Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Migrant Mother and Daughter of Migrant Mother
While reading "Case Study: Migrant Mother" and "Daughter of Migrant Mother" I found the disconnect between the subject of the photograph and the legacy of the photograph to be troubling. "Migrant Mother" has become so iconic that it feels incredibly far removed from the strife of Florence Thompson, the actual migrant mother. For a woman who became the face of an era she reaped no benefits from the service she provided to American society during the Depression and beyond. As noted in the reading (Wells p.46) Thompson and her children became a symbol of perseverance and the essence of maternal strength, they went on to grace the pages of magazines and postage stamps (Wells p.39) yet they gained nothing from their fame. The passage that really struck a chord with me was Lange's own account of the photograph where she states that when she took the photo "(Thompson) seemed to know that my pictures might help her, and who she helped me. There was a sort of equality about it" (Wells p.42) it seemed to me, especially after reading the case study that there was in fact a sharp inequality to the essence of the photograph. As the critic Clarke described (Wells p.40) Thompson and here children were used as props to compose an image that would resonate with the viewer. Clarke's critique uses phrases such as "Lange creates" and "use of the children and mother" stripping Thompson and her children of all agency and reducing them to symbols rather than people. This critique emphasizes the divergence between the real and the fabricated, it illuminates that the image was at least partly staged and that the identity of the subject was of little importance. It was the goal of the FSA to bring about awareness of the impact of the Great Depression on people that would otherwise go unnoticed, through investigating this photo it feels as though the FSA was exploiting the exact people that it was supposed to help. In the "Daughter of Migrant Mother" article Florence Thompson's daughter stresses that although her mothers face may be famous the world knows nothing of her family and they derived no benefit from being photographed other than pride in their endurance and work ethic.
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2 comments:
Paige, I agree that this "disconnect" between the subject of the photograph and the ultimate function of photograph is disconcerting. Was the sacrifice of Thompson's agency worth it? This is a complex issue. On one hand, as you argue, the photograph disregarded the very people it was intended to help. You're absolutely correct--Lange implies that her pictures were supposed to help her sitters. Meanwhile, McIntosh claims that her family never received a penny. Considering how much profit this photograph generated, this is certainly problematic. But do you think Lange's powerful image helped anyone at all? Do you think the fame and impact of this picture brought the general plight of the Depression to the attention of the government? Perhaps the popularity and poignancy of this image indirectly changed the lives of people like Thompson. And, since this image could be (and was) re-appropriated so easily for various purposes, it might have even changed the lives of people unlike Thompson. Once again, I ask--was the sacrifice of Thompson's identity worth it?
I agree-- it was crazy to me that Florence Thompson reaped no benefits form the photograph, seeing how famous it became. This image is on prints, posters, magnets, tee shirts, and in magazines and books! However, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me. Dorothea Lange is the one who crafted this image to symbolize the Great Depression and maternal strength. Without that artistic eye, Florence Thompson would have just been Florence Thompson. That does not mean I support the fact that Florence Thompson did not see any benefits from this image, seeing as today people have "likeness rights." But I do understand the times and the reasoning as to why no money was seen. They WERE symbols in this case, not people. Would Florence's love of country music and lager inspire a whole nation and promote this heroic motherhood? Probably not. But the image Dorothea Lange could.
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