Breanna Calhoun

SWC 100: Sec 206

July 11, 2009

Freedom in America and Its Immigration

Is America really a place of freedom for all? Some think that is, while others argue,

Absolutely Not! Although the founders of America intended for America to be a place of

freedom for all people to come and live their dreams, it has truly been differed. In Alec Soth's

collection The Last Days of W., he produced photos in which he did not mean to focus on the

political world, but rather target America's former president's, George W. Bush, harsh

contributions made to this country. According to Soth during an interview with Michael David

Murphy for ACP on, October 15, 2007, it represents "A panoramic look at a country exhausted

by its catastrophic leadership." The photo represents how Bush served eight years (two terms)

and all the chaotic things that occurred during his years of presidency. There were photos of dice

(that represented the years and terms Bush was in office), Mardi Gras beads from New Orleans,

(in representation of Hurricane Katrina) displayed how Bush never enforced strong levees and

allowed Hurricane Katrina to come through and damage the city or New Orleans. The dice also

displayed Bush's gambling problems with America by not enforcing the stronger levees. He did,

however, enforce a stronger anti-immigration policy. This in fact is what makes one photo in

particular stand out. The photo of Priscilla, who appears to be a twelve-year-old Latino girl,

holding a skeleton. This photograph tells the viewer Soth was trying to convey a sense, or even

question, freedom in America (specifically immigration), life and death, location and possibly

even a pathos appeal, in which he can personally relate.

America was founded on freedom, justice and liberty for all in 1776. Everyone was

welcomed to come here to better themselves. So, what happened? Now there are all kinds of

laws prohibiting people to come to America and we have the nerve to call them immigrants.

America has even gone as far as building a barrier to keep Mexicans out. The young girl
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(Priscilla) in Los Angelesseems to be an immigrant who came to America, either legally or

illegally. She is holding a skeleton that appears to be an adult figure, maybe her father or older

brother. The skeleton seems to be male due to the height and if one were to look closely, it

seems to be a bone near Priscilla's arm that resembles testicles. Also, the width of the hip bone is

smaller than what it would be if it were to be a woman.

Priscilla has a look of sorrow on her face as she holds her dead relative, who either did

not make it to the U.S. alive, or died once he was caught for sneaking into the country. Perhaps

he was not lucky enough to just get sent back to Mexico or sentenced to jail, but rather executed.

The ironic part of the collection of these photos is that they were taken between the years of

2000-2008, which is the time period "unauthorized immigrant population increased by 37%,"

making California the #1 state with the greatest annual immigration of 2.9 million (Blog, search).

Also, Bush decided to create stricter immigration laws by having "a more secure border control"

and supporting the Comprehensive Immigration Reform. President Bush said in the Address to

the Nation Immigration Reform, “Tonight I’m calling Congress to provide funding for dramatic

improvements in man power and technology at the order. By the end of 2008, we’ll increase the

number of Border Patrol officers by an ADDITIONAL6,000. When these new agents are

deployed, we’ll have more than doubled the size of Border Patrol during my presidency”

(National Immigration Reform Speech).

Soth wanted to show the reality of immigrations' life and death in America by puttinga

young foreign girl, Priscilla, in Los Angeles holding a skeleton. Her clothes are a dull color and

do not stand out. They are a dingy brown that blends in with the sand, dirt and grit of the bland

background of a desert Los Angeles. Priscilla is obviously poor and it is shown through her

clothing which represents poverty. The clothes are a little too big for her; the boots are noticeably

too big for her andyou can see the huge space between her leg and the boot. Even her
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surroundings say poverty because there is no solid ground/foundation and it's all sand, twigs and

crumbled gravel. Also, the pink shirt she is wearing is hidden underneath the huge, rigid brown

vest. This pink shirt may be a symbol of the happiness that is within the girl thatis trying to

come out. However, the vest does not allow the bright, pretty pink shirt to show, which is the

dead body that's keeping her from being joyful because she has lost a lovedone due to illegal

immigration. Priscilla's face is sad and she appears to be scared, but if you look deep into her

you can see that she desperately wants to be happy. Her face is practically begging for joy but

there is so much pain it just will not come through. Although she is happy to be in America, it's

possible that young Priscilla is feeling sad because she made it to the U.S. but her loved one did

not so she is feeling a sense of guilt for having her life to live freely while her relative

encountered death.

The location of this picture is very important because Los Angeles is 156 miles away

from Tijuana, Mexico, which is the closest western city in Mexico to California (Google). But

why did Soth choose the location of this picture to be California (especially when he was born in

Minneapolis, MN, in 1969)? After all,Texas has a border line connected to Mexico too. He

simply chose California because, as previously stated, it is the #1 immigration state in America,

not the #2 like Texas (Google). Maybe it was because Los Angeles is now representing what

America once did. That's exactly it. Los Angeles is a city with open opportunities to success.

L.A gives individuals the freedom one would expect to receive from America. So, the location

played a huge role in the photo within itself.

Why place a young girl holding an adult male's skeleton in a photograph? What is the

purpose of this? Lester B. Morrison (Soth) and Mrs. Morrison took a trip to Bogota', Columbia,

which is where they adopted their daughter Carmen and created Dog Days Bogota (Murphy,

interview). Now, Carmen is of the Spanish descent, born in Columbia and Priscilla too is of the
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Spanish descent, from Mexico. This is more than a coincidence and it goes beyond the literal

meaning. Soth came to Carmen and rescued her, bringing her to America for better

opportunities. The same as the dead man who protected Priscilla, making sure she made it to

America successfully. Soth was emotionally connected to this photo, which portrayed a pathos

appeal not for viewers, just because it's how Soth felt. The girl's photo reminded Soth of Carmen

and her previous life before he and his wife adopted her. This photograph is eye-catching

becausealthough all of the photos in this collection where political (which is not what Soth was

initially trying to convey), this photo's political value cannot physically be seen. It requires in

depth thought. It goes with the other photos in the collection of photos because it's very political

just like the others.

The Last Days of W. collection by Alec Soth shows the hardships America has faced over

the course of 8 years George W. Bush was president of the United States. It's very ironic that

Soth took these photos in this collection over the course of thesame 8 years. The collection

portrays political views and aspects of this country along with Soth's feelings toward them. The

photograph of Priscilla is not only symbolic to Carmen, freedom, immigrants' life and death,

location and a pathos appeal, it is symbolic to all people who long to come to America (to have

freedom); showing them that it is not impossible if two young girls can do it, it can be done!