In this photo “Migrant Mother” by
Dorothea Lange the first thing I notice is her expression and the two young
children clinging to her. I later notice the baby in her lap after studying the
photograph more closely. I was very surprised to see in the description of the
photograph that the women was only 32 years old. Her face looks so tired, I assume
that stress and worry and lack of money needed for clothes, (her sleeves look
ragged on the ends like they have been torn) food, and maybe even shelter, (I cannot
really tell but it appears that they are outside), has aged her looks. And the
coloring of the photograph is rather depressing, I feel if it were in color it would
not portray the dark burdened mood as well as the black and white does.
Going back to the women’s
expression, I thought of many reasons behind her expression. It could be that
one she was wondering how in the world she was going to find the money and food
to feed 7 children and herself enough to keep them strong and healthy. Or since
there is only 3 children pictured, maybe the other 4 were off to find food for
the family and she is worried that they will be safe. Or maybe she isn’t worried
at all. Or she is waiting for her husband and she is worried about his safety.
I can also see determination in her face. She could have a more optimistic view
on life and is determined to keep her children fed, warm, and safe. If this was
to be the case, it is very inspiring to see that even in the hardest of times
she isn’t giving up.
Based on this photo and my
assumptions, I gather that the 1930’s was a time of economic despair. The times
were hard and the only thing people were trying to do was to make it with the
little money they had. This photo, even though not a very happy picture, it is a
great photograph.
This is one of the more known images from the Great Depression. Back in my social studies class, this image was the one that always came up. My teacher would always ask what made this picture as famous as it is now. It's hard to really tell where this image is taken at, but I'd assume it's taken at a refugee camp and this family lives in a tent. However as you described, it's very clear what the mother in this image portrays. She portrays strength and determination during the Great Depression. Raising 7 kids during that time was an enormous struggle and you can tell by the look on her face that she refuses to give up. I think you did a great job analyzing this image and examining the different possibilities as to why she is posed like this or what has caused her to look older than what she really was.
ReplyDelete-Hayley Hedden
Unfortunatel Alaina, I ended up doing the same photo before seeing this :/. I don't think having 2 views will hurt. You notice a lot of what I noticed. I actually never focused on the woman's age. You also did a good job of going into detail in terms of scenarios and what could be running through her mind or the entire situation in general. With my examination, I never put TOO much emphasis on the despair of the time period itself. You looked at the despair of the time period and also the despair of the the lady and her children. Very vivid but concise at the same time. Great work.
ReplyDelete- Leon Cummins
I was originally planning to do my post on this photo, as it's one of the most popular and well-known of the time. I'm not entirely sure that I agree with everything that you said about the underlying positivity that you see in this photo, though (however apparent it may be from the description, the photo is my main focus). While I do believe that the focus of many of Lange's photographs are teamwork and overcoming struggle, I don't see this as fitting well there. This seems (to me) to be a better portrayal of the struggle itself, and how it took its toll on the "everyman" (physically and mentally).
ReplyDeleteThis is a great example of how more than one interpretation can be formed of the same image, as Leon has acknowledged in his comment. Alaina offers some helpful speculation here about the various possibilities for what is being captured, all of which inevitably affect our interpretation. Even the woman's face can be seen as worried or determined---or both. Again, keep in mind that color photography did not exist yet. That doesn't mean that color would not have changed the tone of the image, but that wasn't a choice that photographers could make.
ReplyDelete