WORK AND UNEMPLOYMENT

A man standing with his bike on Victory. He has bags on his bike with collected recyclables inside. The social problem being depicted is work or unemployment.  He may not be homeless but either way it’s obvious that small change counts big for him.  Unemployment tightens the belt of opportunity for everyone afflicted by it and this man is no exception.  

Valet working off Ventura in the afternoon. He is waving to me taking a picture. This image depicts a typical contingent worker at his part-time job. In sociological terms he is bound by structural/economic theories.  In the article Why Are People Poor in America?, Rodgers says that the “…cause of poverty is a lack of equal opportunities for all…”(82).  

Two young Hispanics selling food and drinks from a cart outside a strip mall on Woodman.  They are also contingent workers. This is a job commonly held by minority immigrants because you can get away with not having a vendor license.  The social issue being depicted is of the hardships of finds stable work and juggling part-time jobs to make a living.  

This is an image of a seemingly abandoned or looted homeless person’s cart.  You cannot tell the circumstances that led this cart to be ditched/ forgotten but, nonetheless, it is a symbol of the struggles associated with unemployment.  Unemployment leaves you vulnerable to the plights of physical and economic ailments.  When you are left on the streets by a society that doesn’t (or won’t) support you, you have to find other ways to support yourself. 

A tree with a ladder leaning against it. This image is a metaphorical depiction of the struggles of unemployment and finding steady work due to the staggered start.  When starting on the bottom rung, it is difficult to push up past gravity. Some may even get a lift into the tree from their family.  Some may not even have a ladder (there are no reachable braches of the upper class without it) If you do happen to come across or invest in a ladder, you may lack the experience necessary to climb past where the ladder ends. You could fall out and not be able to get back in the tree…back to the upper class. Gravity is the structural boundaries put in place by society.  But however you manage to get into that tree, it’s easier to fall out than get in.