{"id":288,"date":"2013-11-10T19:38:38","date_gmt":"2013-11-10T19:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/?p=288"},"modified":"2013-11-19T21:40:24","modified_gmt":"2013-11-19T21:40:24","slug":"map-of-the-week-map-of-stereotypes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/2013\/11\/10\/map-of-the-week-map-of-stereotypes\/","title":{"rendered":"Map of the Week: Map of Stereotypes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Borat, Chili con Carne and Soccer Moms: these are just a few of the labels that graphic designer Yanko Tsvetkov uses to distinguish parts of the known world. At first glance, these obscene, bright colored words take its readers aback with the audacity of the map\u2019s creator to publish such a provocative map. They temporarily blind the audience into thinking that this piece of cartography has no credibility. Having created this map in 2009 as a part of his book, Atlas of Prejudice, Tsvetkov, going by the pseudonym alpha-designer, describes his work as \u201ccartographic caricatures ridiculing the worst excesses of human bigotry and narrow-mindedness\u201d (atlasofprejudice.com). But as we examine why the map has come to be, it is clear that Tsvetkov uses rhetorical symbolism (stereotypes) to begin the conversation about social conventions and cartography.<\/p>\n

Tsvetkov uses a Mercator projection, a widely accepted and familiar depiction of the world. It slightly emphasizes the size of the northern hemisphere of the globe, while many argue that it does not reciprocate the same generosity to \u00a0the southern hemisphere. However, it is not the projection that deems this map the focus of this week\u2019s blog, but the author\u2019s choice to marry two concepts that are hardly seen together: satire and cartography. He has\u00a0pointed out the anomalies of stereotypes and maps: because of their ability to shape public opinion, they are often believed as the truth.<\/p>\n

Every map has its silences, whether it be the lack of a representation of the wandering tribes of the jungles in the National maps of Peru, or the sea monsters used as distractions in the early stages of cartography \u2013a way of saying, \u201cwe don\u2019t know what\u2019s out there but here\u2019s a dragon!\u201d All of these examples show how a map cannot share the full account of what is going on around the world. And yet despite that knowledge, people see maps as scientific constructions;\u00a0\u00a0they see maps as truths. On the surface, \u00a0words such as \u2018Commies\u201d, \u201cUncle Allah\u201d, and \u201cBorat\u201d all are tributes to popular culture\u2019s depiction of the world, an obvious commentary on the skewed social norm. It can also be pointing out a flaw in the science of cartography, that even though it tries to be as scientific as possible, that maps, like stereotypes, are actually products of social construction.<\/p>\n

Social construction is the idea that a map is based on the reality that is socially accepted at the time. This is directly speaking to how a map is a product of its time, meaning it lives within the context that was surrounding it at its creation. Stereotypes work in a similar manner, \u00a0\u00a0therefore there is a duality that is presented within this map. It brings out the point that people would rather believe what is shown to them, rather than question its motives. This is often the case with cartography. Due to the switch after WWII, when cartography became a \u201cscience,\u201d once a map has been published analysis stops when it should just begin. Tsvetkov is trying to say that just like stereotypes, our blind acceptance of maps is a fault that should be mocked.<\/p>\n

However, the map also demonstrates how its power is within its ability to create rhetoric, not by showing the reader what to think, but instead giving them ideas to think about. For example, although it is not clear what viewpoint the cartographer used to establish his stereotypes, one could easily argue that it is a western viewpoint, or more specifically an American view of the world since the United States of America is seen as the \u201ccivilized world.\u201d Now the question that comes to mind is why did he choose America to be the civilized nation? Wouldn\u2019t it make more sense if the author centralized it with Bulgaria, the country he was living in at the time of the publication of the map? Perhaps the author is trying to emphasize that no matter where one is in the world, the power of America \u2013whether it be social, economic or military- is felt like an ever present shadow lurking behind the corner<\/p>\n

It is clear that the Map of Stereotypes has achieved its goal of sparking conversation. Tsvetkov\u2019s creative and crude representation of the world has managed to mock the idea of social norms. Yet, what is surprising is \u00a0the method of delivery of his message. By choosing to publish a map, he shows the similarities of map and stereotype, proving that they are both social constructions and products of their time.<\/p>\n

Kim D’Agostini<\/p>\n

Source: http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2012\/feb\/17\/stereotype-maps-tsvetkov<\/a><\/p>\n

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Borat, Chili con Carne and Soccer Moms: these are just a few of the labels that graphic designer Yanko Tsvetkov uses to distinguish parts of the known world. At first glance, these obscene, bright colored words take its readers aback … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1988,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21024],"tags":[21092,21048,21093],"class_list":["post-288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-maps-of-the-week","tag-map-of-stereotypes","tag-map-of-the-week","tag-yanko-tsvetkov"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1988"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/livesofmaps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}