Publisher
Florida Atlantic University
Description
Media representations perpetuate stereotyped images of Haiti and Haitians. Such
expressions typically emphasize extreme poverty, mismanagement, exploitation,
hopelessness, and also environmental degradation. The environmental image of Haiti is
that it is massively deforested, and the connection of deforestation to poverty and other
problems has been captured in an iconic aerial photograph of the Haitian and Dominican
Republic (DR) border. First appearing in National Geographic in 1987 and replicated
since in various sources, the image displays a stark contrast between the tropical lushness
of the DR and a desert-like Haiti, stripped of its vegetation. The stark image in effect
dichotomizes a supposedly dysfunctional Haiti with a normally-functioning DR. This
study analyzes the “mythologies” that are reinforced by the photo and the discourse
surrounding it, which produces an accepted story of the way Haiti “is.” Going beyond
such stereotypes, the study considers ways of rewriting such depictions to account for
greater complexity.
Rights
Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Title Plain
RACHÉ MANYOK BAY TÉ-A BLANCHE: DEFORESTATION IN HAITI AND THE POWER OF AN IMAGE
Use and Reproduction
Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Physical Location
Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Title
RACHÉ MANYOK BAY TÉ-A BLANCHE: DEFORESTATION IN HAITI AND THE POWER OF AN IMAGE
Other Title Info
RACHÉ MANYOK BAY TÉ-A BLANCHE: DEFORESTATION IN HAITI AND THE POWER OF AN IMAGE