Observation:
There is a man/woman looking directly into the camera. He/she is holding and smoking a cigarette. He/She has a afro, and is wearing iconic style sunglasses. The left side of the face is illuminated, while the right side is faded into blackness. There is a quote attached stating “I embody everything you most hate and fear”.
Inference:
After analyzing this photograph, it spews off several connotations as to what Piper is trying to display in this simple photograph. During the time of black feminism, the African American woman was not seen as individuals. They were mistreated by both white feminists and women, as well as emasculated by the African American men. Piper uses the The Mythic Being in a somewhat humorous way of displaying African American woman struggles in finding their place in society. Fanon comments in the article, Acting Like a Man says “to articulate oneself outside of the normative ideology you must embrace madness” (232). Piper follows this pattern in crossing dress between a man and a woman. As a way to demonstrate her masculine qualities, Piper uses a “Afro” which was to utilize the idea of “natural” or stereotypical past-time African American hairstyles. She is also smoking a cigarette, and is wearing icon-style sunglasses, which is also associated with male stereotypes. What is striking is the quote settled off to the left corner, stating “I embody everything you most hate and fear” demonstrates the threats possible perceived by the Mythic Being. The Mythic Being caused not a controversial statement on sexuality, but also the fear of African American power. In terms of sexuality, this photograph was a way to break the silence on ignored sexual expression, but was fearsome in that it was ruining black women stereotypes. In terms of power, because it affected the authority of male superiority. It degraded traditional gender roles and emasculated black men. Lastly, what was appealing was the contrast of light to darkness on the subject’s face. One the left side it was white, while on the other it was dark, it could demonstrate Piper’s “whiteness” complexion, as she appeared fair-skinned in most of her photographs, or it could represent the the two sides of the Mythic Being, a man and woman.
observation:
There is five shots from the torso and up of a African American woman. She is wearing a white make-shift dress. Her arms are folded against her dress. There is a short-time lapsing of photographs being taken as each pose is slightly different than the last one. Above each of the five poses, is the days of the week listed in order. Underneath is various negative words beginning with prefix “mis”.
Inference:
Simpson was notoriously known for using cinematic techniques of using multiple frame shots. She references Goddard’s technique, but decreased the shot frames from twenty-four to one, two or twelve (145). This photograph is taken in a short-time lapse, as each pose of the woman is slightly different from the last one. The way in which she holds her arms against her chest signals to the audience annoyance, defiance, or she is a very guarded woman. What is compelling is the plaques above each frame shot as it take the place of the woman’s face. Each plaque lists the days of the week, and the position of the each photograph suggests a sort of journal entry of each day of the week. The structure of this photograph could relate to the mistreatment of African American woman that they had endured daily. The plaque placed in the position of her face, could also suggest vocal repression. What gives away a negative connotation is the words on the plaques listed as the bottom, all beginning with the prefix “mis”. All the terms listed below reference some sort of dismal attitude towards African American women's identity
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