Article takeaways:

1.  There is not a single Western reader’s gaze for photographs of non-Westerners. Everyone has their own personal, political and cultural background which influences the meaning they read in a photograph.

“There is, however, not one reader's gaze; each individual looks with a somewhat unique personal, cultural, and political background or set of interests. It has been possible for people to speak of "the [singular] reader" only so long as "the text" is treated as an entity with a single determinate meaning, which is simply consumed (Radway 1984) and only so long as the agency, enculturated nature, and diversity of experience of readers are denied”

2.  According to the article, people who are defined as weak are more likely to look directly into the camera. This includes women, children, the poor, people of color and people in less modern environments. People of higher status tend to look off as if they have more important things to think about than the photographer.

“Those who are actually or culturally defined as weak—women, children, people of color, the poor, the tribal rather than the modern, those without technology—are more likely to face the camera. Conversely, the more powerful members of the societies depicted are more likely to be represented looking elsewhere…. The higher status person also may be thus characterized as too absorbed in other weighty matters to attend to the photographer and his/her agenda. Facing the camera, in Tagg's terms, "signified the bluntness and 'naturalness' of a culturally unsophisticated class.””

3.  When the subject’s gaze is off into the distance, it can be read in different ways. Taking clues from the subject(s) and other elements in the picture the reader draws conclusions about the subject(s).

“Third, the other's gaze can run off into the distance beyond the frame. This behavior can suggest radically different things about the character of the subject. In combination with other photographic elements, it might portray a dreamy, vacant, absent-minded person or a forward looking, future-oriented, and determined individual. Compare the October, 1980 photo of three Argentinean gauchos as they dress for a rodeo with the November, 1980 shot of a group of six Australian Aborigines as they stand and sit in a road to block a government mining survey team. Two of the gauchos look out the window of the room they are in; they look together at a point in the far distance, and come across to the viewer as thoughtful, pensive, and sharply focused on the heroic tasks in front of them. The Aboriginal group includes six gazes, each of which heads off into a different direction and only one of which is clearly focused on something within the frame, giving the group a disconnected and unfocused look. It becomes harder to imagine this group as engaged now or in the future in coordinated or successful action; that coordination would require mutual planning and, as a corollary, at least some mutual gaze during planful discussions.

Pictures:

 

As the article stated, people who are perceived as weak are more likely to look into the camera. The mother and baby are both looking into the camera. This signifies their weakness. The baby is dependent on its parents to meet its needs. The mother, living in a patriarchal society that places emphasis on the Confucian ideal of a family where the man rules and the wife obeys, is in a position of weakness too.

Also, the caption provides Beano’s clientele with confusing information. The baby looks content and well taken care of. The caption tells of the patience the Japanese parents show for their children and describe Japan as a country that loves their babies. But, in the middle of the caption it casually mentions that parents often sell their babies, especially girls, without any explanation given as to why this occurs. This ambiguous statement counters everything else in the picture and the caption and leaves the reader to make their own assumptions.

“Those who are actually or culturally defined as weak—women, children, people of color, the poor, the tribal rather than the modern, those without technology—are more likely to face the camera. Conversely, the more powerful members of the societies depicted are more likely to be represented looking elsewhere…. The higher status person also may be thus characterized as too absorbed in other weighty matters to attend to the photographer and his/her agenda. Facing the camera, in Tagg's terms, "signified the bluntness and 'naturalness' of a culturally unsophisticated class.””

Through these samurai’s gazes, we learn something about them. Their gaze is not frontal signifying they are of a high status.  The leader is looking off in the distance with a pensive, thoughtful expression. The reader of the image imagines he is planning strategy in his mind. He is seen as a forward-looking person focused on the job that needs to be done. The other samurai turn their gaze to the open document, looking intently, with expressions that show their seriousness and their focus on the task that lies ahead of them. They all have their weapons at the ready and portray determination to successfully complete the task ahead of them.

The higher status person also may be thus characterized as too absorbed in other weighty matters to attend to the photographer and his/her agenda. Facing the camera, in Tagg's terms, "signified the bluntness and 'naturalness' of a culturally unsophisticated class.””

“Third, the other's gaze can run off into the distance beyond the frame. This behavior can suggest radically different things about the character of the subject...Two of the gauchos look out the window of the room they are in; they look together at a point in the far distance, and come across to the viewer as thoughtful, pensive, and sharply focused on the heroic tasks in front of them.”