Wing Young Huie Photo Analysis

We Gave Them An Inch, Fargo, North Dakota (1999)

Wing Young Huie

In just glancing at this photo it is clear to see that this man is standing proudly puffing out his chest.  On his chest lies the words, "We gave them an inch and they took 5000 miles" surrounded by images of Native Americans.

Upon looking at the image closer it is most likely that he is of Native American decent.  This can be deduced from his choice of clothing, the fact that the photo was taken in North Dakota, which has deep historical ties to the Native American community, and his appearance.  Knowing this, the shirt is more than just a statement, rather it is a rallying cry for his people and an accusation against the U.S. government.  The fact that he sticks his chest out with these words on it prove how he is passionate about being Native American and that he doesn't wish to be anything else.  One can see how he doesn't wish to be Americanized; however, he already has.

Everything he is wearing from the jeans to the t-shirt to the aviator sunglasses is part of U.S. culture.  This can serve as further proof to the claim that "they took 5000 miles" because the U.S. has pressed its cultural and societal norms on the Native American communities, thus taking their own culture away from them.  It is now not just a reference to amount of land the white man took.  This image can serve as a bigger message as to how our nation has oppressed and put down minority societies all throughout its existence and yet these atrocities are overlooked and not really thought about anymore, especially when they are as old as our quarrels with the Native Americans.

Prescribed Question: How do Wing Young Huie and Margret Atwood present the concept of "othering" through image, layout/format, language, and/or color? You may compare the two texts/approaches, contrast, or both.

Both Wing Young Wei and Margret Atwood present "othering" in their works through the use of language, yet they are also able to produce this effect by utilizing a few other methods.  Wing Young Huie presents "othering" in this image through the use color and language.  "Othering" is the essence of this photo because it is of a Native American man, of which he is a minority in the United States, and is concerning an event that is rarely talked about.  Huie presents this "othering" through his choice of using a black and white photograph of the man.  This color choice of black and white is representative of a funeral for the Native American people thus producing the idea that this is a dead group.  One that no longer belongs in our society.  It is also metaphorical in the sense that black and white are colors that are representative of the night, where there is no light.  This can then be taken as the idea that they are no longer in the light of public opinion or the talk of government officials.  They have essentially been forgotten, pushed out, and disassociated from.  Even the language on the shirt displays a sense of "othering".  When it says "We gave them an inch and they took 5000 miles" it serves as a play on the saying "If you give them an inch, they will take a mile" referring to the amount of land that was taken from the Native Americans by the white man from the very tip of Florida to the top of Alaska.  This quote adds to the sense of othering because the question is then posed, "What land do they have now?" and the answer to that is the reserves made out for them to live away from the citizens of the U.S.  This is ironic in the sense that this is directly "othering" because instead of the government making them citizens or just bettering relations as to further a peaceful and progressive relationship, they sent them far, far away to another land making them aliens to the U.S. citizens.  Atwood however displays "othering" in The Handmaid's Tale in her use of format as well as language.  In this novel the government of Gilead specifically "others" those they send to the Colonies.  This is comparable to how the Native Americans were sent away to allow their citizens to disassociate with them, but instead of Native Americans the people that were sent here were often homosexuals or criminals or women who could not bear children.  The language used to speak about the people that they send away to the Colonies gives the reader a sense of how they are outed by society and how their human dignity is stripped away upon being called these names.  Such names include "Unwomen", "Gender Traitor", and "Dissenter".   All of these paint those in the Colonies in a poor light and "others" them, not just from the society of Gilead, but from humanity itself.  Atwood also chooses to really introduce the idea of the Colonies through Moira, who arguably deserves to be in the Colonies.  This format of introduction takes the reader one step further away from the Colonies and the people there, thus giving them a sense of what it must be like in Gilead to know or talk about the Colonies.  They are out of reach and are disassociated with the normal society.  There is never direct communication between the citizens of Gilead and the Colonies, rather there is always at least one middle-man preventing direct contact.  In conclusion, the "othering" done by Huie and Atwood is both presented in their choice of language shown in the texts, but they also use techniques such as color and format to produce the same feeling in tandem with the language.

Citations:
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. New York: Anchor Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, 1998. Print.