Summer Carnival
The boy’s lack of knowledge about the photographers’ potential intentions may partly explain his choice to not react, but there may also be other factors at play. Japanese internment photos suggest that a child’s context has a large influence over the child’s reaction. The presence of other adults or children in particular impacts childrens’ reactions. Consider a pair of photographs of children taken during internment. One photograph taken during a carnival in the Amache camp shows a group of about ten children standing in front of a booth (“Summer Carnival”). Though there are a few adults in the background, the children appear completely unaccompanied by adults. Most of the children are looking around and not focused on the photographer, but two girls in particular are looking directly at the camera. One of the girls has a blank face and looks rather confused as to why someone is taking a picture of her. The other girl has her hand in front of her mouth, a blank expression, and also looks like she does not know why she is being photographed. Though the setting of the photograph is a carnival within the Amache camp, an activity meant to let people have fun, the children do not seem enthused. Even within the group of children, there appear to be subgroups with children of the same age. If children were aware of their criminal image in the media, then the girls that notice the photographer would be incentivized to notify the other children to smile. Even though these children are among other children, their age ranges vary. While one could expect a more jovial reaction from children surrounded by peers of their same age, as age is often a factor in friendship, this photograph presents a group of children that do not appear that close.