The caption of this image states, "Football fever overtook the continent in June, With the vuvuzela- South Africa's plastic trumpet- becoming the sound and image that many will remember from the first World Cup to be held in Africa." Vuvuzelas are the symbol for South African football and the reason as to why the 2010 FIFA World Cup was hosted, for the first time, in South Africa. Known to the US as "Stadium Horns," vuvuzelas are used for enthusiasm in community gatherings. This image portrays a sense of freedom and excitement through the use of vuvuzelas, intense color, and open space.
Even though there was much controversy present in Africa at this time, the World Cup was still a time of celebration where individuals could come together to cheer their team to victory. The use of vuvuzelas in this image shows the excitement of the people. The image doesn't focus on the actual people or what they are excited about, but the use of these horns allows the audience to depict the excitement present because of the horns symbol of spirit and intensity. The intense colors put a major focus of the image on the horns, allowing once again the audience to obtain a sense of excitement from the image. This image explains a lot with little detail.
The open space present in the image gives off a feeling of freedom. The image's focus is on the vuvuzelas and the individual's outstretched arms, leaving a lot of open space filled in by blue skies. This lack of clutter shows a freedom aspect. Even though the World Cup itself is filled with huge crowds and much shoving, nothing to this affect is shown in the image. This fact brings up the point again that even in times of chaos, a freedom to be excited is present. The vuvuzelas, intense colors, and open space of this image work together to portray both freedom and excitement even in harsh times present in South Africa.
Mia, I really enjoyed the image you chose. I love that the image depicts celebration and enjoyment of life in Africa instead of the usual topics depicted such as war, starvation, soldiers, etc. The image is just a carefree image. I also think you did a really good job in pointing out how the lighting focuses on just the vuvuzelas. The image isn't about the people or social classes at all. It's simply about enjoyment and happiness.
ReplyDeleteI love this image it makes me just think of fun and the excitement of large crowds and sports games. The colors of the horns almost reaching up towards the open sky gives such a powerful image of freedom and carefree excitement. I really like the point about the focus on the colors and the sky it adds a lot to the picture.
ReplyDeleteI love this picture! Vuvuzuela's are so much fun and it's nice to see a picture of that represents so much fun and a good time, like the World Cup. Not a lot of people associate fun and games with Africa, but it's nice to see such a fun picture.
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