(wonderful photo courtesy of the world wide web & mmoca)
While i was browsing all the hidden meanings of life, as portrayed through Apple Pie at MMOCA, i decided that instead of looking, let the picture find me. yep, it grasped me by the tiny wrists. so let me tell you about the photo & what i took from observing this with my fingers to my chin for a good ten minutes:
picture: Man Eating Turkey Leg (cibachrome print)
taken: Walt Disney World
artist: Greta Pratt in 1999
I understand from this picture that the figure on the left (guy chewing turkey leg) is thinking 'i am better than you, so take that (takes a bite of leg). It kind of leaves an aftertaste of John Smith's work in our course reader earlier this term. John Smith writes about being better, stronger, smarter, ecetera. Also, i find this very weird that he is taking such a huge bite out of this leg, but also seeminly judging the statue of this handsome Native American. I feel as if this is EXACTLY what America is. America is so judgemental of everyone that is unlike themselves, as if we have not put enough prejudices over Native Americans already, this picture pretty much sums it up. Eugenics now-a-days, are still present about people that aren't of a superior pure and white race. This picture is the absolute epitome of American culture as we see it today...sad, but very true. I think that the voices that should be in this picture, are in this picture. You have the white male figure, who seems about 65-75 years old, you can only imagine what kind of lifestyle that he has grown up to know about placing prejudices on other races/ethnicities.As far as the statue goes, this is a perfect example of how Americanization has worked its way into every culture that is here in America. The Native American voices are saying, 'look at this, this is how we've been treated since englishman have got here', to them we are putty that they can just sculpt into whatever they want. even though we were here first.
ironically, on thanksgiving with puritans and native americans, they shared one thing in common...turkey legs.
with peace and love (:
Hahaha this picture was soooo funny. I love how you connect it to America and I completly agree. Americans, like this weird, old man, think they are better than people who aren't like them.
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