 |
We are the Other - David and Lou, South Minneapolis, MN (2012)
They were like an echo. Whatever question I asked one would answer and then the other would nod in agreement or repeat the answer. They met seven years ago when Lou (right) moved here from Chicago. “I don’t ever want to go back,” he said. “It’s hard for a young black man there. Mofos robbing each other.”
David lives a block away in the house he grew up in. They are “brothers from another mother” they said. Some other things they are:
“We love women.”
“Real recognize real.”
“We’re two bosses, entrepreneurs. We’re always gettin’ it.”
“Whatever gets the money, that’s what we’re into. And family. That’s about it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let me be clear: this photo is not like any other photo; it is a photo of culture, of race, of dignity, of ethnicity,of man, of friendship, of life. It demonstrates how close and how far away two people can be, even if they're only feet away from each other, which is why I chose this particular photo.
At a glance, the photo depicts two men sitting on a porch, one white, and one black. It looks as though they are enjoying each others company, and channeling some of the same energy.
But if you look deeper, you can see how the men hauntingly mimic each other; like the way both hunch over slightly, with their heads hanging over their bodies; the way their left arms bend slightly less then ninety degrees, clutching the hand; the way they wear their rectangular facial hair, surrounding the lips; the way their faces fall, as if sharing the same pain. The way they share their body language demonstrates how close the friendship the boys have, and how much they have rubbed off each other.
Besides how close the two men are, the photo also swings the other way by demonstrating how unalike they are. In the photo, the white man is wearing lighter clothing, and is sitting on the lighter side of the porch, where as the black man is wearing darker clothing, sitting on the darker side of the porch. Not only is the appearance of color important to their separation, but how ironically there is a porch beam barricading the white man to the left, and the black man to the right. This separation represents how the white man will never understand the black with his culture and background and vice versa.
When I think about The Handmaid's Tale and connect it to the photo, I see the men representing the "others" together, and the "others" individually.
They represent the "others" together because of how close they are. For example, in the book, the ultimate goal of the handmaids was to become one, and function as one.The unison that Atwood wrote that the Handmaids should have is depicted thorough Huie's photograph because even he himself wrote that the two boys "were like an echo" to each other. The resemblance of the two men cast them out of society and into their own "others" group.
The two boys also represent the "others" individually because of the distance in culture and background. First, the black man grew up in Chicago and had a rough time there, setting him a part from his friend who grew up in Minneapolis. The difference in ethnicity most likely put the black man at a rougher point (stereotypes, racial profiling, unconsciously thinking that blacks are not superior to whites) than the white man, and because of that, suffered. In The Handmaid's Tale, the groups are set up based off of the background of each person. If these two men in the photo were placed in the society, they would go their separate ways, and get casted out into their own "other" groups.
I've concluded that Atwood wrote to specifically divide each group in society, creating the "others", and unified the groups within, similarly to that of Huie. In both cases, color divided the groups, and shared feelings drew them together.
As Hall and Oates sang, "So close, yet so far away", which represents both the book and photograph, and how the "others" group is formed.
Let me be clear: this photo is not like any other photo; it is a photo of culture, of race, of dignity, of ethnicity,of man, of friendship, of life. It demonstrates how close and how far away two people can be, even if they're only feet away from each other, which is why I chose this particular photo.
At a glance, the photo depicts two men sitting on a porch, one white, and one black. It looks as though they are enjoying each others company, and channeling some of the same energy.
But if you look deeper, you can see how the men hauntingly mimic each other; like the way both hunch over slightly, with their heads hanging over their bodies; the way their left arms bend slightly less then ninety degrees, clutching the hand; the way they wear their rectangular facial hair, surrounding the lips; the way their faces fall, as if sharing the same pain. The way they share their body language demonstrates how close the friendship the boys have, and how much they have rubbed off each other.
Besides how close the two men are, the photo also swings the other way by demonstrating how unalike they are. In the photo, the white man is wearing lighter clothing, and is sitting on the lighter side of the porch, where as the black man is wearing darker clothing, sitting on the darker side of the porch. Not only is the appearance of color important to their separation, but how ironically there is a porch beam barricading the white man to the left, and the black man to the right. This separation represents how the white man will never understand the black with his culture and background and vice versa.
When I think about The Handmaid's Tale and connect it to the photo, I see the men representing the "others" together, and the "others" individually.
They represent the "others" together because of how close they are. For example, in the book, the ultimate goal of the handmaids was to become one, and function as one.The unison that Atwood wrote that the Handmaids should have is depicted thorough Huie's photograph because even he himself wrote that the two boys "were like an echo" to each other. The resemblance of the two men cast them out of society and into their own "others" group.
The two boys also represent the "others" individually because of the distance in culture and background. First, the black man grew up in Chicago and had a rough time there, setting him a part from his friend who grew up in Minneapolis. The difference in ethnicity most likely put the black man at a rougher point (stereotypes, racial profiling, unconsciously thinking that blacks are not superior to whites) than the white man, and because of that, suffered. In The Handmaid's Tale, the groups are set up based off of the background of each person. If these two men in the photo were placed in the society, they would go their separate ways, and get casted out into their own "other" groups.
I've concluded that Atwood wrote to specifically divide each group in society, creating the "others", and unified the groups within, similarly to that of Huie. In both cases, color divided the groups, and shared feelings drew them together.
As Hall and Oates sang, "So close, yet so far away", which represents both the book and photograph, and how the "others" group is formed.
Erin- great response. You treated both texts equally, which provided a rich response/analysis. I appreciated that you looked at how the two men are opposite but that they are composed to mimic one another. I also appreciate that you saw parallels to the novel in this- the handmaids are taught to mimic one another, to be unified, but each is coming from a different past that makes this nearly impossible.
ReplyDeleteHi. I would like to disagree with the statement with how "the white man will never understand the black with his culture" and the symbolism of the pole in the porch. This seems like a generalization that need to be more fully analyzed. I think we're close friends and obviously, two different races but I feel like I understand some aspects of your culture and vice versa. We have been able to create this relationship due to our experience as IB students much like these two friends who have started their relationship due to their experience as Minnesotans (or any shared experience). I feel like you should have highlighted their interpersonal similarities less superficially. I like your conclusion on Atwood's reason for othering and how color divides groups I didn't see the parallel between clothing color and race until now. Our global society as a a whole uses this now.to justify disenfranchisement, inequality, and injustice.
ReplyDelete