Books In Review

GETTING THERE: PRODUCING PHOTO- STORIES WITH IMMIGRANT WOMEN
Deborah Barndt, Ferne Cristall and dian marino (Toronto: Between the Lines, 1 982) $8.95. Available from PRG and at bookstores by Kathleen Sullivan

Getting There is an elegant, glossy book of photo stories and supporting essays focusing on the difficult, traumatic and challenging experiences of immigrant women who must move from rural to urban environments, from underdeveloped Third World countries to Canada, from one culture to another, and from the safety of home to the world of work. Gloria's photo story focuses on her first frightening trip to work alone on the subway, and Aurora's on the long walk across a bridge on her way to a job interview. These experiences may be seen as metaphors for the many journeys that immigrant women make. And there is another layer. Both women encounter the sexist and racist fantasy world of advertising, which distorts the reality of all women and completely denies, the existence of non-white and working class women.

The photo-stories were originally conceived of as curriculum material by the community worker coauthors and the participating women, and the book is intended for use in English-as-a-second language and literacy classes, employment programs and educational activities of unions, community organizations and women's groups. I anticipate some problems with the photo-stories in the form in which they are presented. But first, I would like to highlight the strengths of the book.

The ultimate purpose of the book is to encourage facilitators to develop relevant curriculum material with participants in their groups. The supporting essays offer excellent orientation to the position of immigrant women in the Canadian labour force and an analysis of the role that advertising plays in affecting the consciousness of women and immigrant women in particular:

An all-too-common image in advertising is that a forceful man selling soap or garbage bags to an incompetent, confused woman who basically doesn't know how to look after her own house... The politics of asking directions or requesting information is an example of one of the many cultural obstacles controlled and maintained through advertising and the mass media... While women are often put down in advertising, immigrant women are almost totally absent. This has the effect of making their lives that much more invalid. As part of the journey toward empowering ourselves, we need to 'open our eyes' to some of the effects of this constant bombardment of propaganda on our daily lives. (87-88)

A useful 'activities and discussion guide' includes suggestions specific to the photo-stories in the book and explanation of three techniques for producing photo-stories:

1. collecting and editing oral history;
2. talking and arranging photographs and
3. creating social-drama. The technically polished photo- stories, however, presents a formidable model that few groups with limited time and funds could aspire to.