S(Wing)ing for the Fences
This picture was taken by Wing Young Huie, a famous photographer, in 2012 and posted to an online photo album for people to purchase. When looking at this picture, you can see what looks like a father watching his son at a dinner table. They look to be in the kitchen; you can see paper towels as well as a cabinet with plates and bowls inside. The son has a bowl of food in front of him but the father does not. After examining this picture's meaning, I came across the idea about how parents will always provide for their children before themselves. This is a big "idea" in today's society that parents do everything for their children because their children are the most important thing in their lives. I really liked this photo and the message from it because I could relate to the child in this picture. Everything my parents do in life is to make me happy and make sure that I have everything I need in order to survive and make it in the future until I can provide for myself.
Wing Young Huie and Margaret Atwood present the concept of "othering" through image. "Othering" is defined as "view or treat a person or group of people as intrinsically different from and alien to oneself." Although Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale does not have any pictures, it contains a lot of imagery. In Huie's photo, the group of people being viewed are parents. Like I stated above, the father figure in the picture is not eating a meal, he was providing for his son before himself. Parents are being seen as "the alien" because they chose to provide for someone else before themselves. Most people would think about themselves before others and do what best helps them; not parents. In The Handmaid's Tale, "the alien" is women. Through imagery, women are shown off as property who's sole purpose is to give birth to a baby. But for the majority of their time, they are doing chores for the Commander. I believe that women in the novel are seen, in a way, as slaves. In both the novel and the picture, image helps show the concept of "othering" to the audience.
http://www.wingyounghuie.com/eat
http://www.wingyounghuie.com/eat
So, I really like the lens that the father was providing for his child before himself, and I think that idea is an integral part of this picture. Another thing that I think Wing Young Huie might be doing is subverting stereotypes. There is a common stereotype about the black community that black kids don't have fathers, whether as a result of violence or the flight of the father. If we look at the picture we see that the mother is absent and the father is the one who is present. With this in mind we can also infer that the father was the one who made his child breakfast and cleans up after him, washes clothes, does dishes etc. These tasks that I listed are usually associated with mothers and women as they are domestic chores, and are what women have done historically. I'd argue that Wing not only subverts the idea that black children don't have fathers but also creates a version of the Black Father, and man in general, that is diametric to the hyper-masculine generalization that is commonplace throughout American society. This is kind of the opposite to the Handmaid's Tale, as in that story it was only women who did domestic chores. Both of these texts present an other in the roles that each gender has taken; where Atwood creates an "other" by using the role of women in the past as her template, Huie creates an "other" by demolishing the stereotypes of black men.
ReplyDeleteNeat image- I don't think anyone else picked it.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up some good points, but think about the "what" more deeply. What decisions did Huie make to convey his message or purpose?
Additionally, some neats points about othering, but some feel a bit forced. If you strengthen the "what" and "how," your "why" will be stronger as well.
Great job Christian. I like the picture you choose. I agree that it shows the father was going to give and provide for his kid in every way possible, even if that means up giving something in himself or for himself. Great stances and strong viewpoint. Love it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the message of this picture is to show that parents will provide for their children no matter what, even if that means they don't get to eat dinner so that their child can. I understand how you could analyze the parent being the "alien" in this image just like women are the aliens in THT. I like your connection to the book and I think this was a great post;)
ReplyDelete