Soft White Underbelly- Anna Langseth

SOFT WHITE UNDERBELLY

BY ANNA LANGSETH

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY SOFT WHITE UNDERBELLY’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL

My daily boredom usually leads me to spending an unhealthy amount of time on the Internet. A few weeks ago in one of these states, I stumbled upon a video on my recommended page on YouTube. The thumbnail was an incredibly clear black and white photo of a woman that had piercing eyes and an obvious look of exhaustion in her expression. The title was “Crystal Meth Addict interview-Lin ‘’ and immediately, I watched it. Taking in the heartbreaking story this young woman shared, I proceeded to watch around 10 of the other equally as terrifyingly real interviews on the Soft White Underbelly channel. Mark Latia is an accomplished photographer from the U.S. He has worked with major companies like Apple, BMW and adidas. In 2016 he started the YouTube channel Soft White Underbelly to share interviews he fi lmed of people living on the infamous Skid Row in Los Angeles, CA. These people check most of the boxes that society generally sees as inferior. A quick scroll through the channel’s many videos will reveal that those interviewed are drug addicts, prostitutes, pimps, gang members and others with fear-inducing labels. The titles of the videos give a glimpse into the lives of those interviewed.

But a glimpse is often very misleading. The titles tacked on to these people are only a small part of who they are. The interviewer, Latia, asks questions that prompt a deeper look into the pasts of the interviewees. Most of them focus on their childhood and how they ended up in the situation they are in. An absolutely awful childhood is a common story that is shared. Stories of every form of child abuse are told through the mouths of the aff ected.

Along with the heartwrenching stories of childhood mistreatment, the interviewees often share countless accounts of abuse, poverty and addiction in adulthood. Most of the people featured in this series are living on Skid Row, a neighborhood in Los Angeles known for the large homeless population that inhabits the streets, living in meek blue tents. This neighborhood is not known to be an easy place to live. Referred to as “the streets” by many of the interviewed participants, the area is described as a place where survival is the way of life. This series is an eyeopening experience to life on the streets in the U.S.. As we sit here in a place very far away, most of us in comfortable living situations, media platforms, such as Youtube, have been able to share the real emotional eff ects of suff ering and a glimpse into one of the worst places to live. The Soft White Underbelly channel is a beautiful example of this and rightfully represents a group of people who are usually ignored.