In diaries, people reflect their own reality and their individual feelings. There are no lies, and even if others would state there are, the diary’s owner would still reject that, claiming that the reputed lies are their own reality. Hence, diaries are considered as somehow reporting the truth, or at least one kind of individual truth. Yet what about Dorothea Lange’s photographs of the Great Depression? Are they the actual truth or are they her interpretation?
One says that a picture is worth a thousand words. People have an idea of what the Great Depression in America looked like, owed to different photographers who portrayed both economic and cultural consequences of the global crisis. One of those photographers was Dorothea Lange. In a first examination of her work documenting the people behind the Great Depression in America, I quickly noticed that critics are either in favour of, or against Lange’s photographic work.
Since I could not agree with either position, I decided that I want to find my own. By studying and examining different photographs both in the context of the Great Depression and the traditional idea behind documentary photography, I finally discovered what I think of her work. Beginning her career as a documentary photographer, Lange acted as a silent observer behind the camera. She recorded what America’s people had to suffer during the depression process without any editing or staging. Yet throughout the years, Lange increasingly went astray the path of documentary photography’s basic concepts. Correspondingly, I argue that Dorothea Lange in some of the presented works succeeded in recording reality according to the standard set of photojournalism. However, in others she disregarded or even broke unwritten rules of documentary photography.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. White Angel Breadline: What is documentary photography?
3. Dejected and stooped: Documenting men during the Great Depression
4. Migrant Mother: An icon
5. Conclusion
Objectives and Core Topics
This academic paper examines the photographic work of Dorothea Lange during the American Great Depression, specifically evaluating how her imagery aligns with or deviates from the core principles of documentary photography. The central research question explores whether Lange’s photographs represent an objective "truth" of the era or if they constitute a subjective interpretation influenced by staging, instruction, and manipulation for social and political propaganda.
- The definition and ethical requirements of traditional documentary photography.
- The evolution of Dorothea Lange’s photographic style from silent observer to active manipulator.
- The impact of contextual information and captions on the interpretation of documentary imagery.
- The tension between aesthetic documentation and the staging of subjects for emotive power.
- Critical analysis of the "Migrant Mother" series and its status as an iconic symbol.
Excerpt from the Book
Dejected and stooped: Documenting men during the Great Depression
Not only living circumstances had altered due to the economic crisis. Manhood changed too, caused by the economic pressure men were under. Dorothea Lange, unlike her other photography colleagues, dared to document this in her work (Gordon 711). With the first two photographs in this chapter (Fig. 2, 3), I will show again how Lange succeeded in documenting reality. The second photograph (Fig. 4) however discusses the issue of contextualising and publishing photographs.
In 1933, Rexford Tugwell, a Columbia University economist had come to Washington. Being one of president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s advisors, Tugwell became undersecretary of agriculture. 1935, the so-called “Resettlement Administration” was created under the leadership of Tugwell (Wharton 223, Curtis 2). In his opinion, the worn-out fields in America were the main reason of agricultural poverty. Trying to shift people living and working on profitless, uneconomical fields over to fertile land, he hoped to improve on the alarming agrarian situation. Three years later, in 1938, the Resettlement Administration was absorbed by the “Farm Security Administration”, established by the executive order.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: The introduction outlines the research motivation regarding Dorothea Lange's work and establishes the central inquiry into whether her photographs are objective records or subjective interpretations.
2. White Angel Breadline: What is documentary photography?: This chapter defines the theoretical foundations of documentary photography and analyzes Lange's early work, specifically "White Angel Breadline," as an example of spontaneous, non-staged documentation.
3. Dejected and stooped: Documenting men during the Great Depression: This section investigates Lange's portrayal of men during the economic crisis and discusses the critical role of context and the potential for misinterpretation in uncaptioned documentary images.
4. Migrant Mother: An icon: This chapter critically examines the "Migrant Mother" series, arguing that Lange diverged from documentary standards by instructing her subjects and manually manipulating images to create a more potent universal symbol.
5. Conclusion: The conclusion synthesizes the findings, emphasizing that while Lange was a skilled photographer, her work often prioritized emotive propaganda over neutral, objective documentation.
Keywords
Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Documentary Photography, Photojournalism, Social Documentary, Migrant Mother, White Angel Breadline, Farm Security Administration, Ethics in Photography, Visual Sociology, Cultural History, Image Manipulation, Propaganda, Contextualization.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper focuses on the documentary photography of Dorothea Lange during the American Great Depression, analyzing the tension between the artistic intent to trigger emotion and the documentary requirement for objective truth.
What are the central themes discussed?
Key themes include the definition of documentary photography, the ethics of photojournalism, the impact of the Farm Security Administration's propaganda, and the role of context in interpreting visual imagery.
What is the main research objective?
The goal is to determine if Lange’s photographs function as objective "truth" or as interpreted, sometimes manipulated, constructs designed to influence public opinion.
Which methodology does the author apply?
The author uses a qualitative, comparative analysis of specific iconic photographs against established definitions and theoretical frameworks of documentary practice provided by experts like William Stott and Howard S. Becker.
What is analyzed in the main part of the work?
The main part analyzes select photographs, including "White Angel Breadline," several field labor images, and the "Migrant Mother" series, to demonstrate a shift from spontaneous observation to intentional staging.
Which keywords best describe this research?
Core keywords include Dorothea Lange, Great Depression, Documentary Photography, Photojournalism, Ethics, Image Manipulation, and Social Propaganda.
How does the author characterize the shift in Lange's work?
The author argues that as Lange began working more closely with the Farm Security Administration, she moved away from strictly capturing reality toward actively shaping the narrative through instruction and editing.
Why is the "Migrant Mother" series considered problematic by the author?
The author finds it problematic because Lange staged the pose of the daughter and later manually edited the negative to remove a stake the mother was holding, thereby sacrificing authenticity for a stronger, more emotive symbolic impact.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Anonym (Autor:in), 2018, Depression Diaries. Dorothea Lange and her Documentary Photography Work during the Great Depression in America, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/468097
