Challenging Perceived Identities – Photos of Superheroes and Cartoon Characters Living in the Real World

No matter the culture or society, it seems as though there is always a group of individuals who are stigmatized for their dubbed identity, due to their choice of career, religious affiliation, and political affiliation. The repeated cycles of history have shown us this time after time.

Photographer Benjamin Benchet’s image series, entitled I am Winnie the Pooh, exists to specifically incite the reflection of the aforementioned stigmatizations involving the judgments of society. As Benchet states, “the definition of Us always entails the negation of Them.” In his series, Benchet places lovable Disney characters, superheroes, and other beloved icons into shoes of struggle, placing them with jobs many consider “menial” and deem distasteful, on the streets of Rome, a city Benchet says is a “theatre for a wave of overt intolerance and violence against a segment of the population who represent a feared and rejected otherness.”

The images used in this post were used with permission.

Spiderman, 36 years old, windscreen cleaner | Benjamin Béchet / Odessa / Picturetank BEB0317396

Mickey, 48 years old, homeless | Benjamin Béchet / Odessa / Picturetank BEB0317399

Winnie the Pooh, 53 years old, day labourer in construction | Benjamin Béchet / Odessa / Picturetank BEB0317403

Minnie, 41 years old, cleaner | Benjamin Béchet / Odessa / Picturetank BEB0317402

Snow White, 31 years old, prostitute | Benjamin Béchet / Odessa / Picturetank BEB0317394

Goofy, 54 years old, street peddler | Benjamin Béchet / Odessa / Picturetank BEB0317398

Donald, 51 years old, rose seller | Benjamin Béchet / Odessa / Picturetank BEB0317401

Hello Kitty, 42 years old, maid | Benjamin Béchet / Odessa / Picturetank BEB0317397

First Image: Batman, 33 years old, night petrol pump attendant | Benjamin Béchet / Odessa / Picturetank BEB0317395

Image Credit: Benjamin Béchet | Images were used with permission. More great works from Benjamin Béchet can be found HERE.