Naked Maoists before a Naked Wall - Essay Example

Showing the strength of their backs shows courage to withstand anything. The back is one of the strongest parts of the body compared to the legs. Their legs are crossed with the person next to them similar to a cross-stitch pattern of sewing. The power of the stitch comes from crossing over one another to make the item hold without straining or weakening. With their crossing of body parts, they're one solid unit, they will be strong when others cannot and hold the other up when it feels it may fall.

The arms are also entwined and fingers spread against the wall. In yoga, the position of downward dog, the strength of the position comes from the hands with fingers spread to distribute the weight. Distributing the pain and the suffering of one another eliminates it from being a burden to just one. Strength in numbers has come to mind frequently while viewing this photo. Heads hung down can be read it two different ways. One may be in defeat, where they have been beaten by an oppressor. The other would be a shame; they are ashamed of their current situation in their country, the world, and the way the events have been handled.

One thing that may not have been what the Kommune members wanted to say is stated with both men and women being in this photo. Together naked and exposed, similar in pose and realize that what is done to one is equally felt by the other. Each is part of the whole society, part of the whole generation, and part of hopefully the solution instead of the problem. There is a delicate balance of hate and love, war and freedom, male and female, and right and wrong. Here we see that one needs the other in order to be and cannot stand alone.

Another thing not thought of by the Kommune members, is both men and women standing in the same pose, naked, look similar. There is no individual expression in this photo; they are all posed the same. In Maoist China, all people were the same; men, women, children, all working for Mao and for their country. No individuality. The politics of the day, and even into today's society, is one of control and dissent. Certain powers liked to control and fight and bring war into countries, and others thought of better ways to solve problems.

All of us take sides based on what we believe to be right. The Kommune members could have believed they were standing up for their beliefs by showing their dislike of the current political events. We don't know this, and may never, but we can see that it was a bold statement for the time. The Kommune members chose this pose for a reason, chose it to stand for something and to make a point. As stated above, we may never know what the exact thoughts were of each individual, but we can interpret it to be a stand against something they felt was wrong, striping each person of their individuality, and baring their humanity in front of the world.