, almost white, with blue eyes, and pinkish tinged white skin. She is wearing a white smock-like dress with blue lace along the edges, all the colors presented in this image are very “clean” or light colors. The light colors of the child suggest pureness or innocence, but the pure white of the room surrounding her makes the environment unwelcoming. The child’s house is empty and cold, and she is left forgotten in a bare environment. The girl

While child abuse is largely prevalent in American culture, instead of visually representing the scary and true effects of abuse, bruises, broken bones, and lost futures, America choses to show a child who is sad, but visually intact and safe. Viewing a sad child with hope does not disrupt the normal everyday lives of people as an unsettling image would. The images from Poland are uncomfortable; they make us face truths we don’t want to believe, and that makes us angry and unsure of our world. In spite of that, by sweeping these images under the carpet, America is not fully recognizing the extent of the horrors that come with a society plagued with child abuse. The censoring of reality diminishes the real harm child abuse is causing in our