Visual Analysis of London Protest

"Prince Charles and Camilla are under attack, 43 people have been arrested and students in London are the ones responsible," This is just one of the many headlines that BBC posted a few weeks ago when covering the student led protest in England over parliaments ambitions to raise university tuition cost. The image of the students out front of the house of parliament is beautifully compelling and terribly sad. There is no question that when Brits are mad about something, they act! The photograph from Reuters shows student's anger and also gives joy to those that will see it. The picture of the burning bench strikes emotion and sympathy for the students and shines a light on a government's ability to shadow over its people.

In December of 2010, Britain's parliament proposed a significant raise in university tuition to help cut government spending. The increase in cost would nearly triple the current price of tuition. When the day came for parliament to vote on this motion, students around the country decided to take to the streets and make sure that their voice would be heard in the decision. The day that this photograph was taken over 50 students were arrested. Most of the protest took place in the heart of London's Westminster and the house of parliament.

Andrew Winning, a photojournalist for Reuters news took the photograph from the protest. From the picture's vantage point we can notice a lot of significant images that help to tell the story. In this picture, we see demonstrators jumping off a burning park bench surrounded by a crowd of people and Big Ben standing over it all. It is important to notice Big Ben is watching over all of the events. The clock tower is an international symbol of London and England as a whole. It is a significant implication that the government is watching over its people. The Tower is the first thing that catches the eye's attention. Next the eye moves to the students jumping