What is Identity politics?

Identity politics, put simply is the tendency for people from certain religions, ethnic groups, social backgrounds and other groups to create exclusive political alliances, rather than choosing on the brood-based party politics. With the term made in 1977 by the Combahee River collective, its usage went on to become more popular in the 80’s, where events based on identity became more prevalent. Such as with the social activisms of People from The Feminist, LGBT and Civil rights groups. The most recent case of this term can be seen with the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Black Lives Matter movement is a decentralised political and social movement that strides towards showing the highlighted issues around racism. Being an international movement, it can be throughout many countries where black people have experienced racism and oppression. Due to the numerous reported cases of African Americans being killed by white police officers such as Breanna Taylor, the situation grew larger and larger with riots being held in protest. The most significant riot was held when A man called George Floyd was killed after a police officer knelt on his neck. After this, city’s in the US developed into chaos as members of their black community’s and people who supported them, rioted against the police about the unfairness law enforcement had treated them, with the issue becoming so widespread celebrities became involved in the marches held In major cities across the world.

(Such as: John Boyega in London and Jonah Hill in Los Angeles).

(Police and protesters: Clashed amongst the rioting, with fires, tear gas and batons).

With the cases of rioting however, unnecessary violence and property damage, causes harm to both people in and outside the cause. In some cases black business owners found their stores looted and destroyed during the BLM riots despite being supporters of the cause. This raised a question to at what point did it stop becoming about the actual objective of the movement and instead became an excuse for greediness and senseless violence.

Due to foundation of many areas being built on the backs of slavery, the movement found itself originating in America, with one of the major events in history for the cause being the civil rights movement. Spanning from 1954 to 1968, black people held a campaign to abolish Racism, discrimination and segregation in the US. Key figures arose from this such as Rosa parks’ and her bus boycotts as-well as Martin Luther King Jr, speaking out on behalf on creating a world where Black people could be treated equality to other people. 

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.”

“You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.”

On a local level, The Black Lives Matter movement can be found amongst the Channel Islands. One example being the push by protestors to remove the George De Carteret statue in June of 2020 due to his strong links to slavery after the death of George Floyd Sparked a worldwide debate on who should be immortalised in the form of statues.

Since 2020, 168 statues of historical figures who had links to the slave trade have been removed. One of these statues who sparked controversy was the one of George de Carteret outside the George de Carteret Pub we’re it was vandalised for his links to the slave trade.

(White paint was seen to thrown of him in the early stages of the protest, with later protests having ‘blood’ on his hands and bound in chains).

Identity politics can be seen to spark conversation about the issues faced by certain members of our societies. However with the rise of demonstrations amongst different groups it seems that people are at a culture war to make themselves standout amongst each other. However with actions of hardship publicly shown and protested about by these groups, it goes to show how much it is relevant in the world and how it needs to change to make it a better place for everyone to live in.

These are my contact sheets for this shoot, I picked my best shots by making the best shots green and the worst red. I was looking for photos that the lighting was already good prior editing and were well composed.

Edit One

I started by opening one shot on photoshop and dragging a second shot on top of the image, for this one I chose completely contrasting shots, one is black and white and one was taken with coloured gels.

The next step was to adjust the blending layers so both shots were visible creating the unusual multi exposure effect.

Edit Two

Edit Three

Final Outcomes

These are my final outcomes for editing using double exposure, while this is a technique that can be achieved by using a slow shutter speed on the camera I wanted to actually to try and merge two images together using photoshop. The results are quite interesting and like the previous editing of this project I chose too try three quite different edits within the technique I was trying.

Best Shot Evaluation

This is my favourite edit, I love how the colours blend together and let the black and white image poke through beneath the top layer adding depth. The two images have combined to look like one as the bottom layer has the models arm in the shot which I made sure lined up with the top layer fading into the bottom layer. The bottom layer which is the black and white layer has also lined up with the top layer so the models hand is under the colourful layers chin creating lines of grey in amongst the bright colours. The black and white image creating a sort of patchwork appears like the image is pushing thought the top layer. I love how unusual the image looks but for two completely different shots they combine very well looking intentional and focused. It is a playful result of using this editing technique which can create so many different outcomes and styles, however I love how the image isn’t as it first appears and in fact the more you look at it the more details emerge. I think it askes the viewer to look deeper into the photo and while it doesn’t have a deep meaning I aim for it to teach people to not just glance at things and in fact learn form everything you can and that allows you too as it isn’t always as it seems.

These are my shots from both shoots, I have marked the ones I like and will consider using with green and yellow. The red shots are not useable but not at all what I’m looking for or are a bad shot as the model is blinking etc.

Edit One

The first bit of editing I did on this shot on photoshop was to crop the excess blank space out of the image and then use the rectangular marquee tool to select a section of the photo, the models eye.

I then used the move tool to move the selected area and start to create my photo montage.

I repeated the process making sure I moved the selected aeras to new parts of the photo making for an off kilter appearance.

I then created a new selected area and copy and pasted it multiple times, this allowed me to create a layered effect but using the same part of the photo.

Edit Two

For this shot I used the elliptical marquee tool to create a circular shape instead of a rectangle, I repeated the same process as the previous edit but used a circle instead.

I wanted to create something unusual with this photo so I used the filter tab on the one of the selected circles, I did this to be able to then have a blurred circle.

I wanted to create a black and white element within the photo so I used the new adjustments layer on the selected circle selecting the option from the bar below the selected circle.

I then adjusted saturation to make the circle black and white. This adds contrast to the over all photo making for a more interesting montage.

I then selected the background copy layer, once I had done this I used the move tool to move the entire layer moving all the circle selections into an interesting shape and creating further depth to the photo.

Edit Three

I then selected remove background on the triangle layer. Leaving the white triangles over the models face slightly opaque.

I also reedited the first photo I edited by using all the skills I had learnt doing the other edits, I chose to use the polygon lasso tool to allow me to cut out interesting and free hand shapes, I made three out of four of the cut outs black and white by once the area was selected going to image-adjustments-saturation-contrast+brightness adjusting each to suit the area of the photo.

These are my final four photos, I have tried very different ideas on each one. By doing this it has allowed me to experiment with new techniques on photoshop.

This is my favourite final image, it was actually the first one I did but I really like the ‘glitch’ effect created by the editing. The coloured lighting created by using coloured gels on the honey comb flash head has added intrigue to the photo as the lighting is split perfectly down the middle of the image it adds dimension to the shot, however as the hoodie was a reddish colour it has allowed for the editing of the layers to blend in and create an interesting pattern from the shadows and meeting of fabric. I like how it draws the eye into the displaced parts of the photo and creates a powerful feeling as the pose, having the model looking down onto the camera feels like the model is above/ higher figure of authority. Particularly, I like having the black background and how it contrasts well with the blue of the far left displaced rectangle. It doesn’t change the original photo much but does make it a unique image and one that draws the viewer in forcing them to look where parts of the photo are from and ask why it was done. Following this shot I edited two other photos however I think sometimes the simplicity of this photo makes it a very strong, well balanced image. It askes the viewer questions they might not even know the answer too, and as a the photographer and creator of the image myself I am not all too sure ether, it askes the viewer to reflect on why we always look at peoples face first and that is what we tend to judge off of but as humans we have many different layers which one we choose to show an individual is up to us. To explain this idea I used crops of the image and pulled them across and misplacing them to show we look the same but there are different layers to a individual from our emotions to how we react in certain situations.

IDENTITY POLITICS: a political approach based on a particular identity, such as; race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social background, caste, and social class.

This can be conceptualised being about the presentation and representation of identities. This is founded in the shared experiences of injustice of members of certain social groups, typically aiming for political freedom (at times wishing minority groups) within a society where they are not able to exist freely, attempting to make others understand what it is like for them in a day-to-day life.

The second half of the twentieth century saw the emergence of large-scale political movements—second wave feminism, Black Civil Rights in the U.S., gay and lesbian liberation, and the American Indian movements. Identity politics is greatly connected to the idea that some social groups are oppressed which can lead to stereotyping, violence, appropriation of identities or even erasure of them. The term was coined by the Combahee River Collective in 1977 and gained use in the 1980s, gaining currency with the emergence of social activism, manifesting in various dialogues within the feminist, American civil rights, and LGBT movements, disabled groups, as well as multiple nationalist and postcolonial organizations, for example: Black Lives Matter movement.

For example, in more recent years, the Black Lives Matter movement gained immense news coverage of people of all identity speaking up on the injustice that this group of people face within a society. This movement seeks to highlight racial violence and police brutality within society against black people, with the hashtag created in July 2013. This formed after the after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of a teen Trayvon Martin 17 months earlier in February 2012. It became nationally recognised for street demonstrations following the 2014 deaths of two more African Americans, Michael Brown and Eric Garner, being only some of the protested names of people who died at the hands of racial violence by the police. In the summer of 2015, Black Lives Matter activists became involved in the 2016 US election. The originators of the hashtag and call to action, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, expanded their project into a national network of over 30 local chapters between 2014 and 2016. Street demonstrations and public protests emerged of people, regardless of who they were, standing up for this cause.

CULTURE WARS: a type of conflict which occurs when different beliefs and cultures clash against one another, the struggling for dominance of their personal values. It commonly refers to topics on which there is general societal disagreement and polarization in societal values. This can occur on a micro or macro scale, able to give explanations for violence or even wars.

Cultural conflict is likely to emerge when the rules and values of one cultural group are substantially different from another, and members of the cultures come in contact with each other. This is commonly also phrased as a culture clash.

This term is usually used in western politics concerning issues such as homosexuality, transgender rights or racial viewpoints based upon personal views, morals or lifestyles. An example of cultural conflict is the debate over abortion in the United States, where it is legalised in some states however illegal in others. Ethnic cleansing is another extreme example of cultural conflict. Wars can also be a result of a cultural conflict; for example the differing views on slavery were one of the reasons for the American Civil War.