The Power of the Photograph :: Personal Narrative

The Power of the PhotographOn the wall of my dorm room hangs a photograph that was taken at my paternal grandm others house. Im on grannys lap, and my sister is on the floor. I appear to be somewhat two or three years old. It is after supper, and Grandma is edition to me. This photograph is interesting to me because it reflects two points that Michelle citron tree makes in her book, Home Movies. First, the mortal taking the picture is bring uping control over the interpretation of the memory. Second, there are clues within the frame that advert what has actually been left step up of the frame. The item missing from this picture is my contract. My father took the picture in vagabond to show me wearing the moccasins my maternal grandfather had just bought for me when we visited him. My mother had remained there, piece of music we went on to visit grandmother. She rarely came with us to visit Grandma because they did non get along. Like her own mother, my mother could be mo ody, distant, and bad-tempered. Grandma, on the other hand, was somewhat meddlesome, but affectionate, and over-indulgent with us kids. Consequently, they argued over how we should be treated. Grandma is pointing to the moccasins, which signify my mothers absence. In some ways, the photo is a pliant gesture my father is acknowledging his in-laws contribution to my happiness and well being. In another, little obvious way, it is an act of spite. Since my mother refused to be there, my father replaced her with his own mother in this happy family scene he has created. Her absence is also highlighted by the presence of my sister, Rhonda, who was about nine or ten. When I was a baby, Rhonda and I were always in pictures together. Usually shes playing mommy and keeping me on her lap. She was very protective of me and would not let me out of her sight. fetching the role of my guardian often got her in trouble, especially when my mothers temper flared. Here, she looks silly and relaxed, more childlike than she does in other family pictures. Citron argues that since they are selective and often taken by men, home movies and family photographs assert a balance of power within the family and strive to promote the favorable memory of family parents in control, men in charge, families together (15).