The American Way?

The American Way?

Growing up we are told that every person no matter their race or gender is to be treated equal. Thanks to the great Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. they have made their mark in history to make sure this equality lasts forever. They fought for their rights and for freedom to live in this country peacefully with the rest of us. So why is there still racism out there today? It is often that blacks or even poor whites are invisible in the eyes of what we feel America is. America is the “home of the free and land of the brave.” No where in there does it state you can only be white to be an American. Is having a nice paying job with a family and being presumably middle class the accepted stereo type for the average American life? Margaret Bourke-White does an exquisite job of explaining this concept to us with no words but instead a photograph she had taken back in her prime.

Margaret Bourke-White once said, “Utter truth is essential, and that is what stirs me when I look through the camera.” White was a photographer unlike any other. In fact, she was the first photojournalist to be hired for Life Magazine. White has quite the resume when it comes to photojournalism. She lived through the Great Depression and had the chance to shoot and document all the chaos that happened in that time period. In her photograph titled, The American Way taken on February 15, 1937, which was during the post Great Depression, she depicts the average American white family against a line of black folks standing in line for something the viewers eyes just cannot see. What is it that they could possibly be waiting for? First glancing at this photograph, while in my art class, I notice right in the middle of the picture the billboard in the background. The smiling faces of the family in the car totally consume your attention overlooking the long line of black people standing in front of it. Moving around the outsides of the billboard I notice the sayings that are printed clear as day; “The highest standard of living” and “There’s no way like that American way.” What are these sayings trying to tell the rest of the world? If you notice there is only one man actually looking at the sign while others are actually looking at the camera having their face being documented at this abominable point in their lives. Taking an even closer look you can see the one lonely little boy or girl standing towards the back of the line. It poses the questions how he or she got there? Where are their parents? If you notice the clothes that the people are wearing are not old and torn at all. They are dressed with shirts, ties, dresses and coats to keep them warm from what appears to be the winter season. The main purpose of this image is to portray the average American white family and how it is every Americans dream, whether they are black or white, to one day live a life such as the family on the billboard.

What choices did the advertisers make in constructing this billboard and placing it in a relatively black community? The joyful family in the background of this somewhat mournful scene is ironic to me. As is turns out these people are flood victims standing in line for food. Not having known this before and someone seeing this for the first time may see this photograph as something entirely different. Maybe they are standing in line for a job or waiting in line for a bus. Someone of another race may see this and immediately claim racism. The black and white lighting of this scene sets an even more dark an ominous tone to the way in which these people may be feeling. Back then color was not invented but leaves it up to the imagination to decide the true colors that were there in this time. The poor people waiting in line may have lost their home and their family in the flood and have nothing more than the clothes on their backs to make it through whatever may be ahead in their future.

The top line of the billboard that states “the highest standard of living” in contrast with the people standing underneath it is also ironic in that they cannot possibly get any lower then where they are now. They can only go up from this point in their lives. Something else that I find contradicting in this photograph is the saying “There’s no way like that American way.” Is this implying that the American way is that of a normal white family and no blacks are allowed? I certainly hope that is not the case because I believe we are all equal no matter your race or gender for that matter. It can come off as being racist to some, to others it is a simple statement that just gets over looked.

I feel that White is trying to convey a certain message through The American Way to those that may have not lived through this time. As I had said before White shoots the “utter truth” in her photographs, and she hit that spot on in this one. There is no way around it that this was taken in action as is. She did not have to get these people together in a line right in front of the perfect American family billboard so that she could send this message out to the world. This was real it was happening right then and there in front of her. The way in which it is shot straight on lets the viewer know this really happened and its there for you to see. It makes me wonder what White was going through at this time in her own life. Was she in just as bad of a situation as these people were in or was she one of the members from the line that just stepped out to take a snap shot? Most of America was still in shambles from having just gotten out of the Great Depression. From what I have researched she was not out taking photographs and selling them just to make a buck. She was out there doing what she loved because that was all she knew how to do and she was the best of her time.

This photograph by Margaret Bourke-White has many different representations that come from looking it. At first glance it appears to be just a line of people waiting for something. After looking longer you notice the billboard. It then comes off as being racists and provocative towards the African American race after seeing what is printed on this billboard. At the same time it gives the people who are in this line hope that they can one day be sitting where the happy white family is. It is such a candid shot that I do not believe she wanted it to come off as being derogatory to any race at all. I think anyone can relate to this photograph and every person who looks at it will have their own perspective of what White was trying to tell us. I have told you what I get from looking at this. What do you take from looking at this photograph?