1.

“Nobody likes me” by anonymous Vancouver artist

2. streetart by Banksy

Children in urban societies

Issue: Both images portray the negative effects of globalization (and possibly urbanization) on our youth.
Maybe they are also portraying the unhappiness faced by this coming generation despite the availability of
objects like smartphones and fastfood.

Thesis statement: Our media is stunting the development of self-identity amongst children.

Points and evidence:

- In the first image, the Instagram-style speech bubble pointing to the child acts as a label. We don’t
know anything about him, his name or age, just that he has no followers/comments/likes. Is that where
his self-worth and identity lie? Also, he doesn’t talk in words, only in online jargon. Social
commentary?
- Drawn as street art, fitting the idea of an urban lifestyle.
- Clothes and phone are coloured while his face is simply black and white so they ironically seem more
“alive”. More importance on material goods than himself.

- In the second image, the naked crying child is escorted by 2 wellknown mascots, who are smiling,
oblivious to her feelings. Perhaps this symbolizes big company tycoons taking advantage of childrens’
vulnerability to guide them where they want them to go, with no actual consideration for their feelings
or wellbeing.

- The girl is well known for being in a famous war photograph during the Vietnamese War. For that
reason, perhaps the girl here represents rural lifestyle and poverty, forcefully being lead into
urbanization.

- Ronald Mcdonald is seen waving at something that is not within the frame. This act makes it seem as
though the girl is being paraded through an invisible crowd. By not including the person/people being
waved at, perhaps the artist is suggesting that the viewer themselves is part of this invisible crowd,
standing and watching without taking any action.

- On one hand, the mascots seem to be guiding the girl. On the other hand, they seem to be constraining
her. Perhaps this is metaphorical our youth’s constrained sense of self-identity by external entities like
the media.

- Naked, not conforming to materialism, yet still forced to walk the same path, “no matter what you do,
this will still happen to you”