Autonomy is a word that starts getting thrown around when a teenager begins to reach the point of adulthood. As kids, we are taught to rely on our parents to make tough decisions and to call the shots. Nevertheless, as we start to age, and we are given more responsibilities, we start yearning for something more: freedom. We want to be able to make choices on our own without the input of an adult. One of the first steps in this journey towards independence is getting a car. While receiving a car may not be so world changing in the long run, since it eventually becomes a necessity for most adults, it is a major milestone in a teenager’s growth. This point is best illustrated by a photo essay published by The New York Times, known as “The First Car”.
The first image of the photo essay perfectly demonstrates one main aspect of teenagers having their own cars, that is the ability to create a safe space for them and their friends. Before getting a car, most teenagers do not have an environment that is strictly ‘theirs’. At home, teenagers may have their own room, unless they share one with a sibling, but even then, their room is still inside their parents’ home. Even at high school, while they may be away from their parents, the kids are still surrounded by teachers and fellow students. Not to mention that the pressure of class work does not exactly make for a relaxing environment. A line from the introductory paragraph of the photo essay sums it up best: “For many young people, their first car grants them a freedom to explore their city on an intimate level, with their windows down and music blasting – and away from the prying eyes of parents.” Being free to drive around and go wherever you want with your closest friends allows for bonding time, not only with your friends, but with your environment. Whether that environment be a small suburban area or a big city, having a car lets you familiarize yourself with your surroundings in a more comfortable setting. However, that was not the only point that the essay had to make about the autonomy of getting your first car.
There are multiple perspectives of the impact of first getting a car explored throughout this essay. One that stands out among the rest is the idea that a car can act not only as a means of getting to a destination, but also as a second home. The feeling of having controlling parents is a common ground for many teens across the country. But when a vehicle is introduced into the dynamic, it can give kids a taste of freedom that they have never experienced before. The independence these teens are seeking is not always just from parents either. With the internet and social media playing a crucial role in our daily lives, the world is more stimulating now than it ever was before. Many high school aged kids are looking for a release, a space they can have where it is just them and their closest friends. The photos in this essay perfectly illustrate this concept. Each one of them shows a group of teenagers laughing and conversing either in the back seat of a car or just outside one. The phrase “It is not about the destination, it is about the journey” is true for these kids. The reality of the situation is that most kids do not want a car just so they can go to faraway places, but so they can just go on a drive and leave all their worries behind them. Upon taking a further look at these images, one can tell just how important driving is to adolescents.
Besides having the similarity of containing multiple teenagers in one shot, these photos also do a wonderful job at showing the surroundings. For having such a passionate desire to get a car, one would expect the teens to be going to various places, like the movies, or a nice restaurant, but that is not what these images display. Many of the images just outside of a car are taken on a hill, by a sunset, or near a body of water. Additionally, they all seem to take place right next to an open road. These are places that many adults would drive past daily and not give a second glance to. It appears that, despite what adults may think, these teens are acknowledging their surroundings and taking them in as if it were their last time seeing them again. “‘I want to hang on to this as long as possible.’” In a time when the most fulfillment that people get on a day-to-day basis is seeing how many likes their post on Instagram gets, it is refreshing to see that there are still kids out there who are capable of living in the moment.
Besides the meaning that the pictures in this photo essay are really trying to display, the images are still impressive on an artistic level. Not every picture shown is taken inside of a car. Many of the images attempt to highlight the places that a car could take you. The mountains, the hills, the beaches, they all truly exemplify the creativity behind the photographer. The photos also go along great with the quotes in the essay. For example, 20-year-old Ankha Cros-Roig explains: “‘Growing up in L.A., it’s such a big city and the public transportation is so terrible. Getting a car I felt like I could actually do anything and go anywhere.’” This idea perfectly matches the feelings set forth by the creative images. The writer and the photographer both knew exactly how to make the images match the text in a way that invoked the same emotions.
Overall, this photo essay does an excellent job at highlighting one main story in two separate ways. From the ideas given through the quotes, to the imagery displayed in the pictures, every point managed to correlate with one another in a way that could make the reader truly understand the impact of receiving your first car as a teenager. While there were other photo essays in the Where We Are series that had some depth to them, this one truly stood out as a piece that was both relatable and insightful. If I were to create a photo essay about a topic that was important to me, I would look back at “The First Car” as inspiration on how to make a cohesive photo essay.