mikealjsite

My final piece is a photograph I took inspired by the Reluctant Fundamentalist. I was motivated in the struggle between father and son and decided to photograph that which was the opposite of what it appeared. The son’s revert back to Islam while the father remained caught up in Islamic differed significantly from the typical story about west vs Islam. A parent usually fights with a child about how to maintain their Islamic routes, but in this case the child is reprimanding the parent for lack of commitment. It is an interesting perspective, and while I’m not convinced it is actually possible it raises some interesting questions. Such as whose responsibility is it to provide a role model. For example who does the reader sympathize with, typically it is the child because of their naiveté and desire to fit in with their peers that prevents the parent from understanding the fascination with western culture. However in this story the child in fact condemns his father, an act that brings up numerous emotions because we actually feel hesitant to side with the father who we believe has lost his identity by adapting western way of life. Little empathy is given to him but for no apparent reason besides the age difference, anyone can struggle with fitting in and it is best left up to that individual to decide for herself on how to handle it. My picture displays a common stereotype of athletes at Harvard that results in a stigma placed on them by other students. This features a picture of my roommate reading about climate change, a passion of his that many people would assume he does not participate in because of his appearance.