Photograph by Wing Young Huie, University Avenue Project (2007-2010)
http://photos.wingyounghuie.com/p929219206/h6cc35901#h617c9bfa
In this photograph by Wing Young Huie, four young girls working at a vendor are shown in the foreground. In the background is a couple walking laden with shopping bags in front of an auto shop. The young girls look into the camera lens while the couple is perhaps unaware of the photograph being taken. The girls appear to be of Hispanic origin and the vendor containing bags of vegetables points to them coming from the agricultural industry, possibly as migrant workers. It is very clear that in the photograph there is a divisive difference between the girls as workers and couple as consumers. These are their respective societal roles. While in most cases this would alienate and present the girls as 'others,' the format of the photo, with the girls all looking into the lens, has the effect of 'othering' the couple, who are white and would traditionally enjoy a more privileged role in society. The girl on the left side of the photo looks almost amused, as if she and the viewer are sharing a joke at the couples expense, further alienating them.
This is very similar to how Margaret Atwood presents the concept of otherness in her novel The Handmaid's Tale. The society she creates, Gilead, is comprised of strict social roles such as Handmaids, Eyes, Wives, and Marthas. Each has a very specific role, and no mobility to change said role. Again these roles do create oppression in the society, but in the specific narrative presented, that is not the tone taken, like in the photograph. So while Gilead's structure does create 'otherness,' they way Atwood wrote Offred's sarcastic tone actually succeeds in 'othering' the people with power. Offred's inquisitive and oftentimes facetious voice establishes her as a very different person compared to others in the book. Because they do not think like Offred, the reader sees them as 'other.'
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ReplyDeleteI misunderstood the comment structure...awkward moment :). Here is my actual comment:
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that, in a sense, Handmaids/Offred aren't so much othered sometimes as the other classes are because the novel is from Offred's perspective. I do think, however, that Huie' s picture may be othering the white couple because of, like you said, the eldest girl's smile and how they are all looking at the camera, but it could also be othering the young girls. I feel like this photo is a "behind the scenes" look at the girls' lives of selling at the market, monetarily poor as seen by the setting and their clothes. I think this is done to demonstrate the othering that most people do to them because of their presumptious situation, but they might, in turn, other those people as you pointed out.
Mitra-
ReplyDeleteLove the approach you took to the photograph- consumer vs. producer. Your response connects well to the earlier question of "how and why a social group is presented in _____ way". I also appreciated that you looked beyond Offred as the other.
Hey Mitra! I really liked how you established specific roles that each of these girls should have in society according to stereotypes. It was interesting to think about the affect of couple vs the possible migrant workers. I am a little curious why the Hispanic girls seem to have different expressions on their faces, but I think that the different expressions give them an individuality and uniqueness.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this analysis, and I thought that your denotative examination of the picture was on point, and that you really described everything in the picture well and went even further. I thought it was really cool how you compared the couple in the picture to the girls sitting at the stand and presented othering in that way. I agree with your take on othering in this picture, when first looking at it I wouldnt have thought that but now I see your point, with the couple in the back and the girls grouped together. Also I like how you made out the people with power in The Handmaid's Tale is the othering group and not Offred, I think that correlates with your perspective on othering in the photo. Great Job!!!!
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