Wing Young Huie: Frogtown
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| Family on the Front Steps, St. Paul, MN (1993-1995) by Wing Young Huie Original photo |
Upon first glance of the image, I see a family sitting on their porch. One man is standing while the women and children are sitting. This gives a feeling of closeness. Everyone isn't necessarily smiling but they all seem happy and/or content with this moment. The older children are holding or carrying the younger ones. While examining the image further, there is only one standing adult male. This may serve as protection since he is looking down upon them. The woman that's closest to the right appears to be the eldest, possibly a mother or grandmother of the children shown. The children's focus is on other things outside while the focus of the adults is the children. The message of this photo is sacrifice. The adults in the photo want what's best for the kids so they can have a bright future. They are together and look inseparable due to the relations shown ex) the man looking onto his family and the little boy holding a baby on the far right.
Both Margaret Atwood and Wing Young Huie present the concept of "othering". This is presented through mainly color. Huie uses a black and white contrast to present the image. Looking at his other works, the black and white theme is his style for many of his pictures. He uses this style to show the seriousness of these images and place more emphasis on the impact. It is less distracting than if there were many different colors. Atwood, however, uses a different approach when using colors. She uses colors to illustrate the division of social classes. In Atwood's work, Offred says "Women are divided into a small range of social categories,each one signified by a specifically colored dress in a similar style. Handmaids wear red, Marthas wear green, and Wives wear blue. Econowives, the lower-class women who still have minimal agency, are sort of a mixture of all these categories; so they wear stripes" (Atwood 24).
After reading her examination I can also agree on the starement that she made about the adults wanting what's best for the children in the photograph. The overall look of the home and the caring/protective gaze the adults have for them really shine through despite the outside look of the home and the surrounding area. The black and white theme in my opinion could be seen as a way to mask the truth of what is really going on just as how Offred uses her thoughts to mask what she is really think and feeling in certian situtations. The color contrast could be a way to make everything seem okay when in fact it is really not, or perphaps Huie chooses to shoot in black and white to evoke some kind of emotion out of the people who will view/purchase his photos.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comments on how there's one older man, so he is representing a sort of "protection" for the family. I think that another message that could be perceived is how family is always one's number one priority. By looking at the picture, it seems as though the family is really close and that they are all content with their lives almost. I think that by using the black and white, it can take away stereotypes and the lack of color can make this analysis apply to families of any race or ethnicity.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a good job analyzing the picture however I see it differently. To me the picture represents the major role women play in a family. The man in the picture may be at the top, however he is reclining, taking a passive role in the family. The women however seem to all be interacting and contributing to the family. Even the young girl in the bottom right is supporting a younger child. Your description of how color creates othering in the works is correct, however I wish you would go into greater depth, perhaps explaining why the characters in THT were given the color clothing they wear.
ReplyDeleteRating your blog, if Beowulf is a 10 and Grendel is a 1, then I give you a Hrothgar.
I definitely see the point of view in which you saw the photograph. I love how you interpreted it. It reminded me of things I've seen in my personal life, meaning seeing older generations put the children first. Protecting them and helping them become stronger so they can grow to be better. As for the the comparison of Huie and Atwood, the color scheme is in fact a grand factor. As a film student, who often does focus on the color scheme of things I do think that they do present "othering" through colors.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand your analyzation of the relationship between the two distinct groups (adults and children). You can see this definitive difference as their focuses are very opposite. It reiterates the mentality of a child as being very observant, yet careless in their worries. Adults are also observant, but accumulate that characteristic with carefulness. This is the clear difference between the two groups and their intentions. I believe the photographer establishes othering in the comradery present between the children and the adults. One can establish that they are two different groups of people, yet they are presented in a way that is very similar. They are all in the same location. The adults are sitting on the same level as the children but they are ofcourse taller. This represents their obvious superiority and the childrens inferiority in regards to their build and mentality. I liked how you referenced color because that is a clear difference between this photographer and the color scheme Atwood decides to portray. Black and white offers a type of vagueness and secrecy that is unlike the defined nature of colors and their meaning in Gilead. The lack of color makes you question their environment, their financial situation and all that surrounds them. In the Handmaid's Tale, there is a clear color for every woman and man along with his/her role in society.
ReplyDeleteI agree with when you comment on the marital status' of the family members in the group pictured. I believe that the father of the family is shown at the top of the photograph to show superiority. With this superiority, comes the responsibility of protecting the family, like you have mentioned above; all of which I agree with. I also agree with you when you compare what the adults focus vs. what the children's focus is on. The children are looking out towards who knows what, while the parents are focused on the children in which means everything to them.
ReplyDeleteI also chose to focus on the use of color through the aspect of "othering". This makes your argument even stronger to me because I completely agree. Color shows your identity and plays a big impact on the photo and The Handmaid's Tale.
OVERALL VERY GOOD(: