This page is referenced by:

• 1 media/44-79636.jpg 2020-11-17T11:40:11-08:00 First Shipment of Polio Vaccine, April 13, 1955 4 Dale Winters is the man on the left who is signing off on a new shipment that just arrived at Cutter Laboratories. plain 2020-11-21T18:27:49-08:00
  Dale Winters is the man on the left who is signing off on a new shipment that just arrived at Cutter Laboratories. This photo marks the beginning of a monumental moment that was supposed to be an amazing medical breakthrough, but which ultimately led to disaster (see following image in this section). To understand why this photo immortalizes such an important event, one must first establish the context of the era. In the early 20th century, polio was a deadly disease that grew epidemic proportions across the world. The US was devastated by this disease; over 15,000 Americans would be paralyzed by it annually. In the early 1950s, the issue came to a head when large polio outbreaks caused a panic and demand for a vaccine or a cure. People were terrified, so when a vaccine was introduced, the public’s fear was temporarily assuaged. With that in mind, look at the boxes in between the two men and it will become clear why this photo means so much. It documents a major historical event in medical science. In addition to the historical evidence contained within this photo, it is also a visually stunning piece. Everywhere you focus your attention to, there is a marker that tells a part of the story.
• 1 media/44-79636.jpg 2020-11-17T10:19:52-08:00 First Shipment of Polio Vaccine, April 13, 1955 4 This photograph plays a major role in expressing how important of an event the Polio Vaccine’s arrival was. plain 2020-11-25T11:46:04-08:00
  This photograph plays a major role in expressing how important the arrival of the Polio vaccine was. It was key that people around the globe heard about this major event, and thanks to photography’s connection with mass media, that was achieved. A major role of vernacular photography is to document events, whether a small family event or a global phenomenon like this. More importantly, the image was taken by a professional photojournalist, a staff photographer named Snow for the Los Angeles Examiner, who deliberately avoided any artistic effects or blurs. The purpose of the photo is to get a clear message across, hence why it is sharp and not made to make us think. This effect also makes the viewer feel like they are part of the event. The photograph does a great job in capturing the emotions of those in the shot, and it is key to understand that a major part of vernacular photography is to document not only major or minor events, but also the characters of those events. In fact, the subjects of events give us almost all the information we need to know. For example, in Snow’s photograph, the viewer’s eye is instantly directed towards the eyes and smiles of the two men. This helps educate the viewer that the arrival of the vaccine was one that was much needed, and the subjects in the photo are relieved and happy to have finally obtained a cure.