Photo Analysis: The Kentucky Flood
The Kentucky Flood
The photo I am analyzing is the Louisville Flood image, one of many iconic photographs shot during the Great Depression by Margaret Bourke-White in Louisville, Kentucky. LIFE magazine covered the local disaster in February 15, 1937 in its issue and consequently the “American Way” billboard image was generated. Millions were left homeless due to the flood. The victims of the Louisville Flood are lining up to obtain food and clothing from a Red Cross relief station. The juxtaposition with the billboard is nothing short of surreal. One of the first things I notice about this photo is its stark contrast. In the background you have a huge sign proclaiming that America has the “world’s highest standard of living.” However …show more content…
when you look at the people standing in front of the sign, you see poor, disenfranchised black people. In my opinion, I think the sign represents the stark reality of how far off the “American Way” really is to certain groups of people.
It is just the sad reality that during this time to that there was an advantage to being in the middle- white class and the lower class whites or non-whites were at a disadvantage. There was outcry to this photo. There were other black people who responded such as Curtis Mayfield, an American soul singer in the 1960s. Years later, he released his album “There’s No Place Like America Today” in 1975 on which the cover of the album was based on the original photo. Mayfield 's lyrics consisted of hard-hitting commentary on the state of affairs in black, urban ghettos at the time. The audience for this photo is Americans. I think the emotional appeal is hard times.
People are always trying to put masks on and defenses on. In this picture, we’re seeing the moment that a group of people is experiencing, and they are experiencing it alone — that’s what I got from the people’s body language. No other racial kind is around. The other refugee families, particular white were separated from blacks. Services and facilities were segregated by races in the early decades of the 20th century. They’re standing together; they’re clearly patient with each other. They are connected to each other in this moment. But the way their eyes are, you can tell they’re not looking at each other. No matter how much one tries to be stalwart, you’re always alone.
In addition, this is a great image for sparking discussion about “the American Way” and what that was meant to be (clearly white and presumably middle-class, from the mural), and the ways in which non-whites (and poor whites) are often invisible in depictions of what America is. And, of course, it could be a great image for a discussion of rhetoric and propaganda (for instance, murals proclaiming how wonderful the standard of living is even though the Great Depression was by no means over).
So the pictures forces to think about what is this “American Way”.
We often hear people say that so much in America. In terms of an exact definition, the American way or dream “is the desire for enough money to buy not only what we require to meet our basic needs (food, shelter, and clothing) but also what many people would consider luxuries having been lower to middle-class. In countries such as the United States, “luxuries” typically include owning a home instead of renting, owning a car or two, dining at a nice restaurant now and then, taking vacations, and sending children to good schools.” Some of these things are symbolized in the …show more content…
billboard.
In this part of my paper I will discuss my larger cultural argument based on my photograph. In my opinion I think this picture really reveals that poverty is a class issue. Take for example, the University of Houston. The surrounding area of the college is mostly an inner-city area commonly known as the historically black Third -Ward. The major race that mostly occupies that area is lower-class African Americans. These citizens make very low incomes. The average family income is about $40,000. Whereas one goes out to College Station, Texas one finds middle-class to upper middle-class white residents and the average family income is $53,000. When one goes out to the suburbs, beyond the urban cities, one meets typically middle-class to upper-middle white families.
So this goes on to the discussion of the American dream.
What is the American dream? Even though segregation is no longer in effect today, I think it still a reality that most poor neighborhoods are segregated into singular races .Therefore the thought becomes that this America Dream ultimately is limited in accessibility in certain classes, whether one is talking about any race. Take Serena and Venus Williams for example. We often hear that they are the American story because they came from the ghettos of Campton, California to become successful tennis players and successful individuals. However Cinderella stories like theirs are rare. They got out of ghetto and the inner-cities because of their athletic gift and ability. I also think in America we have this obsession with celebrities and we treat them like royalty because of their amazing stories of rag to riches through their talent to name a few, consider Mark Zuckerberg, for
example.
In conclusion, I am saying this American Dream really happens to people who are born with a silver spoon in their mouth or who win the lottery. This idea of working hard will get one far in life is true to a certain extent, however, the stark reality is that class , something one is in born into , regardless of any race , determines an individual ‘s ability to earn enough money to attain the American dream.
Ultimately, I believe this photograph should have been published because this photograph speaks a lot about the culture of our world. According to a chapter in the Curious Reader , ”there little argument that shocking images can disrupt, disturb, and revolt, entice ,frighten, horrify, and interest people” (Ballenger, Payne, 425). Sometimes we need this shock to understand our reality and our circumstance. Whether or not individuals are victims of circumstances depends largely on luck, talent, and myriads of other factors. In the end the truth is not rocket science and I think one of the amazing things is that my response to the photo reaffirms my belief in the power of photography. Photograph becomes a way for people to discuss issues and to feel things. I think this picture is kind of like a wakeup call to cultural elites and the media do not regularly have struggle with trying to put with on the table and find a roof over the heads. Everyone sees something different. It’s a moment stopped in time. That picture said to me that this was a moment of reflection and quiet. This represents a microcosm of the craziness of the world in the past and the present. There were so many hidden implications behind regularly sayings or pictures that we see every day that we often do not think about. It’s very peculiar what sets people off, what just gets people to look around.
Works Cited
Ballenger, Bruce P., and Michelle Payne. "Chapter 8, “The Ethics of Publishing Disturbing Pictures: Reading and Writing Across Genres and Disciplines” Introduction." The Curious Reader: Exploring Personal and Academic Inquiry. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006. N. pag. Print.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2010/snapshots/PL4815976.html
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/american_community_survey_acs/cb12-r04.html
The photo I am analyzing is the Louisville Flood image, one of many iconic photographs shot during the Great Depression by Margaret Bourke-White in Louisville, Kentucky. LIFE magazine covered the local disaster in February 15, 1937 in its issue and consequently the “American Way” billboard image was generated. Millions were left homeless due to the flood. The victims of the Louisville Flood are lining up to obtain food and clothing from a Red Cross relief station. The juxtaposition with the billboard is nothing short of surreal. One of the first things I notice about this photo is its stark contrast. In the background you have a huge sign proclaiming that America has the “world’s highest standard of living.” However …show more content…
when you look at the people standing in front of the sign, you see poor, disenfranchised black people. In my opinion, I think the sign represents the stark reality of how far off the “American Way” really is to certain groups of people.
It is just the sad reality that during this time to that there was an advantage to being in the middle- white class and the lower class whites or non-whites were at a disadvantage. There was outcry to this photo. There were other black people who responded such as Curtis Mayfield, an American soul singer in the 1960s. Years later, he released his album “There’s No Place Like America Today” in 1975 on which the cover of the album was based on the original photo. Mayfield 's lyrics consisted of hard-hitting commentary on the state of affairs in black, urban ghettos at the time. The audience for this photo is Americans. I think the emotional appeal is hard times.
People are always trying to put masks on and defenses on. In this picture, we’re seeing the moment that a group of people is experiencing, and they are experiencing it alone — that’s what I got from the people’s body language. No other racial kind is around. The other refugee families, particular white were separated from blacks. Services and facilities were segregated by races in the early decades of the 20th century. They’re standing together; they’re clearly patient with each other. They are connected to each other in this moment. But the way their eyes are, you can tell they’re not looking at each other. No matter how much one tries to be stalwart, you’re always alone.
In addition, this is a great image for sparking discussion about “the American Way” and what that was meant to be (clearly white and presumably middle-class, from the mural), and the ways in which non-whites (and poor whites) are often invisible in depictions of what America is. And, of course, it could be a great image for a discussion of rhetoric and propaganda (for instance, murals proclaiming how wonderful the standard of living is even though the Great Depression was by no means over).
So the pictures forces to think about what is this “American Way”.
We often hear people say that so much in America. In terms of an exact definition, the American way or dream “is the desire for enough money to buy not only what we require to meet our basic needs (food, shelter, and clothing) but also what many people would consider luxuries having been lower to middle-class. In countries such as the United States, “luxuries” typically include owning a home instead of renting, owning a car or two, dining at a nice restaurant now and then, taking vacations, and sending children to good schools.” Some of these things are symbolized in the …show more content…
billboard.
In this part of my paper I will discuss my larger cultural argument based on my photograph. In my opinion I think this picture really reveals that poverty is a class issue. Take for example, the University of Houston. The surrounding area of the college is mostly an inner-city area commonly known as the historically black Third -Ward. The major race that mostly occupies that area is lower-class African Americans. These citizens make very low incomes. The average family income is about $40,000. Whereas one goes out to College Station, Texas one finds middle-class to upper middle-class white residents and the average family income is $53,000. When one goes out to the suburbs, beyond the urban cities, one meets typically middle-class to upper-middle white families.
So this goes on to the discussion of the American dream.
What is the American dream? Even though segregation is no longer in effect today, I think it still a reality that most poor neighborhoods are segregated into singular races .Therefore the thought becomes that this America Dream ultimately is limited in accessibility in certain classes, whether one is talking about any race. Take Serena and Venus Williams for example. We often hear that they are the American story because they came from the ghettos of Campton, California to become successful tennis players and successful individuals. However Cinderella stories like theirs are rare. They got out of ghetto and the inner-cities because of their athletic gift and ability. I also think in America we have this obsession with celebrities and we treat them like royalty because of their amazing stories of rag to riches through their talent to name a few, consider Mark Zuckerberg, for
example.
In conclusion, I am saying this American Dream really happens to people who are born with a silver spoon in their mouth or who win the lottery. This idea of working hard will get one far in life is true to a certain extent, however, the stark reality is that class , something one is in born into , regardless of any race , determines an individual ‘s ability to earn enough money to attain the American dream.
Ultimately, I believe this photograph should have been published because this photograph speaks a lot about the culture of our world. According to a chapter in the Curious Reader , ”there little argument that shocking images can disrupt, disturb, and revolt, entice ,frighten, horrify, and interest people” (Ballenger, Payne, 425). Sometimes we need this shock to understand our reality and our circumstance. Whether or not individuals are victims of circumstances depends largely on luck, talent, and myriads of other factors. In the end the truth is not rocket science and I think one of the amazing things is that my response to the photo reaffirms my belief in the power of photography. Photograph becomes a way for people to discuss issues and to feel things. I think this picture is kind of like a wakeup call to cultural elites and the media do not regularly have struggle with trying to put with on the table and find a roof over the heads. Everyone sees something different. It’s a moment stopped in time. That picture said to me that this was a moment of reflection and quiet. This represents a microcosm of the craziness of the world in the past and the present. There were so many hidden implications behind regularly sayings or pictures that we see every day that we often do not think about. It’s very peculiar what sets people off, what just gets people to look around.
Works Cited
Ballenger, Bruce P., and Michelle Payne. "Chapter 8, “The Ethics of Publishing Disturbing Pictures: Reading and Writing Across Genres and Disciplines” Introduction." The Curious Reader: Exploring Personal and Academic Inquiry. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006. N. pag. Print.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2010/snapshots/PL4815976.html
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/american_community_survey_acs/cb12-r04.html