Walter, 38th & Chicago Bus Stop, South Minneapolis, MN, by Wing Young Huie 2012

Denotation:

In this photo the first thing that stands out is a young Latino male sitting at a city bus stop holding a sign that reads “Equality for the undocumented.” The young man is dressed casually in a hoodie, jeans, and converse. There is a long string of cars lined up on the side of the street in the background. A wall and car are directly behind the bench. There is litter under the bench and in the bushes in the background making the area look rundown and uncared for. A simple bench and street sign are the only components of the bus stop in the image.

Connotation:

As you take a deeper look at the image portrayed in this photo, you can make conclusions about the area in which this was taken. The litter surrounding the stop and the simplicity of the bench creates the idea that this bus stop is located in an area of low socioeconomic class where there is not someone working on the upkeep of the community stop. As you can tell from the cars lined along the street in the background, this bus stop is located in a populated urban area of South Minneapolis.

Casual clothing worn by the man at the bus stop indicated that he is not going to work at a high-paying office job, but rather if he is heading to work he is most likely a laborer. The sign he hold protests the inequality of treatment toward undocumented workers signifying that he is probably the victim of unfair treatment and pay because of his status as an undocumented citizen. It is also safe to assume that mistreatment of workers is an issue for many of the people in the community, not just for this man.

Attwood vs. Huie:

In Huie’s image, Walter, he shows an event of “othering” that happens all the time in our society. Hatred and anger towards immigrants for traveling into the US illegally and occupying many labor jobs creates stereotypes towards all Latino Americans. The language we use towards these individuals such as “un-American” and “illegal” creates an atmosphere that condones mistreatment of these individuals in the form of unfair pay and unsafe working conditions.

The man in this image makes a bold statement addressing the fact that these individuals are being abused because of their citizenship status and our society is profiting from it. This situation and image represent how “othering” allows society to commit immoral acts against “other” people.

In The Handmaid’s Tale, Attwood also uses language to create “others.” By categorizing each type of individual into a specific group with a specific name such as, “handmaids,” “Aunts,” or “Commanders.” It alienates a person from anyone in another group. The society in THT destroys the concept of an individual and functions on the idea that everyone is just part of a whole, the wholes being the groups.

This lack of individualism allows for extreme “othering” and condones actions such as torture. Aunts often tortured handmaids that misbehaved and this was okay because the Aunts were superior and the handmaids were “other.”

In both today’s society represented by Huie, and the society in The Handmaid’s Tale represented by Attwood, “othering” is an deed that allows immoral actions to occur. From these two examples it is shown that “othering” is a very negative thing done within societies. It was also clear from these two sources that language and stereotypes are a large factor in how “othering” occurs. By trying to alter the common language used towards groups, we can begin to see them not as “other” but as fellow human beings.