The Others

Wing Young Huie 

From the University Avenue Project 2007-2010 on University Avenue in St. Paul

At first glance, if one were to be stereotypical, this picture looks like an image of five people who may be up to no good. They are not smiling, the boys are all wearing baggy jeans and shirts, and two are wearing skull caps. The one in the middle is even sitting on the table instead of in a chair. Many people may actually feel threatened walking up to this group of people.

Upon further examination, it can be seen that not only are they not up to no good, they are actually attempting to convey a positive message. The sign in the lap of the oldest person says:

“I’m not a good bank robber, but I’m a great big brother.”

The sign changes the picture completely. It gives an inside look into the lives of the subjects. It suggests that first of all, they are not the type of people to steal or commit crimes, and goes even further to show that the man in the middle even tries his best to care for and positively influence his siblings (or younger kids who he treats as his siblings). The four others circled around him suggests that the one in the middle is the oldest, and they all count on him. This picture is actually a very effective tool to use to show people that what they first see or think about people may not actually be the truth.

Both Wing Young Huie and Margaret Atwood present the concept of “othering” in similar ways. In our society, “others” are generally the poorer, disenfranchised people who commit crimes like stealing or vandalizing. The stereotype is that those people wear clothes and expressions as shown in Huie’s picture. So Huie depicts “others” by presenting people in that type of clothing and with those expressions in his image.  Similarly, Margaret Atwood presents the concept of “othering” in The Handmaid’s Tale through her descriptions of the clothing and expressions of her characters. She describes how Handmaids must wear red dresses, and Marthas have to wear green dresses. In addition, the Handmaids must wear conservative and serious expressions. These images of clothing and expressions display how “others” are presented in the society of Gilead: if someone is wearing red or green or has a serious expression, she is different, less important, an “other.”