Feb 11 - 8B Media - Analysis

What do you think is going on in this image?

What do you see that makes you say that?

What more about the picture are you curious about? Circle and/or draw arrows. Write down questions!

The NYT received 818 comments from students/classrooms sharing their thoughts about this photo. Below are some of these comments. Which do you believe can be plausible explanations for what's going on?

• A middle aged woman is placing a certain type of plant and/or flower in wet soil specifically in a row. This may have taken place after a tsunami. The area that she’s in looks similar to a beachy area. The water is dirty and maybe she put the plants and/or flowers in a row because that’s how they were before. Something more I can find is that there's objects in the water besides her and the plants in the background.

• I think she is planting flowers at the edge of drylands, where water isn't common. But on the other side could be an oasis, or a transition from the drylands to a jungle. It looks like she is planting those flowers. If she was picking them, why would there be some behind here? On the left side might be a haybale, and there are clouds in the sky.

• This image seems to be a farmer from a foreign country planting plants in a wet area. This farmer is a lady on some type of wet dirt land. The sun is out and the day is beautiful as the clouds sail across the sky. If I were to take a guess this picture seems to be somewhere in India. The reason for her planting and growing crops in this area is either for her family or for herself to live off of. This is fit for me because back in Jamaica my family and community used to do the same thing for ourselves and others.

• In the imagine I can see a woman in a flooded land located close to the beach planting some plants. I believe that this picture was taken in 2019. I think that happened here was that a hurricane came through this country and it destroyed a lot of vegetation. This woman seems that is took action and started to plant some plants to give the ocean vegetation in the future. I also think that this lady lives close to this beach and she wants it to look pretty for tourists. I can connect this picture to my life by trying to restore what was lost or damaged.

• I see a woman planting some type of plant in the ground. I also feel like this photo was taken recently. And it seems like that the woman is on some type of land that just have been through a lot of rain and she’s is trying to take advantage of the situation. She may be doing this to help better where she lives for not only her but everybody else that lives there. And it connects to me because it’s a person who is trying to make the world a better place.

What country do you think this picture was taken in? What evidence do you see in the picture that makes you think that way?

So here's the scoop on the pic. The original caption for it reads:

Tabwena Kaokatekai, 42, on the north shore of Buariki village on the South Pacific island of North Tarawa [, which is part of the country of Kiribati]. She had planted the mangrove trees a month earlier and was cleaning algae off the roots and checking the trees’ progress. According to another article by NYT, "climate change is threatening the livelihoods of the people of tiny Kiribati, and even the island nation’s existence. In fact, its government is making plans for the island’s demise." (Kiribati will literally be the first country to be "destroyed" due to global warming - it's expected to be completely under water soon due to rising sea levels!) Do you believe this picture accurately communicates Kiribati's unfortunate reality?

• Absolutely.

• Not really....It needs more context.

• Sort of. I mean, it could...but it could also not work, too.

• My first impression? Mind is blank. (It's Friday.)

Why?