The first thing that comes to my
mind in Dorothea Lange’s beautiful photo is confrontation. Dorothea uses a
direct approach for this reason. This straightforward photograph is not hiding
anything. The man on the side of the photograph is the key element to the
scene. He seems to be provoking the old man in the middle of the photograph. This
confrontation is curiously and attentively viewed by a group of African
American workers. The old man seems to be a plantation owner and the African
American crew his workers. The old man is attempting to be dominant by standing
up straight and putting his foot on the car almost to be staking him claim.
This to me is like a stand off seen continuously thought nature between two
males, the newcomer and the old dominant male. This appears to be the old mans
territory and he seems threatened by the presence of the newcomer. In 1936
abolition against slavery and racism was in full force. In the south racism was
running wild, although slavery was made illegal by the thirteenth amendment in
1865. African American people still were being treated extremely unfair.
I like to think that the man on the
side of the photograph is standing up for the rights of the African American
men in the background. What could he of said to the old man to make him react?
Could he have been asking how much he pays his workers? Or how many hours they
work a day? Who knows what the man said to the plantation owner. It is obvious
from the old man’s discussed face that it did not make him happy. There probably
is not much that makes this old man happy anymore. Except for money. The threat
of abolition is in turn threatening his potential salary. This photograph captures almost the
exact moment where the words of the newcomer cut directly into the old man’s
soul.
The workers see this moment and
seem to be amused. The many hours or even years they have spent working for
this old man they have never seen something disgruntle him so harshly. After
getting yelled at for most of the day they finally get a break. They probably
lollygagged to the stairs, like they do everyday, dreading the grueling work
that still is to come with the rest of the day. Little did they know that this
newcomer would bring them a bit of joy that they would of never of had happened
otherwise. That is what makes this picture so amazing, the fact that the
workers have to go trough the darkest most dreadful days reputedly until one
day a man from no where brings them a little bit of light that they have
deserved for years.
I really loved your interpretation of this photo. And not just what you said, but the way you went about saying it, was also a nice touch. You managed to remain technically critical, yet offer an enjoyable and thought provoking read.
ReplyDeleteI like how you seemed to center this piece around a single theme of confrontation. It brings up a sense of savagery in the photo, something that you would see happen in the wild between alpha male and outsider. Or, if you want to look at it in Freudian or psychoanalytic terms, a battle between id and superego; the civilized man versus the licentious brute, which has always been a classic example of human confrontation. You really brought this photo down to the basic, and most primitive level of humanity, at its most savage and brutal. You managed to capture whatever was beating in the heart of this photograph. Nice work.
Honestly, the more I looked at this picture, the more I saw the same confrontation, but up until I read your post, I was seeing it from a completely different perspective. As I imagined it, a stranger came up to the plantation owner and commented on how he was a little too comfortable with his black field hands or said something about how he shouldn’t be letting them do something. I pictured the stranger to be the offensive or racist one and the plantation owner’s look of disgust being derived from his words. Your post made me question why I might have thought that. The only answer I could reach was my naïve belief that the plantation owner’s proximity to the men would gradually give him a higher idea of them.
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ReplyDeleteYour post makes me wonder about the field workers. When I first studied this picture I thought they looked wary. After reading through the blogs, I have seen them described as blank, angry, submissive, bored, and now.....amused. Never in million years by myself would I have thought they looked amused. But now, after reading your post and looking at the picture again, I see you point. It's almost as if this photograph has an infinite number of permutations.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of territory and the man, like a lion, trying to scare off the newcomer. I wonder who's car his foot is posted on? I also found it interesting that the license plate under his crotch is black.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your view on the picture. It's interesting to think that the workers are looking forward to the older man's possible demise as I didn't see it that way at all. Thank you for giving me more to think about on the picture. I do have a question for you though: Do you think that the outcome of the confrontation really has anything to do with the workers? Or just something that could make the older man unhappy?
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