Mutu Selfi

This selfie is based on the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, which is about two different gangs that go by the names of “The Greasers” and “The Socials. Greasers being low class and Socials being high class. Both groups get into a rumble after discovering that one gang member kills a member of the other group. The main character, Ponyboy, who is part of the gang “The Greasers” feels like he is an outcast because he isn’t like his brothers or friends; who love getting into trouble. He is later told to “stay gold” in other words to stay being unique from his friends and family; be the good kid. I took inspiration from the novel and made a Wangechi Mutu inspired selfie where in the background there shows two different groups, like in the book, one represents family and the other represents friends. Both groups are starring at the larger person in the middle that’s covered in gold and that represents being different from the others. I felt like I related to the main character of the novel, Ponyboy Curtis, he is the youngest and tries to fit in with his brothers and friends but comes to realization that he isn’t like them; he’s different. Where I, also being the youngest, had always tried to fit in with my sister and older cousins since I was young. The older I got, the more I realized that both my sister and cousins and I have completely different interested where we they do their own thing and I do my own thing. As far as friends go, most of the friends I had were into partying and doing stuff that weren’t my cup of tea, so therefore I excluded myself from that scene. I would consider myself to be the outcast of family and past friends; staying “gold”.