Analysis of Wing Young Huie's "We Gave Them An Inch"
At first glance I see a man who is standing with a seemingly confident pose, wearing a shirt that says "We gave them an inch and they took 5000 miles." On his shirt there are what looks like Native Americans riding on horses; he looks to be Native American as well. His shirt seems to be the focal point of this picture, as it is in the middle of the shot. The other aspects of this picture seem to share the same grayish hue; the whiteness of the shirt acts as a stark contrast. He is wearing this shirt in public, meaning that he is proudly showing the message that his shirt gives off; he is also proud of his culture and where he came from.
He is wearing sunglasses, possibly to remove his identity so that he could represent a group of people rather than just himself. The sunglasses show a slight reflection of the photographer, which emphasize the message of reflection, as the message of his shirt is a reference to a historical event. This is a reference to the "Trail of Tears" that occurred in the 19th century. This was when Andrew Jackson influenced Congress to pass the Removal Act that forcibly relocated Native Americans out of their homes and west of the Mississippi River. This was done through pillaging, rape, imprisonment and murder. This was an act of genocide against the Native American people, and I feel that this could also be considered to be an act of terrorism against the Native American people. The man pictured seems to share my point-of-view, as he is wearing this shirt in a public place, and he agreed to have his picture taken with this shirt on.
Wing Young Huie and Margaret Atwood both portray the concept of "othering" through highlighting the oppression that a group of people face. In The Handmaid's Tale Atwood focuses on how women were oppressed by society and reduced to whether they were barren or not and how powerful their male significant other was. In this picture, Huie focuses on how Native Americans were targeted by white settlers in the 19th century, and how they were reduced to a group of people whose absence was needed for the white settlers to fully prosper. Both sources portray this message through passivity. In The Handmaid's Tale, Offred very subtly protests against the system of purity by swaying her hips in front of one of the guards, knowing that her actions would cause an internal reaction from him; her actions acted against the fundamentals of her society. In Huie's picture, the man pictured has a very bold message, but it is shown in a very indirect way. His shirt does not specifically state that "we" represents Native Americans and that "they represents the white settlers, but the viewer must have historical knowledge to understand the message of his shirt. Overall, both of the passive actions shown by Offred and the man pictured show the concept of "othering" as empowering rather than oppressive due to the intelligent ways that they both protested against their societies.
Wing Young Huie's Website
Information on "Trail of Tears"
Note: Yes, the second sentence in the second paragraph is satirical. I got tired of analyzing the picture so deeply, and this was my form of a joke. I realize that Wing Young Huie most likely did not think that the sunglasses were showing off the concept of reflection; I think in this case the sunglasses really ARE just sunglasses.
I think it is interesting how you talked about the effect of “othering” as being empowering rather than oppressive. The man in the picture uses the “othering” of his race to protest against an event that has significantly impacted the lives of Native Americans in the past and even today as they have become a marginalised community. However, in the case of Offred, I would argue that although Atwood showcases “othering” through passivity, it does not empower Offred but it emphasises her struggle in society and isolates her as the protagonist. She has several thoughts and feelings that she is not allowed to share as they may be unorthodox or she may be reported by another member of society. The first-person narrative allows us, the audience, to feel Offred’s emotions and see what Offred is going through, therefore effectively “othering” Offred from the rest of society.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the way the man is protesting is passive. It's true that he is not going out and yelling in the streets, but the inference the audience would have to make about the message is something that the general American population has some background on. I feel that Offred's protest isn't in the way she walks and sways her hips, but that she is not being brainwashed to the thoughts of the society the way that she in theory should be. I agree that the two actions that the individuals are taking in these instances are examples of using a marginalized identity and finding a way to find it empowering instead, but i don't think the actions they are taking to find that empowerment are passive.
ReplyDeleteI like your comment on his sunglasses and how they can contribute to him being a symbol for a larger group of people. I also like how you mentioned that you think this man may share your opinion, because that makes him all the more a simple yet powerful individual. It's interesting that you find Atwood's othering as empowering, but I completely agree with your thought process. I analyzed the same picture but I like that you focused on different aspects than I did.
ReplyDeleteI liked your comment on the sunglasses and how he is wearing them to take away from his personal identity and to represent the identity of an entire group of people. An idea similar to this can be seen in The Handmaids Tale through the uniforms that the handmaid's have to wear. The government of Gilead makes them dress the same to take away from their personal identity as a form of oppression, but the man in this picture wears sunglasses to hide his identity and represent a group in an empowering way.
ReplyDeleteGood first post- I always like when students select this image.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you sort of point out- this isn't necessarily a visual interesting image to analyze but it's power happens with what Huie is trying to convey. You bring up some nice connections.
Use the Big 5 we talked about recently in class to help you stay focused on and fully analyze a text (both written and visual).