What struck you as "Creative"?
I find it interesting that Whiley took oppression and represented it in a different, unique way. Rather than just showing what oppression is like, he took the long struggle of trying to mask true emotions with a smile. The real struggle is covering up what's truly there. After a while everyone breaks, but on their own time. Wiley did a fantastic job of showing how everyone breaks on their own time. Having the representation of four individuals at a time helped me come to that conclusion.
I also noticed that some of these subjects would chuckle during the experiment. I don't know if Whiley was hoping this would happen, but it brought this art to life for me. There comes a point where we laugh at ourselves for covering up emotion. We find it ridiculous. I'm not exactly sure if that's what was going through their mind at the time, but it seems fitting. We want to stop smiling because we hate it sometimes, but we force ourselves to mask what's buried underneath. Call it, mortification.
How do you think the author came up with the idea to do this project?
I think through Whiley's interactions with African American minstrels he noticed a pattern of covering up true emotions. He wanted to share his findings with others and hopefully shine light on bigger problems that seem to be covered up by a smile. He knew that smiles only lasted so long, so what better way to show that then finding the breaking point in an individual?
I love the connection you made about everyone 'breaking' at their own time - It was so interesting to see the last few moments of someone's smile and then suddenly see a new face - I saw most of them coming but there was one that didn't seem like he was struggling at all and then suddenly let up - kind of an interesting thought/concept. Its true, we're all different and we make it or break it at different times and because of different circumstances.
ReplyDeleteI love the connection you made about everyone 'breaking' at their own time - It was so interesting to see the last few moments of someone's smile and then suddenly see a new face - I saw most of them coming but there was one that didn't seem like he was struggling at all and then suddenly let up - kind of an interesting thought/concept. Its true, we're all different and we make it or break it at different times and because of different circumstances.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has a breaking point where they cannot hold back their strong emotions any longer. You bring up an interesting point that this project showed the breaking point of people smiling and when they would stop.
ReplyDelete