Social Justice

Eugene Smith, 1972, Tomoko Uemura in her Bath

This photographer was able to show a raw, candid image of a mother tending to her child. This was at a moment in Japan when children in the womb were being poisoned and affected by methyl mercury in industrial wastewater that was caused by the Chisso Corporation’s chemical factory making children deformed and blind. The child in the bath tub was one of the many many children that were affected by this. Taking this picture raised awareness to the disease and affects that the methyl mercury was having on children because it documented the aftermath on children and their parents that have to take care of them. Seeing the mother’s worried face as she is carrying her daughter who is slim and helpless triggers emotion for the viewer, which would allow for a call to action to prevent the chemical from harming other unborn children.