“Perfect And Unrehearsed”

In Teju Cole’s photo essay “Perfect and Unrehearsed” one of my favorite photos is “A young Haitian man grieving at the funeral of his mother in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.” This documentary photo was taken by Maggie Steder/ Redux in 1987. I chose this photo to be my favorite because my relatives are refugees from Port-au-Prince Haiti and tell me stories almost similar to this one. The photo depicts how the son is being helped and assisted by the other funeral attendees, it could be said that he’s grieving too much to move or walk on his own. I noticed how at funerals people tend to wear black but, in the photo, everyone except the son is wearing light blue or white which could hint at the cultural difference between funerals in the United States and Haiti. I also took notice of the facial expressions of the other attendees which weren’t as explicit or full of emotion, maybe they have inner turmoil or grief they don’t want to show. I wonder if anyone noticed the cameras or the photographer, if they did would they have been allowed to continue taking pictures? Funerals are often sacred so taking photos at a time like that could’ve been interpreted as inappropriate. Nonetheless the photo still holds a deep message emphasizing the toll of death on a person.