During the first half of the 20th century, Photographs, songs, and cartoons tried to interpret the problems of the time through different kinds of imagery and tone with varying amounts of success, from praise and awe to disgust and rejection.
In the early 20th century, Americans were suffering from the Great Depression and its high unemployment rates, droughts and terrible living conditions, so when they first saw the series of photographs by Dorothea Lange, including the Migrant Mother, they were in awe of how it captured their situation, as well as their beliefs, perfectly. Not only did they represent the people as “dignified human beings whose plight would elicit sympathy, not ridicule,” Lange’s photos captured the idea that “Poverty was a distressing matter…, not an embarrassing one,” simply by photographing people on the streets they were living on, filming them in their element. People were in pain and just by taking photos of this problem, with some modifications and positioning, Lange’s art “became a tireless and universal symbol of suffering in the face of adversity” with its portrayal of regular people in dire situations. What also made the photos as popular as it was, and still is, is how they reference “fundamental and historic religious symbolism,” especially the Migrant Mother whose imagery of a woman tirelessly caring for her children alludes to the similar historical representations of Madonna and her child, Jesus Christ. While beloved for the realism of her
Dorothea Lynde Dix is a famous woman in history that has been commemorated for her many helpful contributions to the world. Throughout her life span, she singlehandedly bestowed her assistance to individuals, states, and even full countries. She is known for many small, well-rounded triumphs but when summed up, all equate to a large portion of kind, beneficial deeds and charitable works. Dorothea Dix left an impact on the world through her efforts of sharing her teachings with others, the treatment and care of the mentally ill, and with her nursing in the Union army.
You Have Seen Their Faces by Margaret Bourke-White and Erskine Caldwell is a photo documentary of life in the South during the Great Depression. After reading You Have Seen Their Faces along with critiques of it by Rabinowitz and Snyder, I found myself more interested in the topic of how motherhood was depicted in the book. Rabinowitz brought up that middle class women felt the need to regulate the poor women because they weren 't feminine enough or motherly enough which is the main attitude involved in slumming. By observing Margaret Bourke-White’s photos I found two distinct classes of these types of images: positive and negative. I was curious as to the deeper meanings behind these two classes of photos and what this meant about Bourke-White’s perspective of her subjects. Another point of interest is how and if the captions of these photos of mothers cause the images to be interpreted differently.
Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother is a photograph that documents a moment of distress within American history. The image works as a visual representation of suffering for those who were lucky enough not to live within the Dust Bowl region. To many it is uncertain if Lange’s image became an American Icon because of the struggle it presented or because of the eye capturing composition of it. However, with this image came forth the issue of a photos validity after photo manipulation, as Lange edited the image by removing the thumb of the mother who was a large subject. Despite the slight manipulation in Migrant Mother, the photograph still presents the situation truthfully, making the photograph function as both a work of art and a historical document.
To begin with, Lange helped perceive the poor living conditions of the 1900’s through her photo of the migrant mother and three children. For instance, Lange with her photo of the migrant mother helped raise awareness, for the federal government gave the pea pickers camp, where the migrant mother had been distinguished, “twenty thousand pounds of food”. (Starr 48) The photo of the unfortunate pea pickers helped people realize how hopeless they really were. This creating a willingness to help. Showing Lange's photography ability to create empathy through a simple photo. In addition, the mother was so desperate for help that when the picture was taking place, “there she sat in the lean-to-tent” motionless. (Starr 47) The migrant mother was so
Dorothea Lange’s pictures of the homeless during the Great Depression got the attention of the Federal Resettlement Administration. She began to work for them taking pictures and capturing the publics attention of the poor. She also worked for the US Farm Security Administration before World War Two. She investigated the conditions of farm workers in many Western states. Many of the people she photographed during this time had came to escape the “Dust Bowl” (a drought which devastated millions of acres of farm land in midwestern states).
In the 1880’s immigration began to increase, over running the original Ellis Island by the 90’s. 4 million people settle into New York City, less than 1 in 50 people were turned away. Many of these newcomers where women, who would face different issues than the men arrive off of the massive ships. Many different things would be expected of them, such as; working to support families, raising children, keeping the home clean and presentable, shopping, and cooking- to name a few. Some of the biggest, most universal, issues for immigrant woman were; the want to assimilate, the lack of independence,
Taking photographs may seem simple, but being a photographer is more than browsing through the viewfinder and pushing the exposure button. A photographer needs to know how to analyze the scene, speak in words that language cannot, and reach to the souls of people through a picture. During the Great Depression, many photographers captured the scenes of poverty and grief. However, there was only one photographer that truly captured the souls of Americans. According to Roy Stryker, Dorothea Lange "had the most sensitivity and the most rapport with people" (Stryker and Wood 41). Dorothea Lange was a phenomenal photographer that seized the hearts of people during the 1930s and beyond, and greatly affected the times of the Great Depression.
Before starting this project, I knew very little about photography, photographers, or exactly how much impact photographical images have had on our society. I have never taken a photography class, or researched too in depth about specific pictures or photographers. This project has allowed me to delve deeper into the world of photography in order to understand just how much influence pictures can have over society’s beliefs, emotions, and understandings’. I have have chosen two highly influential photographers, Diane Arbus and Dorothea Lange, who I have found to both resonate with me and perfectly capture human emotions in way that moves others.
The United States experienced both the Great Depression and harsh weather conditions during the 1930’s causing Americans to suffer through extreme hardship and impoverishment. Many of the migrant farmers were bankrupt, destitute, and struggled to survive. Photographer and photojournalist, Dorothea Lange, captured the dangerous conditions migrant workers and their families endured through her photograph, Migrant Mother. The photograph not only displays a woman and children suffering, but also reveals the determination and willpower the woman had to provide for her family.
Cartoons have been a prominent and interesting apparatus for politics throughout the ages. Political movements, parties, and groups using propaganda to further their beliefs dates back to the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Though America faces an austere history, lighthearted propaganda colors its decades and gives them life. Political cartoons are so widely used in America that they have become a significant piece of pop culture. Moreover, because of their ability to capture the reader’s attention, propaganda is exploited throughout politics.The cartoons are wonders of the human imagination; illustrators create comical images and intertwine profound political opinions to influence their viewer’s mind. For example, one movement that abundantly grew from propaganda was the women’s rights movement. The artists of the seemingly despised cause drew controversial cartoons that set a fire in the hearts of women all over the world. Consequently, the same cartoons ignited a passionate war between women who wanted freedom, and those who believed that women could not handle that freedom. Through the use of colorful concepts and daring expressions, political cartoons display the influence of the women’s rights movement throughout history, while the cartoons of Anti-Feminists demonstrates the world’s reaction to the movement.
Everyone in this image is wearing black or gray, they all blend into the background. The background is gray and white, with the wide open landscape with lots of trees. The image accompanying this article is “Beyond the border: Life in limbo” explains Jesus and his families story. Jesus and his mother Angelica were among tens of thousands of people from Central America who crossed the United States Mexico border in the summer of 2014. It was a warm day in September, weeks after Jesus and Angelia got off a Greyhound bus in Tupelo, Mississippi and reunited with his father, after extensive years of reunited with his father, after extensive years of not seeing each other. Their dreams of “being side by side after a lifetime apart propelled the 14 years olds” (Catherine E. Shoichet, (2016) as he and his mother left Guatemala. Activist called the wave of the new immigrants a humanitarian crisis. U.S. officials called “it Shoichet, 2016) and vowed to do everything in their power to stop them and send back most of the people who’d already arrived. This picture argues that injustice that immigrants have to
Dorothea Lange became a well-known photographer with pictures of the Dust Bowl. According to Garland 2003 her photography obtained government relief for Dust Bowl migrants because she “visually demonstrated the hunger, poverty, hardship, and the plight of the migrants.”
To begin with, description is utilized to show that pictures are worth more than words. In Lange’s image, the woman looks exhausted and the children seem saddened. Viewers of the image see this by their facial expressions. For instance, two of the children are looking away from the photographer and the woman has no smile on her face. Moreover, onlookers observe how people lived during the Great Depression in the west coast. Viewers of the image see this by their clothing. For example, the woman and children are wearing tattered, dirty clothing. The overall picture represents what people went through during the Great Depression without ever telling the audience it was taken during this
As far back as the fourteenth century, writers have merged text and photos to convey messages. While they originated in a religious theme, once the contemporary time came around they started to become symbols of political revolt and protest. Comparing two different articles in a seventy five year gap, there is an obvious shift in the way the media wanted to project tragedy.
Dorothea Lange is an experienced photographer, born on the 26th day of March 1895. Her works have been a source of insight for many people and this has proved very effective to contemporary photographers. There are many works that this woman did during her time and it is important to acknowledge them. Migrant Mother is one of these works and the applause that it has gotten from the viewers clearly portrays expertness at its best. The photo revolves around the life and family of one Florence Owens Williams and was taken in 1936 in California Florida. Going through the various elements of this photograph is effective in ensuring that one understands the deep concepts that revolve around it.