Race: The White and the Yellow

This photo conveys both classed and raced bodies. I found this photo while reading about China's economy and America's influence. This was the example they gave of a "rich" family. This photo represented itself to me as a visual economic commentary on China and how it is becoming more westernized as well as other aspects that Leppert suggests through female bodies and other bodies.

At quick glance, it seemed like an

apartment you would see in New York or Chicago. You get no sense that this photo was taken in Chin

a from how the shades cover the outside world. Notice how clean and specifically how white the walls are, even the ceiling light is emitting an ungodly white light, with no hint of yellow to represent the Asian. The 'white'ness of the walls bring Dyer to mind and about how white people are viewed as the norm and the unmarked. The photo is 75% white and makes the photo feel pure and clean and even suggesting white is the way to go. Or yay! for Westernizing.

You'd imagine they'd have Chinese art, but when you look closer, the paintings are large and have outlines of western skyscrapers. The only piece of furniture that seems Chinese is the lamp in the left corner of the photo. This "oriental other" is set towards the front for us to see, while part of it is still hidden behind the chair. The yellow from the lamp is very defined and when we classify color with race, we connect yellow with Asian. Seeing as this is the only piece of oriental furniture, this represents the fact that China is becoming more Americanized and suggesting that there will only be oriental aesthetics of the Chinese left in the richer Chinese families to represent their old culture.

Also, notice how they are split up. The Chinese man is closest to the yellow oriental lamp, then their presumably mixed son and then the Caucasian woman is the furthest away from the lamp and notice how the Chinese father's face is blurred whereas the Caucasian woman's face is more clear. On her side of the room is the more Western furniture, television, and the scattered toys. The white female could even go as far as representing evil, by not watching the child, while the husband is busy working away on the phone, similar to the American view on Asians as hard workers. Although the place is clean, it is cluttered with all the furniture, paintings, and the child's toys scattered on t

he ground. Representing the female body, her posture is slouched and although she should probably be helping the child stand and walk, she is holding a stuffed animal and looks tired. Specific to Leppert's analysis on female bodies, with her posture and facial expression this way, it makes the female appear lazy and from lazy, evil, because she isn't taking direct care of her child and isn't happy to be around her child.

I might just have this view on this photo because my friend just recently went to visit China and was talking to me about how Americanized China was becoming. I can definitely see someone taking this photo and suggesting the opposite and that this photo may suggest the complete opposite that China(or more specifically the photographer) is very open to the westernization of China and their people.

One huge example of westernization of the Asian cultures is the desire for the double eye lid, which we sort of discussed in class, as well as the colored lens, especially in the color blue.

They also showed some photos of "poor" China, which would have been interesting to read politically too.

If you're interested in the rich/poor gap in China, you can read more here: (A lot of the stuff isn't too recent anymore, but still interesting) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/22/business/worldbusiness/22iht-inside23.1.18861664.html