Reading Between Lines Of Citizen

Claudia Rankine’s Citizen shows that the white blank space takes up more space than all of Claudia Rankine’s black text and photos combined. Although the American Lyric is only a half-page, it has a lot of meaning. The lines blurred between the subject and the surrounding words blur the lines. It’s difficult to determine where you should place your focus and where you should direct your attention. Reflection on today’s hyper-visibility can be found in the monochromatic representations made of black inked text and blank space. The juxtaposition of text and images against the white space surrounding them reflects the decontextualization that we make in media.

Hyper-visibility describes an observation based in a sensed distinction that leads to a sense or deviance surrounding the subject being observed. This idea is exemplified in Rankine’s lyric. However, I would like to pay particular attention to a portion that quotes Judith Butler’s answer to being asked about language being hurtful. “Our very existence exposes us to another’s address. We are addressable. Our addressability …” is what carries our emotional openness (Citizen 49). Butler emphasizes how attentive we are to the subject when we address him. It is not intended to make racial remarks about an individual. To destroy them, not the other way around. They use the spotlight to make themselves visible, making them hyper-visible. This is how Rankine creates hyper-visibility by using dark ink and a white page. It allows the audience to pay more attention to what we are looking at. Our attentions are drawn towards the focus of the page. This is, in this case, the words. This idea leads us to wonder how space and image arrangement can affect the meaning of a section. The cover artwork of Rankine’s lyric raises questions about hyper-visibility. The cover artwork shows a black hoodie on a background of white. The cover art is simple and clear. It focuses on the central image of the hoodless jacket of cotton, with wire and strings hanging from it. It begs question: what’s the context of the image? The jacket is missing, the setting is missing, and the face of the person who owns this piece of clothing is not included. Everything seems to indicate something, even the wire sticking out from the hood. The image is credited to David Hammons, 1993. It is somewhat disturbing to discover that the image we assume to be about Trayvon Martin was taken 20 years before his death. The image seems to reflect the repeated, seemingly similar grievances that have been levelled against people of colour over many decades. The title of the cover is “In the Hood”, and it implies racism with its homonym. White imaginations easily turn hoods into hoods. This association suggests that suspicion is directly connected to “ghetto/bad neighborhoods of town”, which are often home to people of color. The white background reminds us of Zora Nale Hurston’s famous quote: “I don’t always feel color.” I feel most color when I am thrown against white sharp backgrounds” (Citizen. 52-53) This seems to echo the American society that takes actions and words outof context. Martin is associated with an image of a black boy wearing black hoodies. This image was used in criminalizing Martin. It was to show that he was naturally suspicious. He was black and he was suspect, so he was killed. He was a boy, buying Skittles. No background information is provided. His race, as well as his clothing, are removed from context. The positioning of the hood and the white space around it creates parallels in formatting and the perception of the message about decontextualization, hyper-visualization, and the inclusion of people of color today.

The message is perceived differently depending on how the words are formatted and the use of whitespace. To reflect on the hyper-visibility people of color have in our society today, Rankine uses space and graphic representations to illustrate her writing.

There is a certain theme Rankine employs to describe Zora Neale Hrust’s quote: “I don’t always feel color.” “I feel most colorful when I’m thrown against a clear, white background,” (Citizen 52-53) is one of two full bleeds in the book. At the top, the text is clear and consistent. As you move down the page, it becomes difficult to read because of black ink. The transition from clarity at each column’s top to disorder at its bottom reflects the complexity of a statement that appears simple. Ligon makes language an abstraction by repeating it until it becomes insignificant through its own repetitions. A solid white background makes the text more distinct, similar to Rankine’s general assertion that we often compare the two races’ media- the inks and the empty space. This particular use is a conscious focal point on deep colors of ink. This contrast between monochromatic hues and light visually conveys hyper-visibility.

Rankine has rearranged the format by putting the main text on the first page. The left pages are kept for indicating which speaker, while the right pages contain the author’s name. Although it would seem unusual to place only one side of a story, Rankine did so to show that Materazzi was portrayed as a victim. The media only listened to Materazzi’s side. Every story has two sides, and we can see them both in a book. This is a perfect example of the bias and selection in today’s media. Both the verbal and physical abusers were in wrong but Zidane only was held responsible and the media wouldn’t confirm what he was saying. It was just “lip reading” which is ironic considering the doubts many of today’s racist acts. Ironically, Zidane’s information is not enough for officials. They have to watch Materazzi move his lips. This takes more time and accuracy.

In addition, the idea that quotes from players at the soccer game are placed directly under one another without any indication of their authorship makes it seem like decontextualization. To imitate the media’s practice of placing instances and quotes in isolation, Rankine has placed them alone, surrounding them with whitespace. However, Rankine does place some context – names of individuals – around the quotes. But if the reader wants more context, they will need to flip to the back of the book to the page titled “Works Cited” to find the relationship of the images and text as well as where this information came from. This type of page-flipping to determine the true meaning creates confusion about the topic. Rankine’s message that something must be understood in context is communicated by placing the burden on the reader. The abrupt ends of short, clear statements are followed by blank pages that allow the mind to wander and make its own meaning. The blank page below the topic of the writing forces readers to create their own context. He says that despite having the same sabbatical time as everyone else, you are still on sabbatical. So you can respond easily because you’re friends. / What does that mean? / Exactly what do you mean? The reader can also contemplate the connections between the seemingly separate ideas and the next statements on the page. This is what Rankine wants to convey by keeping the individual instances on separate pages.

The message is communicated by the Rankine’s Citizen through the use of a lot of white space. The reader can sense the hyper-visibility Rankine and many others experienced in the “Citizen” instances, such as Trayvon Mart and the world cup. It is also interesting to see how these powerful literary arguments were juxtaposed. It is as if the text has too much white space. This serves to obscure the reality of black skin and the everyday inconveniences that come with it.