{"id":18394,"date":"2018-06-21T16:40:35","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T23:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=18394"},"modified":"2018-06-21T16:40:35","modified_gmt":"2018-06-21T23:40:35","slug":"the-power-of-color","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/the-power-of-color\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Color"},"content":{"rendered":"

Therefore, visual ethnography\u2026does not claim to reproduce an objective or truthful account of reality, but should offer versions of ethnographers\u2019 experiences of reality that are as loyal as possible to the context, the embodied, sensory, and affective experiences, and the negotiations and intersubjectivities through which the knowledge was produced.[1]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sarah Pink\u2019s explanation of visual ethnography offers a helpful framework for Gene Luen Yang\u2019s graphic novel set, Boxers & Saints.<\/em> Though his novels are aimed at educating readers about this historical event in China at the turn of the century, his visual depictions of the events clearly reflect the \u201cnegotiations and intersubjectivities\u201d of this conflict. The Boxer Rebellion and what historians refer to as \u201cChina\u2019s Century of Humiliation,\u201d[2]<\/a> continue to impact China\u2019s engagement with the modern world. While it does not get much attention in the west, Yang points out that it \u201cstill weighs heavily on [China\u2019s] foreign policy.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

Reading Boxers & Saints <\/em>as a visual ethnography, it would seem that the everyday Chinese experience of life during the late 1800\u2019s was a bland and colorless, with a few exceptions. In Boxers<\/em>, most people and places are depicted using neutral colors, whereas the opera, the god Tu Di Gong, the apparitions of the gods as the \u201cBig Sword Society,\u201d the cherry-blossom tree, and the foreigners (both good and bad) are bright and colorful. Similarly, in Saints<\/em>, the apparitions of Joan of Arc stand out as colorful moments in the life of Four\/Vibiana. In both novels, color marks the exotic or supernatural, giving the overall impression that the \u201cother\u201d is seen as more vivacious, significant, or powerful.<\/p>\n

In Wild Swans,<\/em> a novel set in the middle of the 20th<\/sup> century in China, I noticed several scenes where the choosing of one\u2019s seat in a social setting was significant.[4]<\/a> A friend of mine who is an expert on Chinese culture told me, \u201cthis seating structure is still around and foreigners get the honored seat.\u201d[5]<\/a> This comment got me thinking about the fact that the \u201cother\u201d or the foreigners in Boxers & Saints<\/em> were the most colorful. Was this a way of giving the \u201chonored seat\u201d to the outsiders? Or was this simply a device for highlighting their \u201cotherliness\u201d?<\/p>\n

Beyond the visual impact of the novels, I was struck by the profound themes of cultural and religious identity. As a westerner who is a Christian, I\u2019ve not had to wrestle with a conflict between my cultural and religious identities, but Yang reveals how this struggle is very real for those from eastern cultures who identify as Christians. \u201cIn China just over a hundred years ago, being a Chinese Christian was seen as a contradiction. Embracing a Western faith meant turning your back on Eastern culture.\u201d[6]<\/a> This was the tension that he sought to explore in these graphic novels that that tell the story of the Boxer Rebellion along two parallel time frames, with opposing perspectives.<\/p>\n

Author Gene Luen Yang, who was raised as a Chinese-American Roman Catholic, explains, \u201cReligion and culture are two important ways in which we as humans find our identity. That’s certainly true for me. My experiences growing up in both a Chinese American household and the Catholic Church define much of who I am.\u201d[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

While Boxers & Saints<\/em> delves into what happens when cultural identity and religious identity are at odds with each other, I find that in my context the opposite dynamic is at work. French people who have never set foot inside a church a will identify themselves as \u201cChristian\u201d or \u201cRoman Catholic,\u201d because their religious identity is completely conflated with their cultural identity. This leads to religious statistics that say anywhere from 50-60% of French people are Christians. It also leads to North American Christians asking missionaries like me, \u201cDoes France really need missionaries? Aren\u2019t they already \u2018reached\u2019?\u201d.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I loved it when an article came out on the Catholic website La Vie,<\/em> entitled, \u201cFrance, (de nouveau) terre de mission?\u201d<\/em> (which translates, \u201cFrance, once again a mission field?\u201d). This article, published March 31, 2016, says that (and I\u2019m translating here!) \u201cThe numbers speak.\u201d According to the Roman Catholic Church\u2019s own data, fewer than 5% of those who claim to be Catholic are \u201cpracticing\u201d Christians, and even if they count everyone who shows up for special occasions (weddings, baptisms, funerals) and holidays, that number only rises to 10%. In their own words, \u201cTherefore, 90% of our citizens could be considered a \u2018mission field.\u2019\u201d[9]<\/a><\/p>\n

In both cases, in Yang\u2019s depiction of the Boxer Rebellion and in the mission field of modern France, one theme that rings true is the need for wise contextualization. I found myself so frustrated (as I\u2019m sure Yang intended) when I read how the Gospel was twisted and misunderstood by the Chinese because the missionary priest failed to fully understand the culture. In France, it is the Gospel that gets drawn in dull colors, like a story so familiar that everyone assumes they already know it. It almost need to be de-contextualized in order to be re-contextualized and seen as the radical Good News that it really is. Instead, many French people view Christianity as a backdrop to their modern lives, like the Roman Empire or writings of Charlemagne. They miss the reality of its presence and activity in their world today.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Sarah Pink, Doing Visual Ethnography<\/em>, 3rd edition (Los Angeles: SAGE, 2013). 34.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Petra Mayer, \u201c\u2018Boxers & Saints\u2019 & Compassion: Questions For Gene Luen Yang,\u201d NPR.org, accessed June 21, 2018, https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2013\/10\/22\/234824741\/boxers-saints-compassion-quesions-for-gene-luen-yang.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Mayer.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Jung Chang, Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China<\/em>, 1st Touchstone ed (New York: Touchstone, 2003). 24.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/which-seat\/<\/a> Greg\u2019s response.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> J. Caleb Mozzocco, \u201cInterview: Gene Luen Yang on Boxers & Saints \u2014 Good Comics for Kids,\u201d accessed June 21, 2018, http:\/\/blogs.slj.com\/goodcomicsforkids\/2013\/09\/19\/interview-gene-luen-yang-on-boxers-saints\/.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Mayer, \u201c\u2018Boxers & Saints\u2019 & Compassion.\u201d<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> \u201cReligions in France | French Religion Data | GRF,\u201d accessed June 21, 2018, http:\/\/www.globalreligiousfutures.org\/countries\/france#\/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010&region_name=All%20Countries&restrictions_year=2015.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Mahaut Hermann, \u201cFrance, (de nouveua) terre de mission\u202f?,\u201d La Vie<\/em>, March 31, 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Therefore, visual ethnography\u2026does not claim to reproduce an objective or truthful account of reality, but should offer versions of ethnographers\u2019 experiences of reality that are as loyal as possible to the context, the embodied, sensory, and affective experiences, and the negotiations and intersubjectivities through which the knowledge was produced.[1] Sarah Pink\u2019s explanation of visual ethnography […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1311],"class_list":["post-18394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-gene-luen-yang","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18394"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18395,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18394\/revisions\/18395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}