Positive & Negative American Images

The image I have chosen to show a positive side of America is this photograph of the famous singer/songwriter Bob Dylan proclaiming that he can’t sing. For the last 50 years Dylan has become one of the most important cultural figures in America, constantly adapting to suit the current music scene and pushing it forward. Although not a great singer by conventional standards, Dylan has used his voice instead to protest some of the most shocking events of the past half-century, joining the ranks of famous Americans who have used their freedom of speech to stand up for the rights of others despite the risks that go with it.

For the negative side of America, I have chosen an image showing the aftermath of the massacre of hundreds of American Indians at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota. On December 29 1890, around 500 members of the US cavalry invaded the settlement of Wounded Knee in the aim to drive the Native Americans further westward as white settlers spread their numbers across America. This massacre was the result of many broken promises made by the US government to the American Indians that their land would not be invaded and that the white settlers and Native Americans would live in peace.