Analysis of an Image
A. Selection, Context of Image, and Reference Information
Caption:
Ann Edie and her guide miniature horse, Panda, checking out at Staples
ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT IN A SUBURB of Albany, a group of children dressed as vampires and witches ran past a middle-aged woman in plain clothes. She gripped a leather harness — like the kind used for Seeing Eye dogs — which was attached to a small, fuzzy black-and-white horse barely tall enough to reach the woman’s hip.
My group decided to find images off the Internet and/or other media sources.
APA citing:
Skloot, R. (12/31/08). Creature Comforts. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com on 3/01/09.
Summary of article:
Panda, the miniature horse, leads her owner, Ann Edie through her town. On Halloween night in Albany, NY, Panda is leading Ann, its owner, down the sidewalk less streets. It has to maneuver her around mailboxes, ditches, and/or leaves. This article was written because she was out on Halloween, and the young children thought she was in costume! The Guide Horse Foundation which got her the horse has been around for about ten years. Ann got Panda because horses are milder mannered, they can live for about thirty years, and they are herd-like. A horse takes about $60,000 to train, but the money is worth it because typically one individual would go through 7-8 dogs, whose life spans are undoubtedly less than that of one horse. Previously, Ann had several guide dogs but she did not like the dogs chasing cats/squirrels while dragging her around.
B. Educating People with Disabilities
After thinking about what we have covered in class, the person with the disability, Ann, could be educated in the general education classroom. To be in the general education classroom, Ann would need larger aisles, special furniture and/or location in the classroom. She would need a place to accommodate her guide. She would need more time to get through the hallways and obviously a special use bathroom to accommodate her. As an adult, this individual could hold a regular job, but she would need support to do the work. She could be for instance: a singer, secretary, teacher, receptionist, etc. I would not expect her to become a construction worker or heavy machinery operator – something that requires sight.
C. Critique of Image
1. Describe your emotional, intellectual and behavioral responses to the image. How did this image make you feel? What did it make you think? What did you want to do after looking at the image?
The image of the woman with the miniature horse makes me feel okay. It does not appear as if she is suffering in any way by her disability. I was wondering why the shopping cart is left in front of both of them? Clearly, she is not going to see it, and I am questioning if the horse is going to guide her around it without running in to it. Even if it is her cart with what looks like an item in the cart, then how difficult is it for her to push the cart with one hand while being led by the horse with the other hand? Personally, I am intrigued to be there with both of them to see how she is accomplishing this all in the Staples store.
2. State whether the individual with exceptionalities was portrayed as an ordinary person, as a superhuman (portrayed as having accomplished amazing feats), or as a stereotype of some kind (i.e. people who have intellectual disabilities can’t go to school or can’t learn) and explain in a few sentences why you have that opinion/what was going on in the image to give you that impression.
This individual with exceptionalities is being portrayed as a normal person. She does not look like she has a stereotype of any kind. She has her coat on so I know she has been outdoors and now is shopping at this indoor store. Clearly, she is getting on with her life and participating in society.
3. What devalued roles (see Positive and Negative Images of Disability in WebCT for descriptions) did you see portrayed? Discuss each: Object of Pity; Object or Burden of Charity; Object of Menace; Object of Dread; Object of Ridicule; Subhuman; Sick; and Childlike. If you do not see one (or more) of the devalued roles, tell me why you don’t believe the role was portrayed in the image (ex.: “’Childlike’ was not portrayed, because the person seems to be an adult and is pictured with other adults, engaged in an outdoors activity. ‘Sexual deviate’ was not apparent, because the person is sitting alone, just looking out the window.”)
Object of Pity: I only feel sorry for her in that the cart looks like it is in her way. Otherwise, I do not feel bad for her. She seems like she is functioning in society. She looks normal – appearance, height, and weight-wise.
Object of Charity: This individual is not seen as helpless. She is functioning with her horse as her guide.
Object of Menace: Looking at this individual, she is not shown as being feared by others. In the photo, the cashier is waiting on her; thus, no one should be afraid of her. Personally, others might be afraid of the horse. Some people are afraid of animals in general, so a larger animal might be intimidating to others.
Object of Dread: I would not feel uncomfortable in her presence. No one should feel apprehensive/nervous around her or the horse. She looks just like any regular person would. Her only “problem” is that she can not see.
Object of Ridicule: I would not laugh at this individual. Younger kids might laugh at the horse. Children would be more apt to come up and want to touch the horse as long as they are not afraid of the animal. The caption under the photo was what made me laugh. On Halloween, amongst witches and vampires, there is a normal woman with a white/black miniature horse. It seemed like they were making fun of the horse, which should be replaced with a dog guide.
Subhuman: She is not a vegetable. She is capable of walking around in society along with doing other everyday functions. She only needs the horse as her guide to get her around.
Sick: Her disability is not a disease and it is not catching. She was either born with no sight or she had an accident which made her this way.
Childlike: This individual is not viewed as childlike. She is clearly a middle age woman in the photo.
Holy Innocent: I do not feel she is a “holy innocent”. As any normal human being, this individual has the competence to comprehend her actions and commit a crime if she chose to do so.
Sexual Deviate: Just looking at the image, I would not consider the individual a sexual deviate. As middle-age woman in this image, you never fully know what an individual may be thinking or have in mind for someone else.
b. How did the photographer create these portrayals? (What photography techniques were used to convey those clues that you picked up on?)
Photographer chose a time to take a picture of this individual in a public setting (a store) with her horse guide. The picture was taken during the daylight hours from what I can see. Therefore, the picture was not taken during the early hours or after dark to make it seem like the individual was trying to avoid the public.
4. Discuss if and how the image (NOT THE ARTICLE) included the six values (see Positive and Negative Images of in WebCT for descriptions) to be achieved in the lives of individuals with disabilities. Were they introduced at all? Were they achieved? Discuss each: Inherent Strengths; Great Expectations; Relationships; Positive Contributions; Full Citizenship; and Choices.
I saw five of the six affirming values in this image.
Inherent Strengths: Yes, this lady has inherent strength. Even though she can not see, she has not let it control her life. She is strong in that she is not relying on another human being to get her around the community. She chose to get a miniature horse to help her as her guide. She wanted this horse because it would last longer than a dog.
Great Expectations: Personally, I do not think this middle-aged lady has great expectations. She has lived over half of her life. If she was younger, then I would expect she would have more dreams to live out. I think she is just living her life to be as normal as possible and to get along with the rest of society. She looks like she is a middle class citizen from her attire.
Relationships: From the image, it seems like she is able to get along with sales lady and her horse guide. We do not know what others expect of her. Clearly, she has at least two relationships going on within the image.
Positive Contributions: This lady seems as if she is contributing to the community (at least to the store in which she is purchasing something). She does not seem to be relying on any family members to assist her.
Full Citizenship: Yes, she is having full citizenship. She is out and about. She is active. She seems to be dressing like a woman of her age would.
Choices: Yes, she is guiding her own life. She is self-determined to act from her own preference of not relying on others to get her out and about within the community.
5. What has been discussed in class that ties in to what you saw in the image and the comments you’ve made about the portrayal of stereotyping, devalued roles and/or positive aspects of the PWD’s lives? What was your personal reaction to the image or connections you made with what you’ve experienced or learned?
From what we have done in class, this lady should have been put first in the picture. It seems from the caption that the news media was trying to portray this lady on a normal day out as “freak of nature” by going around with a miniature horse. No less, she was out on Halloween! Tell me what the person has, not who he/she is. Do not let the condition define this lady. Positively speaking, this lady is in control of her life. People need to respect her. The sales lady should ask her if she needs her help in store. Do not assume she does need your help. Clearly, not all individuals with a disability are suffering as in this case. This lady looks like any other normal person. Unless you saw her walking around, you would not think that she has a disability. The miniature horse for most people will clue them in that she is blind. For my experience, most individuals in the store will keep their distance from these individuals – my guess is for mutual respect in that we know they will probably need more room to get around.
6. Do you think people would have a more positive attitude about people with exceptionalities after viewing this? If so, explain why? What negative attitudes or beliefs about people with disabilities do you think might be subtly or not so subtly reinforced? Consider how the typical citizen would respond to this image. What kind of impression would it make on them?
Yes, I think people would have a more constructive outlook towards people with exceptionalities after looking at this image. Clearly, the individual is not depending on others for help. From looking at this image, we should have more compassion for those individuals who are blind. She is determined to do things for herself. The only negative attitude that might be reinforced is that she is not fully self sufficient. She does have the need for the guide as her “help” -- she is relying on another animal. Other less ethical individuals might target this lady because they feel she can be victimized. In their eyes, she might be considered easy prey. A typical citizen would think there is nothing out of the ordinary. The lady was photographed in New York – the Big Apple!! Obviously, we have seen worse pictures than this in the news. This lady is just at the checkout!!
7. A). If you knew absolutely nothing about people with the specific disabilities of the person depicted in your image, what would you learn or conclude about individuals with exceptionalities from looking at this image?
If I were just to look at this image and know nothing about this individual, I would conclude that this lady was helpless without this horse guide. I would think she would be “victimized” all the time. I am sure someone would try and short change her money just to see if she noticed it or not. Not everyone in our society has high morals. Most looking at this image are probably wondering how many times the horse guides her into other things?
B). After reflecting on what a person viewing this image would conclude about PWD, what did you realize about our culture’s way of portraying, reacting to, and/or responding to people with disabilities from looking at this image? How do you think the image and its purpose might continue to shape what we believe about people with disabilities?
It seems as though society portrays people with disabilities as being feeble/pathetic. The disability is a functional limitation that in this case is interfering with the lady’s ability to see. What we should be doing is making reference to the individual first and not let the handicap describe the situation. The image’s caption and article seemed to show that society is still making fun of these helpless individuals like she was dressed up for Halloween. If anything, society needs to change. Before, I had only heard about service dogs. Now, there are service horses, monkeys, goats, ducks, parrots, and the list goes on. Clearly, there are choices and supports for people who are blind. What would happen if one of these animals went “berserk” in a public setting? Who is responsible then? We can not deny these individuals from having these animals as their guides! What about getting her city to install sidewalks and other handicap accessible options to “help” her live a more “normal” life? What if her horse guide decides to go to the bathroom in the store, who then is responsible for the cleanup? With all the viruses that are being spread from animal to animal, I would have a problem coming in contact with animal feces in a public setting especially if I were at a restaurant planning on eating!! As a whole, our society still has more work to do to fully accept people with disabilities without any prejudice or stereotyping.