Blog Post 1 - Wing Young Huie
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| Wing Young Huie - 2013 |
Through this photograph and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale we are able to see the similarities and differences of how they present "othering." In Wing young Huie's work we see this concept through the formatting of the photo where he has photographed the car in a way that allows the viewer to see that it is alone and in the setting that it is in. This shows othering because it shows that these people in this car are all alone, whereas he, and most of his audience, is not. Atwood similarly shows that Offred is alone through her use of formatting the book to show that she is having flashbacks of when she was not alone and through her use of Offred's thoughts to show that she did not have anyone to talk to because she was alone in this new life of hers. Othering is also displayed through the diversity of audiences of both texts. In the photograph the audiences are a variety of people, some who can relate to the experience of being homeless, someone who knows others who are homeless, and people who will never experience homelessness. The audiences of Atwood's work include those who are free and will never experience what Offred is going through, people who know someone who has gone through a male-dominant relationship and understands what Offred is going through, and those who know people whose lives are dominated by others. These different audiences allow for the messages of the works to be shows in many different view points which shows the use of othering to these various audiences.
I like how you used the appearance and placement of objects to determine the story behind the photo. You make a good connection between the car and it's location. I also enjoyed how you described Huie's work of "othering" and how this relates to the car being alone. I agree with your parallel of Offred representing loneliness with Huie's image of the car, and how flashbacks were used in the novel to show this. I really liked how you made the connection between the audiences of both photos to further the explanation of "othering." How both audiences can include people who have never experienced either of the situations that the image and novel are showing.
ReplyDeleteAs a film student, when I first look at this picture, I notice the rule of thirds that has been used by the photographer. Since the car is in the lower third of the horizontal thirds, emphasis is placed on it. The abandoned car is the first thing I noticed which shows how important it is to the photographer in this setting. I agree with your assessment of the photograph. I did not immediately think of the car being a home to homeless people but after reading your analysis, I realize that it is a possibility.
ReplyDeleteI really like the way you described "othering" and that you related it to the car being alone. I agree with how you present your analysis of the image assuming that there are homeless people inside. The way that you assume this provides the reader of your analysis that you are correct. In order to gain a full understanding of the structure of The Handmaid's Tale, you could choose to look at the novel through a narratology/archetype lens. I feel like you are already starting to do so through your analysis of the flashbacks within the novel. But you could explore the hero, villain, orphans within the text as well to discuss archetypes.
Great thoughts, Taylor!
DeleteI love how you create your description of the photograph to flow from surface level to a deep, comprehensive understanding. I agree with the connection made between the visual elements and the situations they imply (i.e. poor condition implies financial hardship). I would go further in your analysis of "othering" to include how the isolation shown in the picture representents isolation in the figurative sense, as well as the literal. The lonely state of the car can be interpreted as Huie's commentary of the isolation of homelessness from our society. This is similar to Atwood's isolation of the character Offred from the rest of Gilead through both the story's narrative and the use of first person narration. I applaud the connection made between Atwood's use of flashbacks to Offred's lonely state. I would have never considered this in my own analysis.
ReplyDeleteLove this image- Taylor is spot on with why it is so visually pleasing (although what is actually going on might not be).
ReplyDeleteRemember to think about structure/format with any sort of text (visual or written) and to think about tone (it's gray here- why? Huie did that through the lens selected).
Some good points made about othering, but watch out for assumptions/generalizations. Be sure all of your "why" is strongly supported by your "what" and "how"