How and Why Did Particular Photographs Become Iconic Symbols of the American Great Depression During the 1930’s?

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How and why did particular photographs become iconic symbols of the American Great Depression during the 1930’s? Student ID: 4217350 Throughout the Great Depression of the 1930s, many photographs were taken to capture the economic and social turmoil that have since become iconic symbols of that particular period of American history. One of the photographic pioneers of that era was Dorothea Lange (now recognised as one of the greatest documentary photographers of American history) who worked for a Government run organisation known as the Farm Security Administration. During her career, Lange travelled around the United States recording the unfolding of the Great Depression. She did this through powerful images of the deprivation experienced by Americans as well as uplifting photos that showed that despite the economic devastation, American life went on. Both Lange’s and one of the era's most iconic image is that of the ‘Migrant Mother’ portrait, captured in 1936. The photograph displays a mother, Florence Owens Thompson, staring sternly into the distance with her two young children either side of her, shielding their expressions from Lange. It holds such power as it displays an ordinary working-class woman amidst the gravest of conditions. Posted in the San Francisco News in early March 1936, the image gained huge publicity as it strongly reflected the harsh economic climate in the United States in the 1930s. Critic James C Curtis sees the ‘Migrant Mother’ image as a ‘timeless and universal symbol of suffering in the face of adversity.’ For contemporary Americans, this photograph, among others, stimulated great empathy for the working class and helped people break down social boundaries as they looked to aid those such as Florence Owens Thompson and her fellow starving pea pickers. There are a number of factors that have contributed to this photo becoming

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