Deshpande Summary

In Shakhar Deshpande's essay 'The Confident Gaze' he describes National Graphic and its popularity. He goes on to describe a specific issue that was released in 1997 with the title 'India turning fifty'. On the cover of this issue is a close up on a thin child painted red. Deshpande comments on this stating that, "The "innocent" attractiveness of the photography of National Geographic, its ambiguous representation of the knower and the known...have made for the success of the magazine...it attempts to sanitize and universalize the uncomfortable as well as the different elements of other cultures." What I think this means is basically National Geographic success is based off information that is watered down for the 'Western eye'. focusing on the poverty of India and the country's progress on "catching up" with western society. Instead of focusing on more important issues as Deshpande points out "...the wars and the subsequent arms race since Independence. The regional conflicts are more important than the difficult conditions of people in keeping pace with their material wealth." What I think Despande means here is that Americans put an emphasis that the more stuff you have, the better off you are. He explains that a more important issue is the conflict that is experienced in India.