Month: October 2019

It’s quite subjective. If we think about it as a theoretical question such as “should a white man be able to write a story from the point of view of a black woman”, it feels like the majority of people would say no. Mainly because it could be inappropriate as this man doesn’t really have any experience of being a black woman. HOWEVER in a fictional book where we’re witnessing this, to me personally, it feels like it’s alright. I wouldn’t mind if someone would write from the perspective of other people. To be honest I kind of enjoy and I think that that’s the whole point of a book?

It also depends on the intent of the author and the reader. If the reader is looking for something truthful and factual, maybe it’s better to go the book whose author is a pro at that. It works the other way too. Authors can write for purely fictional reasons and have fun with creating characters (however stressful and brain racking it might be).

It depends. But I’d say it’s really okay for anyone to write about anything. It’s up to the readers whether they take it as the truth or not.

In this photograph titled “In-home barbershop”, Gordon Parks offers a closer and different insight into this family’s home. Parks captures these people in what resembles a living room and from his position, it is possible to see their whole body except for the man being shaved, creating an idea of their proximity. The distance between the people in the photograph and the viewer is stretched even further, dividing the viewers and subjects and almost creating the mindset of ‘that’s happening over there while I’m all the way over here’. Despite this photograph being in more intimate settings, Parks still creates a stark divide between the viewers and this family, almost as if not to completely intrude on their privacy. Furthermore, this effect is also seen with the composition of the doorframe, creating a frame around the family and distancing them even more.

The element of colour in the photograph also makes the image more vivid and lively, a contrast between the other black and white pictures. This element offers an intimate look inside their home – something not everyone would be willing to allow, revealing what really goes on inside a black persons house. With colour, Parks offset the distance between the viewers and subjects, and offered a more personal insight into black peoples lives and homes.

This might relate to the title on the newspaper page “Restraints : open and hidden” as having a shave in actual barbershops would’ve been more available for white men. Furthermore, while everyone seems pretty content in this photograph doing their own thing, this would have had a very different reaction if white people were put in this situation

Today in class we watched a video with the author Ta-Nehisi Coates who talked about words that shouldn’t really be used. But he brought up an interesting and very true point where he said that the words depend on the context. I completely agree with that. I’m quite impartial to swear words, I feel like people who use them in every sentence lack a bit of creativity but in certain situations they make the most sense. For example, if you stub your toe, that’s okay if you swear. However if you use it in a demeaning sense, that’s not the greatest thing. Especially if they’re actual terms. For example, if someone says “oh that shirt is so gay”, that’s not the nicest thing as it’s quite offensive to people who are actually gay. Did that person just compare the LGBTQ+ community to a bad thing? Ehhhhh. There are other words you could use.

Another not so nice word would be “aids” or “cancer”. Eg: “That game is such aids” or “oh my god that teacher gives me cancer”. Is there really not another word you could use instead of a sickness that people struggle and die from? All of these words are quite insensitive and not appropriate in any context except for their actual meanings.