Thank God, it all became history.

Think Creatively

Some elements in my collage that I thought was creative was the thin film I placed over my collage and the fragments of the 'iron bars' sticking out the film. I used the film to represent the difference in the time periods that happened. Since the war wasn't happening to the Lost Boys right the moment they were moving and settling in America, I thought there should be a significant barrier that shows there is a difference in time periods between the war and the present. So I decided to place a translucent film that covers the war but still shows the images of war so that people don't think their lives were always peaceful. And to show more of this, I cut a hole out of the film and also placed fragments of crunched up silver paper to represent broken iron bars. These bars represented the after effects the war had on the lives of the Lost Boys. By placing the bars right in the middle of the peaceful sky, I was trying to provide a connection to the past to show that the war still affects their lives.

Reason Critically

I used the images selected to highlight my understanding of the situations of the Lost Boys by ripping the edges to give a rough feel to the images. I did this to show the rough effects the war had on the lives of the boys, ripping them away from their rights. Also, I made 2 layers to the collage so that I could make the difference between the time when the boys were suffering and the present, where their lives are improving. I put the layer which showed the present on the front because I wanted to put it in chronological order so that the viewer isn't confused which happened first.

Communicate Effectively

My collage creates awareness by using strong images that emphasizes distress, sadness and despair. While looking for images, I deliberately chose images with children who are demonstrating these traits because when the Lost Boys were in Sudan, most of them were very young. These images explain to the viewer that most of the boys were very young during the war and have been dealing with the war and the after effects all through their lives. These images of the suffering, under privileged children also informs the viewers of the situations the boys were in such as starvation, violence, massacres, and more by showing the state of their body or the environment the children are in. This raises the awareness of the viewers who were unaware. Also, the images of the flags of each country they were at shows the route of stepped migration the boys went through and informs the viewers of the boys' migration process.

Live Ethically

I think my collage demonstrates empathy through images of unprivileged children. I have used mostly pictures of children suffering from the after effects of war such as starvation to stimulate the natural feelings people have towards children such as the want to protect them, especially to those who are suffering. I think it is human nature for people to have a feeling of empathy towards the people who are less fortunate than them and I think this feeling of empathy will evoke some emotional responses from the viewers. Also, if my collage evokes enough feelings for the viewer, this might lead them to action and start engaging in programs or organizations to help the Lost Boys.