Atwood vs. Huie
Two Ways of "Othering"
I chose the photograph entitled "Young Girl in the Dora the Explorer Blanket" by Wing Young Huie. This photograph was taken in South Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2012. It is a part of a project titled We Are the Other. This photo depicts a young girl Hispanic girl wrapped in a blanket with Dora the Explorer on it. At first glance this looks like and everyday easy going photograph and if one isn't analyzing it for underlying messages it would remain that way. When one takes a closer look and ponder the implications of this photo, however, it can be seen in a much deeper light. The young girl slightly resembles Dora the Explorer and by looking at her face she seems to be pleased to be holding the said blanket. Some might argue that this is because as a young Hispanic girl in the United States, Dora is a role model, someone from her culture that she can relate to and ,in a sense, idolize.
In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, different characters are "othered" or singled-out through language. In Kate's case she was renamed. She lost her sense of self control and her personal identity by being renamed "Offred". This was true for all the Handmaids. Not having a name that gave them a individual identity set them apart from other women in society and forced them to be pooled into a generalized category. They no longer had free will or the ability to identify themselves aside from the Commander and Wife they were given to.This is how Gilead "othered" the Handmaids. In Wing Young Huie's "Young Girl in the Dora the Explorer Blanket", the young girl is "othered" through stereotypes. Dora the Explorer, in a sense is a projection of American society views young Hispanic girls. Whether she is aware of it or not this young girl is playing directly into the stereotypes both good and bad about the women of her culture. In this case language isn't what is used to show the "othering" of this girl, but rather image and common symbols. The Dora the Explorer blanket represents the common stereotypes of Hispanic women.
One of your peers selected this image- I think it's a great choice because of the similarities between the subject and her blanket. It brings up the question of it the girl likes Dora because she looks like her, because of the show, etc. Great second paragraph- you make strong associations which lead to a strong analysis.
ReplyDeleteI really like the point you made about how our name gives us a way to identify ourselves. I also thought that it was interesting that you connected the dora blanket with stereotypes and how the young girl is perpetuating the stereotypes being a Hispanic girl.
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