9/23 - Atta Girl, Atwood
This image was captured by photographer Wing Young Huie in 2007. It was then published in his collection named "Father and Sons" and shared again on his blog named "(k)now" in 2012. (Found at http://know.wingyounghuie.com)
The first thing I noticed about this photo is its state of being black-and-white. Often, this color effect is used when covering a serious subject. I remember a specific lecture during my program on photojournalism at George Washington University this summer in which my teacher cited the example of retouched Civil War photos. Following photo colorization artists bringing color back into photos from the Civil War, critics argued that not only do these photos vandalise art and history, they take away from the seriousness of the tragedy at hand.
Another thing I noticed after briefly examining the photo was the low socioeconomic class the men in the photo are presumably in. One of the sons has paint staining his jeans, a possible indication of having a manual labor job. A lamp sits on a foldable chair with no shade. There are no decorations around the room, apart from a poster and a candle.
The father and one of the sons hold up family photos, all not framed. There are several people in the photos: people celebrating, babies, couples.
On a deeper inspection (and upon reading the blog post that Huie wrote alongside the photo) I realized these are migrant workers from Mexico who are employed in California. In the photo they are sitting in their low-rent apartment that they share with twelve other workers. The photos they are holding up are of their family members that are still back in Mexico, and presumably who these men are working all day in the hot sun to support. The candle is a votive candle, used to express devotion and gratitude to God. The one decoration the men have, when closely examined, can be made out to be a Disneyland poster. When questioned about this object, the men replied that when they were in Mexico their dream was one day to visit the home of the famous mouse. Only then would they know they had truly arrived. They were still waiting.
In my comparison of the representation of "othering" in Huie's photo (and accompanying description) and Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale", I will focus on the language used. One thing both texts utilize is a first person point of view, which contributes to "othering" by providing a personal account of knowing these alienated people, followed by confusion why these good people are the "others". Offred's narration of her close friendship with Gender Traitor Moira parallels Huie's account of speaking to the Mexican immigrants. Under the new rules of Gilead society, being gay is a crime- not to mention being seen as morally wrong and shameful. However, Offred's memories of Moira give an impression of the "others" (gay people) as being normal and wonderful not worthy of the punishments and exclusion they received. Hispanic (specifically Mexican) immigrants are some of the most looked down upon people in American society. Many Americans, the President of the United States included, want them to leave our country and have called them things like rapists and criminals. Mexican immigrants are undoubtedly "others". Heie uses his platform to create an identity for these people that contradicts how they are usually represented in the media. He writes the three migrant workers as religious, hard-working, sacrificing, family-driven, and ambitious people.
I love how you pointed out that Huie tries to change the narrative for conventionally "other-ed," or as you put it it, "alienated," people. Esteemed photographers like Huie have the opportunity to use their platform to spark conversations, and in Huie's case, ultimately change the way minorities are depicted in the media. If you think about it, the pictures shown to represent minority groups in the media have a profound impact in defining their role in society. While Mexican immigrants are generally depicted as lazy or criminal, Huie redefines their role through using adjectives such as "hard-working" and "ambitious."
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you used your outside knowledge when analyzing the photo; I wouldn't have noticed the significance of the use of black and white instead of color. I also found your last paragraph intriguing because of the part where you explain how Atwood and Huie both use first person point of view to contribute to the concept of "othering". It truly shows how everything an author, photographer, director, artist, etc. does has a purpose; nothing is on accident.
ReplyDeleteI love your comparison between Moira/gay people in "The Handmaid's Tale" and Hispanic/Mexican immigrants like those in Huie's photo. I also like that you said Huie uses his platform to create an identity for them that doesn't match their portrayal in the media. I agree wholeheartedly and I think that he is also making them look like real people, something our media is currently failing to do. In America, groups like Hispanic or Mexican people are generalized and represented by the select few (rapists/criminals) when in reality, the vast majority of those people are wonderful and hardworking and just trying to live their lives like the rest of us. I think it's cool that you included the bit about the use of black and white, I didn't know that was a thing. And I also agree with Nia, I like that you read the blog that he posted with the picture and included that in your writing about it. I think it added to the idea that they are just people that have been misrepresented and it shows that they are no different than us. They have jobs, they have families, they have faith. The generalization is not accurate.
ReplyDeleteI really love how you mentioned that the black and white filter creates a serious tone, and how you connected this back to what you learned in your photo-journalism course at George Washington University. I think it is interesting how you pointed out that sometimes adding color to photos that are suppose to have a serious meaning takes away from tragedy, and true message of the photograph. I like how you pointed out how the people pictured are presumably in the lower socioeconomic class, due to their surroundings. It would have been interesting if you elaborated this point a little more and mentioned the socioeconomic divide in The Handmaid's Tale and connected it to what you see in this picture.
ReplyDeleteI love that you start your blog with an analysis of the photograph, based solely on photo-journalism. It bring a unique perspective into your blog and gives insight into the photograph that many people would simply just consider to be how it was created. I also really enjoyed your analysis on the photograph and its meaning through your own observations before including the blog that accompanied it. Finally, your comparison of "othering" within the United States to Gilead really hits home for me. I see the impact of "othering" relating to immigrants within our communities, so it very easily allows me to draw a connection to how people who didn't conform to society would have been viewed within Gilead. Your analysis of this picture and connection to the novel really helped me better understand what society would have imposed as the image of "others".
ReplyDeleteI liked how you connected your own experiences into analyzing the photograph, it really puts into perspective why two people can possibly see this photograph differently. Another thing I enjoyed was the connection to historical conflict as a topic. It shows there's always more to explore about a photo, book, or really any work made by a person. Your connection of homosexuality and immigration as reflected in The Handmaid's Tale and in this photo was also enlightening, showing how "othering" comes in many forms other than just one.
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