Social realist art, which dominated in the US during the Depression, communicates the concerns of the masses: artists question the treatment of the poor and praise American values embodied in ordinary people. In painting, Thomas Hart Benton’s murals depict an extravagance juxtaposed alongside honest, hardworking people, calling into question the actions and greed leading up to the Great Depression. Benton’s murals in both subject and medium penetrate the American political landscape, purporting such ideal values as hardworking and honesty. In photography, Dorothea Lange captures in the flesh the realities of the working poor. In her photograph Migrant Mother (1936) Lange portrays simultaneously the oppression and resilience of the working Totalitarianism in the arts of Nazi-Germany portray. The most famous piece of propaganda in support of Nazi-Germany is The Triumph of the Will, directed by Leni Riefenstahl. In the context of Nazi-Germany, Triumph of the Will seems to reflect well its totalitarian upbringings: it concentrates its focus in support for Hitler through bold camera angles and symmetrical images (Fiero 423). Riefenstahl’s use of physical gaps and hierarchical distinction between leader and followers are just two of the aspects of the film that set it apart from other documentaries of the time. Triumph of the Will was monumental in that it was one of the first observational documentaries showing events like parades, mass assemblies, images of Hitler, and speeches that are occurring as if the camera was recording the natural unfolding of the events—unaffected by the presence of a camera or not. There is no spoken commentary, only speeches by Hitler and other Nazi leaders, and this is how it differs from propaganda and documentary film. These techniques are introduced and brought together by Riefenstahl in response to a need specific to her time period: that of creating support political conformity. We may be averted to the subject, we approach Riefenstahl’s documentary with an intrigue for her ability to In both cases, that of the French and of the Spanish, there is a political struggle. In the struggle for conquest, French artists and pro-Napoleonic supporters see Napoleon as the embodiment of realized ideals and ambition but for those opposed, such as Goya, heroism emerges in the same sense. Spanish nationalism comes through in Goya’s The Third of May, which depicts a ghastly execution of Spaniards by the French army. This image shows the random executions of the Spanish citizenry as resulted from Napoleon’s command. The Spanish citizens being executed are cast in a light of heroic glory- the citizen centered, illuminated in white, although on his knees, appears nearly to tower over the French army; holding out his arms in an unmistakable reference to the crucified Christ, he appears as a heroic martyr in contrast to the faceless French soldiers on the opposite side that are rendered almost inhuman. Through Goya’s composition and story-telling, the Spanish rebels elicit both sympathy for their suffering and respect for their sacrifice in the painting. This painting was commissioned by the provisional government of Spain, upon Goya’s suggestion, to commemorate the invasion of Spain by Napoleon’s troops in 1808. At the time it was painted, the painting was considered
In the years between 1933 and 1945, Germany was engulfed by the rise of a powerful new regime and the eventual spoils of war. During this period, Hitler's quest for racial purification turned Germany not only at odds with itself, but with the rest of the world. Photography as an art and as a business became a regulated and potent force in the fight for Aryan domination, Nazi influence, and anti-Semitism. Whether such images were used to promote Nazi ideology, document the Holocaust, or scare Germany's citizens into accepting their own changing country, the effect of this photography provides enormous insight into the true stories and lives of the people most affected by Hitler's racism. In fact, this photography has become so widespread in our understanding and teaching of the Holocaust that often other factors involved in the Nazi's racial policy have been undervalued in our history textbooks-especially the attempt by Nazi Germany to establish the Nordic Aryans as a master race through the Lebensborn experiment, a breeding and adoption program designed to eliminate racial imperfections.
The presence of an overwhelming and influential body of government, dictating the individuals of contextual society, may potentially lead to the thoughts and actions that oppose the ruling party. Through the exploration of Fritz Lang’s expressionist film, Metropolis (1927), and George Orwell’s politically satirical novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1948), the implications of an autocratic government upon the individuals of society are revealed. Lang’s expressionist film delves into the many issues faced by the Weimar Republic of Germany following the “War to end all wars” (Wells, 1914), in which the disparity between the upper and lower classes became distinctively apparent as a result of the ruling party’s capitalistic desires. Conversely, Orwell’s,
Grant Wood was a Regionalist artist who continually endeavored to capture the idyllic beauty of America’s farmlands. In 1930 he had been roaming through his hometown in Iowa searching for inspiration when he stumbled upon a house that left him spellbound. From this encounter came America’s iconic American Gothic. Not long after Wood’s masterpiece was complete the once ideal countryside and the people who tended to it were overcome by despair and suffering as the Great Depression came to be. It was a time of economic distress that affected nearly every nation. America’s stock market crashed in 1929 and by 1933 millions of Americans were found without work and consequently without adequate food, shelter, and other necessities. In 1935, things took a turn for the worst as severe winds and dust storms destroyed the southern Great Plains in the event that became known as the Dust Bowl. Farmers, who had been able to fall back on their crops during past depressions, were hit especially hard. With no work or way or other source of income, many farms were foreclosed, leaving countless families hungry and homeless. Ben Shahn, a Lithuanian-born man who had a deep passion for social injustice, captures the well-known hopelessness of the Great Depression through his photograph Rural Rehabilitation Client. Shahn and Wood use their art to depict the desperation of everyday farmers in America due to the terrors and adverse repercussions that the Great Depression incited.
This painting is able to show in detail how emotional it was for the Spanish after the war. It flawlessly used colors and lighting to show importance of character. Goya was able to accurately demonstrate the patriotic view of the uprising and subsequent war, in which the Spanish cast the rioters of May second as defenseless heroes and innocent, modern-day martyrs and the French as brutal
German cinema was greatly affected during the Nazi movement between 1933 and 1945. Once appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933 Hitler wasted no time and almost immediately began working on his propaganda strategy. Typically “propaganda targets a mass audience and relies on mass media to persuade. Propaganda is aimed at large numbers of people and, as such, relies on mass communication to reach its audience” (Gass, 14). The Nazi party used film propaganda to brainwash the German people, distract them from the harsh reality of the Nazi party, and attempt to intimidate the enemy. Hitler knew propaganda entailed mass persuasion and he knew just how to get his message out there; film. It was through the use of propaganda, largely film that made the Nazi party so powerful as they redefined propaganda.
The Nazi propaganda film, Triumph of the Will, is an excellent propaganda film that has many images that are meant to inspire, encourage, and invigorate the German people to be reborn. The film was made in 1934 during the rise of Adolf Hitler as the fuhrer of Nazi Germany. Hitler rose from the rank of a corporal in the German army to an inmate in a German jail. Hitler, once released, used fascist propaganda to promote the Nazi party. The propaganda promised to restore Germany as an economic leader in Europe while improving the lives of the German citizen. This pretense of a better life for German people won Hitler the dictatorship of Germany. Triumph of the Will is a good example of how propaganda entices the masses into
Migrant Mother is without a doubt Dorothea Lange’s most famous photo. The photo is an 11 1/8 x 8 9/16’’, Gelatin silver print photo from 1936 (Museum of Modern Art). The photo is in black and white and features a mother, her elder children, as well as an infant that can be seen in its mother’s arms. Each subject looks extremely dirty and their clothes are exceptionally worn. The two older children are turning their heads in despair so their faces can not be seen, while their mother’s expression shows looks of worry and concern as she is recently left a widow and single mother to her seven children (Ostrom Peters). Migrant Mother is an example of a documentary photograph because it shows the genuine emotions of hurt and worry that this mother and her family were going through during a real period in time. I believe that Lange is trying to convey what not only those in Nipomo were feeling and having to deal...
The mass media carries with it unparalleled opportunities to impart information, but also opportunities to deceive the public, by misrepresenting an event. While usually thought of as falsifying or stretching facts and figures, manipulation can just as easily be done in the use of photography and images. These manipulations may be even more serious – and subtle – than written manipulations, since they may not be discovered for years, if ever, and can have an indelible and lasting impact on the viewer, as it is often said, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. One of the most significant images of Twentieth Century America was the photograph of a migrant mother holding her child. The photograph was taken during the Great Depression by photographer Dorothea Lange, and has remained an enduring symbol of the hardship and struggle faced by many families during the Depression Era. This image was also an example of the manipulation of photography, however, for it used two major forms of manipulation that remain a problem in journalistic photography.
Under the influence of the Nazi government, Leni Riefenstahl produced the ideal propaganda piece, that showcased the Nazi Party as a peaceful government. During the 6th Nazi party Congress the speaker says to Hitler “’Thanks to your leadership, Germany will reach its goal of being home to all Germans throughout the world. You were our guarantor of peace.’” Though as the documentary was done “by order of the Führer,” as is stated in the opening credits, the method through which Hitler achieved this ‘peace’ was not featured in the film. By excluding these crucial narrative facts, the documentary is essentially lying to the viewers, attempting to erase the horrid acts that the Nazi government has committed. The documentary was filmed and released from 1932 to 1935, with events coinciding with the events of the Holocaust (Hirsh 20). By failing to acknowledge the violence at the time being committed against the Jewish people, Riefenstahl, under the influence of the Nazi government commits a vile act of injustice against the world. As the Nazi government erases these facts from Triumph of the Will, the German public would only receive a half truth. This corruption goes unknown by the public, as the government hides behind Riefenstahl’s work, as she claims to only use real
For this assignment I chose to describe and critique ‘Migrant Mother’ by Dorothea Lange. This photo is an example of social documentary photography. There are certain features that make the composition of this photo very appealing to the eyes. Lange’s photo is primarily composed of triangles. The primary triangle is formed by the mother and the two children standing to either side. The top of the triangle begins at the mother’s head, with the sides running downward to the children’s heads, and then finally to the bottom of the frame. The secondary triangle is made by the mother herself. Her propped arm draws the eyes from her head down to the blanket wrapped infant in her lap. This triangular pattern is repeated in the background with the lines
Margaret Bourke-White’s photograph “At the Time of the Louisville Flood” 1937 and F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby excerpt 1925 both include the idea of the American Dream and depict how it is greatly flawed. Margaret displays a photo in which she juxtaposes a group of struggling poor people who look emotionally defeated with a billboard that promotes the American way of life and displays it to be one of opulence. The Great Gatsby excerpt includes a description of a lavish and extravagant party full of people whom put on a completely fake façade and try to fit in to a specific aristocratic lifestyle in order to achieve what they believe is the ultimate American dream. Both the photograph and the excerpt display the Government’s fabricated idea of the American Dream and the reality of its extreme downfalls. They differ though due to the photograph “At the Time of the Louisville Flood” includes a poor mainly African American group whom don’t have the means to ever achieve the so called “American Dream” while in The Great Gatsby excerpt it includes a description of a very wealthy ...
During the Holocaust, around six million Jews were murdered due to Hitler’s plan to rid Germany of “heterogeneous people” in Germany, as stated in the novel, Life and Death in the Third Reich by Peter Fritzsche. Shortly following a period of suffering, Hitler began leading Germany in 1930 to start the period of his rule, the Third Reich. Over time, his power and support from the country increased until he had full control over his people. Starting from saying “Heil Hitler!” the people of the German empire were cleverly forced into following Hitler through terror and threat. He had a group of leaders, the SS, who were Nazis that willingly took any task given, including the mass murder of millions of Jews due to his belief that they were enemies to Germany. German citizens were talked into participating or believing in the most extreme of things, like violent pogroms, deportations, attacks, and executions. Through the novel’s perspicacity of the Third Reich, readers can see how Hitler’s reign was a controversial time period summed up by courage, extremity, and most important of all, loyalty.
The formal analysis of The 3rd of May, 1808, Francisco Goya, 1814, oil on canvas. In the following written composition I will examine The 3rd of May, 1808 in a context which will allow me to identify formal elements that Goya manipulated to influence the viewers with a specific outlining message. This work was completed in 1814 using oil on canvas medium. This piece of art stands at approximately 266 by 345cm. This was common for historical paintings to be substantially grander in size. Goya’s goal in this specific painting is to depict the sorrow and heartache connected with the Peninsular war. In this specific work The 3rd of May 1808 he highlights the honor of the massacred Spanish rebellions opposed to the savage French troops. This formal analysis will examine the important technique used by Goya to organize societies depiction of the visual information. Within this work I will concentrate on these elements of color, texture, shape, lines, space, and the value to bring about my own opinion of Goya’s work. Using this strategy applied to The 3rd of May, 1808 work I hope to demonstrate a comprehension how to translate what I see into written words.
Francisco Goya’s The Third of May 1808 introduces the highly emotional style of Romanticism (French Revolution) and illustrates the themes of violent punishment, death, and the senseless brutality of war. Goya has made an image of actual historical events, but enhanced them for maximum dramatic effect. In the painting, the figures to the left of the composition demand the viewer’s attention more than the figures to the right. While the faceless French soldiers on the opposite side are rendered almost inhuman, the ill-fated Spanish “rebels” elicit both sympathy for their suffering and respect for their sacrifice.
Painting in the 19th century, still highly influenced by the spirit of Romanticism, proved to be a far more sensitive medium for the kind of personal expression one should expect from the romantic subjectivity of the time. At the very beginning of the “modern period” stands the imposing figure of Francisco Goya (1746-1828), the great independent painter from Spain. With much indebtedness to Velazquez, Rembrandt and the wonders of the natural world, Goya occupies the status of an artistic giant. His artistic range goes from the late Venetian Baroque through the brilliant impressionistic realism of his own to a late expressionism in which dark and powerful distor...