Two common themes we studied this term are the themes of insiders/outsiders and media representation. In Dany Laferriere’s The World is Moving Around Me, he re-tells his experience of the Haitian earthquake of January 12, 2010. During this experience, Laferriere portrays himself as both an insider and an outsider due to his Haitian-Canadian background. These two statuses allows him to link the gap between the Haitians and readers of his memoir. Indeed, the book’s foreword states how “this is a story that’s not his to tell” (10), depicting how his status as a Canadian visitor to Haiti makes him an outsider. On the other hand, Laferriere also considers himself an insider since he is part Haitian. His insider status is especially useful as it allows him to speak up for the Haitians against the media’s negative stereotypical frames. One of these frames was how Haiti was a poor and corrupt country. Although he does not object to the country’s poverty, Laferriere claims that not all the people were corrupt, only the country’s ruling class. The rest of the population still kept their dignity, and “when the country [was] insulted, they – not the rich – [felt] the sting” (75). Indeed, Laferrier uses his insider voice to depict his country’s reactions to people’s negative labels.
Laferriere further makes use of his “insider” status to fight against another of the media’s negative frames. It frames Haiti as a cursed country, associating it with voodoo, cannibalism and blood-drinkers. Laferriere states how “all some commentator has to do is say the word “curse” on the airwaves and it spreads like a cancer” (76). Laferriere challenges the notion of Haiti as a cursed country by describing the nation’s energy and dignity in dealing with the Haitian earthquake. He also states that Haiti was the first black republic in the world, and the second to win its independence in the Americas. He describes how black slaves in Haiti had to fight against Napoleon Bonaparte’s army to win their independence, with nothing but “their longing for freedom and a senseless kind of bravery” (75). Through will power, they achieved their citizenship. Indeed, by describing his country’s past accomplishments, Laferriere gives readers a new respect for it. He not only portrays negative media representations of Haiti, but also uses his insider status to fight for his people.
Laferriere, Dany. The World is Moving Around Me. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2013. 9-183. Print.
Hi Christine!
You’ve done a comprehensive analysis about the insider/ outsider elements that Laferriere uses throughout his text. I noticed that you laid out instances in which Laferriere was one or the other, and ultimately speaks to his identity as a whole. I think that playing both these roles compliments his identity, as he writes honestly providing counter-perspectives that play to the stereotypes the Western world often has about Haiti, just as you commented. As an outsider, he capitalizes on this role by emphasizing the things about Haiti that even he, as a part-time insider, doesn’t know. By using the autobiography as a conduit to bridge his two roles, The World is Moving Around Me joins his position as a witness and someone who bears witness. The text reveals that the earthquake is a representative subject that is shared by many people, not just by those who experienced it. Using his writing and role as an outsider, Laferriere attempts to educate his readership by filling in the gaps left behind by the earthquake. They too become aware about an event that they did not witness directly.
Thanks for your comment Dominique!
I like your point of how Laferriere uses his outsider status to inform other “outsiders” about the Haiti earthquake. Indeed, he not only acts as a witness, but as someone who bears witness as well. In doing so, he bridges the gap between us and Haiti, further fighting against negative media stereotypes.
Hi Christine, upon reading your post, I flipped back to “A Semantic Battle” (74-76). Re-reading it, I thought about how Laferriere chooses to counter problematic media representations of Haiti, as you noted. I agree that his “insider” knowledge about Haiti allows Laferriere to credibly, and accurately, provide a counter-narrative of Haitian history. What I found most interesting about this particular passage was how Laferriere incorporates this “insider” history into his text, precisely how he smoothly integrates the past into his present retelling of the earthquake. The passage begins with him hearing a Canadian TV journalist ask him a question on the Port-au-Prince tarmac, then swiftly launches into a summary of media depictions of Haiti. This is followed by a brief mention of what Laferriere describes as the “greatest colonial war of all time” and the passage ends with Laferriere’s resolve to represent Haiti as it really is (76). The passage jumps from Laferriere on the tarmac, to a rapid retelling of past Haitian resistance, then back to Laferierre’s present goal of writing against popular media sources. Laferriere mentions how problematic media representations of Haiti may “wipe away our history” (75). Perhaps by combining the past with his present in the span of one passage, Laferriere is attempting to keep this (largely unacknowledged) history alive and bring it out into the realm of “public” knowledge.
Thank you for your comment Anna!
I like how you high-lighted Laferriere’s method of incorporating Haiti’s history into his present re-telling of the earthquake. Indeed, he smoothly transits between the present and Haiti’s colonial war, especially to depict the media’s negative frames of Haiti. By linking past and present, he definitely tries to keep a part of Haiti’s history alive.
Hey Christine,
I liked your analysis about how Laferriere uses his insider perspective in order to speak for the Haitian people and be able to give them a voice against the stereotypical view that the media gives of Haiti. But you also mentioned how Laferriere sits in a unique position of both insider and outsider due to his Haitian upbringing and status as Canadian visitor. We see how this dual position allows him to bridge the gap between his readers and Haitians, but do you think that Laferierre’s outsider position gives him any special insight into Haiti that he would not have otherwise?
Thanks for your comment Clement
I think that Laferriere’s outsider position does give him special insight into Haiti that he would not have had if he was just an insider. It enables him to view Haitians from the world’s perspective, and therefore oppose the world’s negative labels of them. Although my post mostly talked about his insider status, both Laferriere’s insider and outsider statuses are important for him to defend his people against the media. One helps him understand his people, the other the world, linking the two.