3/10, lower class

Many of the images we studied reminded me about some of the propaganda documentaries I have seen in other classes. During the great Depression in the United States’ President Roosevelt started a variety of programs to help different groups like the Tennessee Valley Association. I have seen documentaries made, like The River, to sell these groups as propaganda to show the work the government is doing to help the economic situation. These photographs we saw in class show the emotion and depression of the people in lower class by focusing on them rather than on the country as a whole or large group of people. We, as the viewers, feel close to the subject because they are looking straight at us in many cases. The background of many of the photographs makes it credible because it looks real rather than a backdrop. Images such as these helped show the public how the lower class lives.