Tuesday, April 21, 2009

There is Still Prejudice

Not one to really follow American Idol and other reality shows, I couldn't help but feel the need to check out Susan Boyle from Britain's Got Talent on YouTube after hearing others talk about it. I was touched, and then saddened by the whole event.

Touched because Susan was perceived as the underdog in the competition and she totally rocked. Saddened because what does music have to do with the appearance of an individual? She was perceived as the underdog because she didn't look like a model or some slick representation from the media. She looks like the rest of us "real" people ("reality" show, get it?)
Our society is cultivating a new kind of bigotry where a person is devalued if they don't look a certain way (on top of that, we haven't even solved the racism issue).

Here is a sketch of my next project for the Illustration Friday topic "Impossibility" Susan is in the hot seat. Though not apparent in the sketch, I want to show the look prejudice and sarcasm of the judges and audience in the illustration.



5 comments:

winna said...

This is a wonderful impression---and very well done...altho, I did see her as a straight shaped figure---with good posture.

Alex said...

One look and I knew it's Susan Boyle!!! :) That also means superb job on sketching it... I think that's what courtroom artists usually do, I think they are great and with really fast hands.
:)I like this one A LOT!

David R. Vallejo said...

Thanks, winna and Alex.

Being compared to a courtroom artist is a vey high compliment to me. I really appreciate that kind of art. I hope the final illustration doesn't lose the immediacy of impact.

Timaree said...

I love it! You did a great job. I saw on the news the other day that people are having more plastic surgery with the poor job market as they think it will help them get a job! That is really sad. I hope Susan Boyle really does wake people up. One tiny sound from her mouth and you know you could listen all day long. She looks like a lot of other older women who don't fancy themselves up. Not everyone is the "prettiest". I have seen a lot of blogs saying the same thing so a lot of "real" people "get it".

Sarah Ketelaars said...

i love the simplicity here - the lines are really effective. I can see the likeness with the court reporter noted by someone else - you really captured the moment here.