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Stuart Hall’s Essay, “The Spectacle of the Other” discusses and provides many concepts pertaining to hierarchical binary oppositions. Binary oppositions are complete opposite references to an idea or thought, as will be discussed in this piece – civilization/savagery, good/bad, and white/colored. Binary oppositions are never neutral in meaning and exemplifying a hierarchy because these stereotypes are used to categorize a certain group in a positive, but usually negative way – civilization, good, and white, is “better’ than the opposing side – savagery, bad, and colored. ... Henry’s short story piece “An Afternoon Miracle” and John Steinbeck’s short story piece “Flight” exemplify the important role binary oppositions and stereotypes have played in shaping and creating the representation of the Mexican characters. ... With this binary opposition anything located Northward is considered as good and untouched by evil, while anything Southward is considered as an evil that threatens goodness. ... In this case, the binary opposition that good out ways the bad is not true because Quinlan is initially the good and civilized person, but in the end he was evil and crooked. ... This stereotype that the evil person is Mexican and the fair person is White also exemplifies the opposite ends of the binary system. ...
The concept of binary opposition is frequently in use, whether people realize it or not, in the past, currently in the present, and most definitely in the future. Binary opposition is so ingrained and evident in almost every culture that the concept is hard to dispose of. Cultural institutions have set up hierarchical binary oppositions as exemplified in Stuart Hall’s Essay “The Spectacle of the Other” which illustrates positive and negative images of a certain ethnicity. Many struggles are noted that pertain to breaking the hierarchical binary oppositions, because a certain group, such as Anglo-Americans always indulges itself with the belief that they are more powerful and superior than another group, such as Mexicans. ... Binary oppositions and stereotypes allow for negative representation of Chicano/Mexican people; however, though the changes are slow and steady, these negative images of the Mexican people are gradually changing to a positive meaning, a positive image – an image the Mexican people deserve.
Approximate Word count = 1603
Approximate Pages = 6.4
(250 words per page double spaced)
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