Odds are you have seen this picture before, I mean it is one of the most iconic photos in Hockey history. But have you ever thought about it from a contextual stand point? Well neither have I, but I guess school projects make you do things you never thought that you would do. The three factors one needs to consider when analyzing a photograph are modality, verisimilitude, and its claim about the world.
Modality is the input in the photograph. For this image the input is the hockey players in the foreground, and the fans in the background. The focus of the photo is on Bobby Orr who is flying across the frame like he is Superman.
Verisimilitude is the realness of the photograph. Since this is a real event that happened it is rather real, although the way Bobby Orr fly's across the picture may make it seem like it is edited. But that is just what makes this picture so memorable.
Its claim about the world is the idea of victory, the sense of having succeeded on a goal that you had set out to achieve for you entire life. You can see the joy on Bobby Orr's face as he knows that he and his team have just won the Stanley Cup, and if you look into the background you can see that all the fans are realizing this as well and are getting ready to celebrate. But when someone succeeds at something, that means that someone has also failed to achieve that same goal. You can see by the look on the defenseman's face, and the posture of the goalie in the net, they know they have just failed to achieve the goal they have dreamed about since they were little kids. The look of failure and dejection, as wherever there is someone's success story, there is someone that that the victor had to beat to get there.
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