Jumping the Hurdles of Societal Standards

Both Toni Morrison and Kehinde Wiley make the difficult life of African Americans clear, as they depict the lives of African Americans amd compare to the ideal white standard. Morrison demonstrates the self-rejection of Pecola as a victim of white beauty standards; she constantly prays for blonde hair and "pretty blue eyes". While the black race is shown to be "ugly", the white race including Mary Jane and Shirley Temple are treated almost like gods for their beauty. Morrison uses this contrast to convey how blacks and minorities are at the hands of the white society. They are forced to conform to white beauty standards and societal standards. This is further exemplified when Morrison alludes to slavery mentioning "the master" who controls the black's beauty and in a sense their life.

Kehinde Wiley uses his paintings such as Officers of the Hussars (below) to demonstrate a very similar point. He mocks the original painting as he replaces the white man with a black man. He conveys that when we see a black man in a position of power, society has taught us to be shocked by that image. It looks so unnatural for this black man to be surrounded with such extravagance. However, when we see the original painting with the white man it looks normal to us. This goes to show how we have all fallen into this ideal white standard, making them superior to all others.  The black man is also stereotyped; he is depicted wearing the classic wife beater, baggy jeans and Timberland boots. On the other hand, the white man proudly wears his country's uniform. These standards have ingrained this divide between races to the extent where I see the black man as a thug in the streets, and the white man as a noble countrymen.

Through the use of different methods, both book and painting, Morrison and Wiley tell the story in the voice and point of view of a minority. The stark contrast created by each tells the audience the magnitude of the inequality in this world. They serve as a call to action; to shock us in a such a way as to change our perspective and seek change in society.