This photograph by Wing Young Huie portrays two unlikely friends, David and Lou. David is a native of Minneapolis and has lived in the same house for all of his life. Lou is a Chicago native but moved to Minneapolis because "It's hard for a young black man there. Mofos robbing each other." David and Lou have been friends for 7 years and consider themselves"Brothers from another mother". They are both entrepreneurs and they're "always gettin' it". They both seem to be laid-back "dudes" and seem to have a high degree of respect for one another. Their friendship might startle some people because they are both from completely different backgrounds, both ethnically and culturally, but still consider each other "brothers". we can see that David (left) might be stereotyped as a traditional "redneck" and Lou (right) might be stereotyped as a "Gangsta". This would inherently mean that they would not associate with each other. By taking this picture Huie shows that othering can be avoided and that we can look past our differences to become friends.
Huie portrays othering in this picture differently than most. instead of focusing on the differences in people that drive them apart, he shows how two completely different people became close friends. In the picture you can clearly see David and Lou hanging out on a porch as friends as opposed to enemies which common stereotypes would dictate. In the end he uses this picture in hopes to overcome othering and portrays it as something that doesn't have to exist.
This is different from Margaret Attwood and the handmaids tale because Attwood shows distinct separation between characters of different social classes and cultures. social classes are clearly developed with each one having a specific role to play. Differences in culture are shown when the Japanese tour Gilead and Offred makes comments on how differently they dress.
Huie portrays othering in this picture differently than most. instead of focusing on the differences in people that drive them apart, he shows how two completely different people became close friends. In the picture you can clearly see David and Lou hanging out on a porch as friends as opposed to enemies which common stereotypes would dictate. In the end he uses this picture in hopes to overcome othering and portrays it as something that doesn't have to exist.
This is different from Margaret Attwood and the handmaids tale because Attwood shows distinct separation between characters of different social classes and cultures. social classes are clearly developed with each one having a specific role to play. Differences in culture are shown when the Japanese tour Gilead and Offred makes comments on how differently they dress.
Your analysis starts strong- I like that you incorporated contextual understanding of the two subjects to strengthen your response. I would have liked to have seen two things:
ReplyDelete1) Noting composition choices made by Wing Young Huie- why have one man sitting versus one standing? Why the post between them?
2) A better connection to the novel- What are specific examples of othering in the text? I like how you thought about the Japanese tourists, but your explanation could have been amazing!