Are You Who They Think You Are?

How do you look to other people? Do you think you are fairly represented for the unique individual that you are? Or are you thrown carelessly into a mess of misconceptions based on external characteristics? Surely, no one is exactly as they seem. There will always be a part of you that is hidden from view, unobstructed by the judgments of others. But unfortunately, many look at the whole picture without taking time to appreciate the beautifully intricate details that are woven together that form who we are. So, is it our fault for not being completely forthcoming about every aspect of who we are as a person, or are we simply the victims of the never-ending battle of misrepresentation?

In Yung Chang’s introspective documentary, Up The Yangtze, there was no end to the countless misrepresentations happening throughout the film. From the naïve generalizations spewed out by the cruise ship tourists to cruel judgments laid on the poor working class, it was obvious Chang chose to step back and simply let the culture of ignorance play out on its own.

One blatantly obvious scene of misrepresentation was the depiction of the tourists trying own traditional Chinese robes and adornments for a photo op, wile simultaneously providing statements such as “The people here are all really funny. They have very fun personalities”, or “I was very surprised how modern the cities were.” Now, it was evident that these tourists were set up for disaster from the start; what do you expect to hear when you have people completely surrounded by an unavoidable racist scenario? So, do we blame the tourists, or the staff who gave into the tourist stereotype to provide such a situation? Both indeed are at fault for only looking at the big picture, in this case wanting to take a fun picture while on vacation, rather than looking in depth to understand just how harmful a situation like this could be. 

In a similar way, Ann George’s work, Mr. Burke, Meet Helen Keller, provides the considerable example of Helen Keller, a revered feminist figure in history, who, simply put, was not how she seemed. Despite the pristine image that has carried on today, during her lifetime, she was a radical rhetorician, political advocate, and socialist who never shied away from controversy. Notwithstanding her power as a respected figure in society, many critics chose to focus on the limitations of her disabilities as a way to break down her credibility. As one critic noted, Keller “puts what she has been told on the same epistemological plane as what she has learned through observation. It’s as if she had no sense of where she stopped and the world of impersonal information began” (George, 345).  Unfortunately, it is much easier to focus on the lot one has been cast in life, rather than take the time to see what they have done with it. Just as Cindy took her dire family situation as a chance to change her living standards, Keller too overcame the burden of stereotypes and societal conventions to spark modification of misrepresentation of disabled people.

We can never force people to change their minds about us, but we can always strive to overcome our certain set of misrepresentation to prove we are more than what we seem. We have to chance to rise about the stereotypes and generalizations that weigh us down by showing the beautiful, individual details of who we are stand high above the misconstrued image people feel comfortable with.

-Clare Davis