Analysis of a Cultural Image

The cultural image under analysis

The cultural image under analysis features a sheriff’s deputy and an African American youth who appears to be in his early teens. Due to the presence of desks and the impression that the kid is on a fingerprint identification machine, the setting he is in is more reminiscent of a police station. Someone might guess that the youngster is a key suspect in a specific crime or has already been charged with perpetrating one. A white police officer is accompanying the child. (Drucker, Ernest 20).

The atmosphere of the prison and the unjust legal system

The picture says a lot about the atmosphere of the prison and the unjust legal system in the United States of America. One of the most dominant ideas that ring into an individual’s mind after seeing the image is the poor state that the black child is in. The boy seems to be from a low-income family judged by the kind of way he is dressed in. He has an oversized t-shirt, and the pair of trousers that he is in is not equally pretty looking. The article presents the primary assumption that the most incarcerated individuals in the United States are poor individuals (Drucker, Ernest 21). The idea of mass incarceration of the poor as depicted in the image is equally circulated in other different forms. A good example is a case in the movies if it involves instances of drug trafficking the significant characters who play the role of drug trafficking are the poor, and the law catches up with them even without a proper investigation.

The interpretation of the image and societal perception

The interpretation of the image raises a lot of questions. The first of all one would wonder the kind of crime that such a young child has committed. A keen look at the image reveals that he cannot even reach the fingerprint machine for identification because he is still short, he has to stand on a crate. The interpretation is that the society from which the image has been lifted does not care much about the age if you are poor. Since the boy is from a low-income family, there is no way in which the police can be convinced to let him go and drop all the charges. In some cases, the police may decide to even plant evidence because of the family where he comes from.

The idea of taking the fingerprints of the boy

The idea of taking the fingerprints of the boy equally raises countless questions. At that age, an individual in the United States had not attained an age that has allowed him to be identified biometrically. The implication is that he is accused of a great crime probably a robbery or the police have evidence that could implicate him in a homicide (Drucker, Ernest 40). In this case, the police in the society where the image is lifted views children to be capable of committing crimes that have for a long time been committed by adults. At that age, it would be a mockery for the child to be investigated of an issue such as robbery or any homicide, the only mistake that he has made is being a poor individual and a subject to incarceration.

Negative shaping of cultural ideas and expectations

The interpretation of the image negatively shapes cultural ideas and expectations. The individuals in the corrective facilities hold to the notion that the poor are the only individuals capable of committing crimes as opposed to those from rich families (Western, Bruce & Muller 166). To them, the culture of involving in crimes such as robbery, drug trafficking, and homicide is skewed towards the poor and under no circumstance will they accuse the wealthy individual if a poor individual is spotted at the crime scene. Besides, matters about age do not equally matter as far as crimes committed by the poor are concerned. Today, most of the individuals in the corrective facilities are the poor because of the general stereotyping idea. The society is programmed in such a manner that if a crime is committed, the expectation is that it has to be a poor individual because they do not have the money for survival and would choose to commit crimes for money.

Going against the conventional idea of equality

The notion that the image brings out goes against the conventional idea of equality. The corrective facilities are expected to shape people and make the society complete without looking at the person who is to be corrected. As the quote states, ‘lady justice is blind,’ the society should fight through every means to make sure that the justice does not favor any individual. The idea of incarcerating the poor individuals and sparing the rich does not live up to the narrative of justice in the society (Western, Bruce & Muller 167). It does not mean that the rich do not commit these criminal charges. They do it to ten times greater than the poor, but they use their money to engage in corrupt dealings and clear their names. A government official can steal a lot of money set for public projects and use a section of it to clear his or her name off the books. When a poor individual steals $100, he is incarcerated and may take forever to the corrective facility. Such is not fair.

Symbols and their significance

The image equally uses a lot of symbolism to create meaning. One of the symbolism is the age of the child. It is used to communicate the information that it does not matter the age of a poor when it comes to committing a crime, young or old, he or she can commit crimes (Western, Bruce & Muller 169). The other symbolism is the harmless nature of the child. One would expect that he could be cuffed as the police collect evidence. It is however not the case because one thing remains for the fact that the individual is a victim of circumstances and he is being judged because of his social status.

The importance of the image

The image is quite crucial to the people of poor in the United States. One of the reasons why it is vital is because the group can use it to fight for change in the way the people in the corrective facilities deem them. Having the knowledge and citing such evidence makes it known to them that they are profiled, and there is need to rise against the odds and set everything right (Western, Bruce & Muller 170). The role of the image in the society is to make sure that people see the turn of events in the corrective facilities and the extent to which the police officers are willing to go when investigating the poor. The image adheres to the conventions of the larger genre of movies (Western, Bruce & Muller 173). As stated, the movies depict the poor as rogue individuals, and it is common to find them being investigated or implicated with some of the crimes committed in the movies.

Injustice in the court system

In conclusion, profiling the poor in the corrective facilities is quite unjust and suppresses the court system. The police officers do not leave any stone unturned regardless of age. The image confirms it all. The matter is getting out of hand, and if it is not solved as soon as possible, the poor in the society will end up filling the corrective facilities in the United States. A humane individual would greatly feel for the child depicted in the image.

Reference

Drucker, Ernest. A plague of prisons: The epidemiology of mass incarceration in America. New Press, The, 2013.

Western, Bruce, and Christopher Muller. “Mass incarceration, macrosociology, and the poor.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 647.1 (2013): 166-189.

Appendix