Wing Young Huie Photo Analysis

 



Wing Young Huie (2012-2013)
http://photos.wingyounghuie.com/p709406511/h7221e26d#h7221e26d

This photograph was taken by Wing Young Huie.  It's a part of his collection called We are the Other.  When first looking at this photo, I can see a woman on the left and a man on the right.  They are both sitting at tables in seats facing opposite directions.  Both of the tables have laptops on them, and above the tables are photographs hung on the wall.  The laptop on the man's table has a black screen while the woman's laptop is on and with writing on it.  Also, the woman's table looks a little bit messier, and she has a bag on the back of her chair.  In addition, the woman wears heavy, dark clothing compared to the man's light, colorful outfit.  They both are smiling, but the man's smile looks more cheerful.  He is looking straight at the camera, but she has her elbow on the table, and has her head in her hand with her eyes closed.  In a way, she looks tired and like she's hiding from the camera.

To the eye, it looks like simple photograph taken in a simple room with two people at work.  However, this photograph can be looked at in a deeper way to discover hidden meanings, or the big picture.  The face expressions, the body positions, and the atmosphere in the photo can all be looked at to reveal a bigger concept about the society we live in.  I viewed this photo, and at first saw a man and a woman almost in the same position, seeing them as equals.  Then, I took a closer look, and saw that the small differences between the man and the woman make a difference in my perspective.  In the past, there have been stories about women getting paid less at work than men who are doing the same job.  I see that displayed when I look at this photograph.  I see it through many different aspects of the photo.  For one, her table looks like it has more stuff on it, making it look messier.  In addition, her laptop screen is on displaying writing.  This represents how hard the woman is trying to work.  On the other hand, the man's table is clean/neat, and his screen is off.  This makes his table and his work seem relaxing and less stressful.  Also, when the photograph was taken of the two of them, he definitely looks happier in his position than she does.  He looks relaxed, while she looks tired and ready to get her work finished with.  I also looked at the photos that were hung above each of them.  There are three high quality photographs in frames above the woman.  The one photograph above the man looks like just a piece of paper taped on the wall.  All these aspects that can be seen present the woman as more hardworking and dedicated.  However, it shows the man as being happier.  Linking this to society, the photo displays women as having to work harder to become just as successful as men do, even if they both have the same job and qualities.  It shows men as having the advantage in society.  Furthermore, another meaning that can be taken from the photograph is the amount of stressful work compared to age level.  The woman does look younger than the man, and this can display that younger people are finding school and work more stressful these days than it used to be due to the changing society.

This photograph can also be compared to Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.  Both use the concept of "othering" to separate females and males.  In The Handmaid's Tale, the citizens are classified into different societal groups.  These different groups show that the men have more power and control in the society than women do.  The women work harder, but most are lower class Handmaids or Marthas.  Even the Wives are lower than the elite men, the Commanders.  This is very much what Wing Young Huie's photograph is showing.  In both, the men and women are separated by the objects they possess.  They're also separated by color.  In the book, each group wears a different color.  The Handmaids specifically wear red.  In the photo, the colors worn by the man and woman are very different.  The woman's clothing is darker, displaying a more depressing concept, while the man's clothing is colorful and bright, representing contentedness.  In conclusion, both the book and the photograph display "othering" by displaying a clear difference between males and females in society.