Samantha Belanger

SWC 100
Matt Kelly
July 06, 2009

Camp Purgatory: Taking the Good with the Bad

Alec Soth is an American photographer whose inspirational photos

always seem to have a story behind them. “The Last Days of W.” is a

photograph collection created by Soth, that represents George W. Bush’s last

year in office. In the collection, I found an encouraging photo that to me,

hints at poverty and distress in California. There are a lot of crucial elements

to this photograph that I find to be quite intriguing; elements that bring this

photo to capture the essence of Bush’s last year in office.

The word purgatory, according to the Princeton definition relays two

different meanings. First, purgatory can mean “the condition or process of

purification in which the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made

ready for heaven.” Also, purgatory has “come to refer to a wide range of

historical and modern conceptions of post-mortem suffering short of

everlasting damnation and is used in a non-specific sense to mean any place

or condition of suffering or torment especially one that is temporary. ” This

photograph, in my opinion depicts just that; a picture in which people appear

to be residing in tents on a “field of carelessness” in the sense that debris

lays scattered everywhere. The photographer needs not argue that there is

in fact fear and torment in Bush’s last days of office as the evidence is

apparent in two different aspects of this photograph. First, there is an

Samantha Belanger
SWC 100
Matt Kelly
July 06, 2009
American flag that sits high upon a pole blowing in the breeze towards the

camp. The flag is upside down which represents the international sign of

purgatory. It is considered a “sign of distress in instances of extreme danger

to life or property.” Second, there is a woman whose physical structure

indicates that she has run out of options and is in distress. With a hand on

her hip, a sign of disbelief from behind does not go unnoticed as she faces

the camp.

This photo is an encouragement to me because it touches on the fact

that Bush’s last days in office sent millions of people out on the streets to

live in a world of uncertainty; a world in which people take for granted every

day. In fact, “in 2005, the United States Census Bureau counted 37 million

‘poor’ Americans.” “On December 31st, 2008, there was approximately

$6,369,318,869,476.54 in public debt.” I am encouraged as I look at this

photo; encouraged to help people through public service, and encouraged to

not take the things I have in my life for granted. As I stare into this photo

further, I see a world in which I believe happiness is only felt in relation to

life’s simple gifts. The fact that there are clearly people living in the tents

represents America’s strength of togetherness. In the picture you see several

telephone poles, no doubt a sign of irony. I say the poles are ironic because

they symbolize communication throughout the world. Perhaps if

communication occurred while Bush was in office, these people residing in

Samantha Belanger
SWC 100
Matt Kelly
July 06, 2009
their tents would not have to have resorted to such measures for the mere

purpose of survivance. In relation to this irony, I think an endogeneity

problem exists as an undertone within this photograph. As we don’t know if

communication or designated living existed first, we cannot answer the

question as to whether or not communication is indeed necessary for

survivance.

With regards to Bush’s policymaking abilities, there is clearly a lack of

growth within the United States as profits of business are outsourced for the

purpose of war making. As jobs are subcontracted to neighboring countries

such as China, we see job cutbacks and losses nationwide. I see growth

though. I see growth in the picture when I look at the evergreens that are

soaking up the sun to live another day. That’s what we do as Americans, we

live to grow another day. Growth is a relative term to describe our ability to

come back which is another way in which this picture encourages me. Camp

Purgatory is what every individual makes of it. If you look at purgatory in

terms of hell, then that is exactly what you can expect. If you see it in terms

of a growing process, as I see in this picture, then you know that America will

one day prosper as it did after many recessions in the past.

The picture depicts the perfect day; a day in which the sun is shining

and the sky is blue. A bird flies over the scene, perhaps surveying the area
Samantha Belanger
SWC 100
Matt Kelly
July 06, 2009
for scraps of food. The people are probably doing the same, looking for food

to provide for their families. Funny how such a nice day can be a day in

which people mourn over their losses. I see no water, a sign of concern for

those around. Or perhaps, there are no people around. After all, the picture

captures a wasteland in which you can see very few signs of life. With the

exception of the woman, no one is walking around. It appears to be mid-day

and there is no certainty as to whether or not people have moved on to

another location, possibly one with more resources. A tall tree stands to the

side of the photo. Could it be a sign of an approaching autumn or just

another dying piece of land, just barely living like the victims of circumstance

under the Bush Administration? We may never know the answer to this as

the picture does not suggest one; however, we can draw our own conclusions

as to what is going on. After all, just because our circumstance is better than

the picture details, does not mean we haven’t felt the effects of poor

decision making nationwide. I think that alone allows us an opinion to draw

our own conclusions within a deleterious America.

Elements of distress and torment, as well as growth and life’s simple

gifts brought me to write about this photograph. As I stared into it, I saw all

the things I thought I should see. I saw the side of America that people rarely

think about, partially because we don’t see ourselves in this position. We

take for granted how simple our lives are because of the resources made
Samantha Belanger
SWC 100
Matt Kelly
July 06, 2009
available to us. But I ask you, what will we do when they are all gone? Will

we live in our own “Camp Purgatory” or will we take what we learned through

our own mistakes and rebuild our way of life as it once was? The decision is

ours and ours alone.

References:

"Purgatory." Wikipedia. 07 July 2009 <http://www.wikipedia.com>.

"United States Census Bureau -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 08 July 2009

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census_Bureau>.