Huie presents a scene that, at a glance, appears to be just a man standing in a street with a cowboy hat on. Upon further inspection, it is clear the man is older and dressed head to toe in the classical southern clothes that can be seen in many old cowboys movies, which then explains the title of the piece "Real Cowboys". Looking into the details of the photo reveals a flaw in this persona, as it is evident from the zipper on his jacket, the car in the background and even bike of the unknowing passerby, that the photo was not taken in the late 1800s but rather only a few years prior to the present day. This man appears out of place in his time, an antique that reminds us of old but produces a curiosity as to why it is still there, ever present.
Margaret Atwood creates a similar effect by placing an object of the present in a situation more complacent to the past. Like the cowboy, Offred is out of place, but rather than be a reflection of the past, she is the future. A strong independent woman, who will actively stand up for her rights by disobeying the system, an uncommon thing leading up to the 1980s when The Handmaid's Tale was written, but progressively becoming more and more common. The effect of placing Offred in such a regressive society highlights these attributes and their importance by placing them in a situation where they become a life or death issue as they are in the dystopian city of Gilead. But how does this compare with Huie's photo? Both have a connection with being out of place and time but when it comes to the purpose they diverge. Huie's photograph more clearly presents a world where past and present exist together, as we see the man from another time using such things as zippers. Atwood, on the other hand, expresses a story by which the reader could interpret the message of rejecting the past, because of how it hurts and corrupts those who hold onto it too tightly. The photograph and the novel show how the past is always there but the novel brings into question, at what point will that allowance cross over into the realm of regression.
Huie, Wing Young. "Real Cowboys" 1997-2000. We are the Other. Minneapolis, MN. http://know.wingyounghuie.com/post/26450055932#_=_
