Wing Young Huie
<a href="http://photos.wingyounghuie.com/p709406511/e79df8012"><img src="http://photos.wingyounghuie.com/img/s3/v43/p2044690450-2.jpg" width="400" height="264" alt="Wing Young Huie: We are the Other (2012 - 2013) &emdash; " /></a>
When first viewing this photograph I see two men working at an auto-repair shop standing in front of a old and destroyed car. They are both wearing black, and one is particularly large. The larger man is holding up a sign that reads: "Serving complexity + perfection is me." This seems as if it refers to his occupation of fixing cars.
After analyzing the photograph in-depth, I realize that the sign the large man is holding is a contradiction. "Serving complexity and perfection is me" represents beauty, good looks, and perfectness. However, he is clearly very overweight and doesn't fit the stereotype of a visually appealing, beautiful person. This shows that there is more to a person than what appears on the outside. The destroyed car may represent his inner feelings, or how the world perceives him from the outside. However, he fixes these cars and makes them beautiful again, signifying that anything can be beautiful if you look past the initial judgments and assumptions one may have.
Both Wing Young Huie and Margaret Atwood present the concept of "othering" through image and language by using the same style and register. Wing Young Huie presents a contradiction in his work: He portrays a very large man that fits the general stereotype of being overweight, ugly, and unhealthy, but his occupation contradicts that stereotype because it involves fixing broken things and making them beautiful again. Atwood also uses contradictions in her work. On the outside, all of the women in her work are categorized as the same, only valued for their reproductive potential. However throughout her work, she reveals the deep thoughts and aspirations that women have, and portrays many distinctive personalities that different women have, contradicting the initial idea that they are all the same.
Both of the uses of contradiction are based on the initial idea of stereotypes, Wing Young Huie's being the stereotype of being overweight and ugly, and Atwood's being the stereotype that all women are the same and only good for one thing. These stereotypes separate people as "others" in real life and in Atwood's work because people make assumptions based on the stereotype that they fit into. They use a very similar approach, but the general stereotypes are different. Atwood uses a particularly feminist viewpoint to convey her message. Wing Young Huie uses more of a humanitarian approach to convey his message. Both of them convey the message that stereotypes falsely represent people in a way that is discreet and non-explicit.
Both of the uses of contradiction are based on the initial idea of stereotypes, Wing Young Huie's being the stereotype of being overweight and ugly, and Atwood's being the stereotype that all women are the same and only good for one thing. These stereotypes separate people as "others" in real life and in Atwood's work because people make assumptions based on the stereotype that they fit into. They use a very similar approach, but the general stereotypes are different. Atwood uses a particularly feminist viewpoint to convey her message. Wing Young Huie uses more of a humanitarian approach to convey his message. Both of them convey the message that stereotypes falsely represent people in a way that is discreet and non-explicit.
Great response- I really appreciate your interpretation of the image because you took your assumptions and supported them with evidence from the text, and also acknowledge that some of your readers might not see the image in the same way you did.
ReplyDeleteYou treated both texts equally, which allowed for a strong analysis. I enjoyed reading this!
I really liked the way in which you further analyzed the picture. When I first looked at the picture, I really had no clue what kind of "deeper meaning" the picture might have, but after reading your response and reasoning for your interpretation, I could really see what you were trying to say! In addition, the connection to the Handmaid's Tale was tied in really well. The idea that both works present a form of contradiction from stereotypes was a really cool way to see them from another perspective. Just simply reading or looking at this picture would not provide the in-depth meaning that you helped present.
ReplyDeleteKyle, I really enjoyed reading the way you analyzed this picture! When I first looked at it, I had no idea what it meant or what the deeper meaning could be. After reading your response I took another look at the picture and tried to analyze it again. I think that another way the larger man is "othered" is by what he is wearing. The fact that he is wearing jeans instantly draws more attention to him and his sign. I believe that the sign is referring more towards the human experience than the immediate issue of car service. He is implying that every individual is complex and perfect in their own way, even though they may have broken pieces.
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