#IBmakingart

Wing Young Huie is a photographer whose goal is to portray the cultural America through his photographs. Huie has several collections of photos based on the specific aspect of American culture he desires to display. One of these collections is named "From the Archive", which is a compilation of photos that Huie has taken throughout his career which he has not assigned to a specific album. The photo I chose belongs to "From the Archive", and was taken in North Dakota in 1999.

The photo I chose is labeled We gave them an inch, and displays a Native American man with his hands crossed in front of himself. The man is wearing a shirt with the comment, "We gave them an inch and they took 5000 miles." This shirt is alluding to the 19th Century American expansion West, which included the forced removal of American Indians from their settled land. Huie's photo communicates the dark parts of American history in which political moves permitted unjustified actions against specific cultural groups. The man in the photo is a symbol of the oppressed individuals belonging to American history, as well as the American present. Huie's publication of the photo is a reminder that the cruel treatment of specific groups in the country's history is not something that has faded with time, and is something that is still remembered by the groups who were- and still are- victimized.

The concept of othering is presented through the language and symbolism present in Huie's photograph. The comment on the photographed man's shirt is a form of allusion since it is referring to an action in American history that several individuals are familiar with. The diction of the comment, specifically its use of the words "we" and "they", creates a distinct line between those who are being referenced. The "we" refers to Native Americans, and can be generalized as all groups who have been oppressed by the White man in American history, while the "they" refers to the White men who were the oppressors. The fact that the photographed individual is a Native American is not coincidental, rather, it is a reemphasis on the message of the shirt. The Native American man symbolizes all individuals who have been oppressed throughout American history and the message is clear: they have not forgotten. Huie's photograph portrays othering because he is transforming the connotation associated with minority groups in America. Rather than portraying them as victims, Huie's photograph relabels such groups as powerful. The Native American man's shirt displays that such groups do not attempt to ignore the unjust actions against them in the past, but instead are intent on remembering the past as well as reminding others of it. Such a decision- to remind Americans that their history involves injustice and cruelty- is not only brave, but powerful.

Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale displays othering through her use of symbolism and language as well. Atwood's othering is more reliant on language than Huie's due to the means by which her message is communicated; Atwood's text is a novel while Huie's is a photograph. Atwood's use of the color red to identify the Handmaids is symbolic, as red is commonly referred to as the color of lust, as well as fertility. Atwood's use of red to distinguish the Handmaids from other individuals in Gilead was othering in itself, as this color is significant in re-establishing a woman's place in society. Atwood's use of the prefix "Of" for every Handmaid reflects her intention of portraying the Handmaids as fundamentally different than males since all they are valuable for is bearing children. The use of "Of" reflects the idea of Atwood's novel that women are not valuable until they belong to a man. Such a diction choice is powerful, yet it is different in its intention for othering when compared to Huie's photograph. Atwood's othering through symbolism and language is different than Huie's because she is confining individuals to a new identity while Huie is communicating a freedom to a new identity. Huie's photograph communicates othering by offering minority groups power, while Atwood's text displays othering by portraying women as valuable for their reproductive abilities and nothing more.

Photo Source: http://www.wingyounghuie.com/allprojects