Migrant Mother Case Study

One thing that I found particularly interesting in the case study of 'Migrant Mother' was Dorothea Lange's complete disinterest in knowing the woman that she was photographing. When Lange was asked about why she never bothered to ask the mother more about her background Lange replied "I wasn't interested in her name or her history."

Although I found this to be strange when I first read it, the more I thought about it the more it made sense to me. Lange was using the mother as a symbol to represent millions of mothers during the depression. She did not need a specific identity because she was being used as a symbol for the bond between mother and child, strength, despair, and the great depression itself.

In our last class we discussed as a group the possible scenario where this type of documentary photograph becomes exploitative and in what case does that actually occur. I know there are a few people who have already posted that think Lange's decision to forego acquiring any sort of background information on the mother could fall under the category of exploitation. I do not see it that way. Not only did it say in the case study that Lange and the subject had an understanding with one another about what was taking place I also think that the image needs that disconnection from a name and personal history to successful. By adding personal information I think that the viewer would lack a connection to the woman. They would say, oh this is the plight of Florence Thompson instead of saying this is the plight of millions throughout the country.