"Migrant Mother"
The photograph known as "Migrant
Mother" has become an icon of the Great Depression. This photo, taken
by Dorothea Lange in Nipomo, California, features a mother and her
three children. The photos were taken at the end of Lange's month
long photography trip which highlighted farm work labor. Her work was
part of the administration's larger effort to document economic and social
distress among the nation's agricultural workers and to advertise the agency's
relief programs and the measures it was taking to address underlying causes of
the dislocation.
In the photo the women seem to be looking off
into the distance distressed while her children shyly turn their head from the
camera. Captured during the great depression, this photo attempts to display
individual worth as well as the effects of the class system. Class
distinction is often overlooked but this photo stood out because it juxtaposed
the "family" Americans have tried to portray to its citizens and
other countries. The women's face is full of worry and her hand against chin
shows her tensions of the wellbeing of her children. The dirty old clothing
gives us a sense of her hard work and occupation. Women and her children are
considered the most vulnerable so this picture gained a lot of support
because many were moved by it. This picture very closely captures the anxiety
that people of the depression were faced with.
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