Midnight in Chinatown In SFMOMA, the work that attracted me the most is “Midnight in Chinatown” taken by Williard E. Worden in 1903. As the name suggests, the photography depicts the Chinatown at midnight by using a long shot. There are Chinese traditional buildings along on the sides with dim lantern lights reflecting on the surface of ground. The photograph has a grey tone overall, which enhances a sense of quietness. The photographer uses the technique of perspective to suggest the endless Chinatown streets and attract the audience to go deeper and deeper. The most fascinating thing about this photograph is that it may lead to different interpretations and feelings for different audiences. For a foreigner other than Chinese, this picture
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As this photograph was taken in 1903, the grey tone of this picture reminds me of how Chinese labors work for mining industry when they first immigrated to US. From mid-19th century to 20th century, Chinese labors had suffered great racial discrimination in US. They were regarded as “cheap labor” and were responsible for heavy works. In fact, Chinatown might be the only place where they could avoid racial discrimination. Re-consider the photo, the midnight is still quiet, but there is more sadness and tiredness. I could imagine how suffering it might be for those Chinese to do heavy works all day long and experience all the unfair racial discriminations at the same time. Midnight might be the only time for them to rest and avoid the discrimination from local people. As the perspective suggests, there might be thousands of homes on the streets encountering the same experience everyday. The endless street is no longer just a suggestion of Chinatown’s long distance, but an insinuation of timing. The end of street is not the result of good wishes anymore, but a “tomorrow”, a “day” awaiting for Chinese. After dreaming, Chinese people still needed to face the reality — the racism in social norm. Back to history, this picture may suggest the effects of industrialization in USA. If what we learnt in class is mainly about the damage of industrialization on
As this photograph was taken in 1903, the grey tone of this picture reminds me of how Chinese labors work for mining industry when they first immigrated to US. From mid-19th century to 20th century, Chinese labors had suffered great racial discrimination in US. They were regarded as “cheap labor” and were responsible for heavy works. In fact, Chinatown might be the only place where they could avoid racial discrimination. Re-consider the photo, the midnight is still quiet, but there is more sadness and tiredness. I could imagine how suffering it might be for those Chinese to do heavy works all day long and experience all the unfair racial discriminations at the same time. Midnight might be the only time for them to rest and avoid the discrimination from local people. As the perspective suggests, there might be thousands of homes on the streets encountering the same experience everyday. The endless street is no longer just a suggestion of Chinatown’s long distance, but an insinuation of timing. The end of street is not the result of good wishes anymore, but a “tomorrow”, a “day” awaiting for Chinese. After dreaming, Chinese people still needed to face the reality — the racism in social norm. Back to history, this picture may suggest the effects of industrialization in USA. If what we learnt in class is mainly about the damage of industrialization on