Thesis 801

Xiu Mei:

During the time when the Dust Bowl was taking place and many depressions were happening, Dorothea Lange, a woman of action, decided to step foot onto the streets of San Francisco in California and take pictures to show us what’s reality. Dorothea Lange’s documentary photography helped the Okies obtain government relief care about what happen to others that were in debt of poverty. Dorothea Lange took her camera and got hold of many brilliant pieces of evidences that were so vivid in showing reality, which no oral words or text can explain how terrible the Okies were treated. She captured the tension and hardship that in this particular group had gone through in order to end up in California, where they were still facing difficulties in being accepted by the Californians.

Yuan:

Obviously, Dorothea Lange was extremely important in forcing the government of the United States to recognize the plight of migrants during one of America’s hardest times—the Dust Bowl. Dorothea Lange was born in 1901 as a girl with a tough childhood. Despite the world, Dorothea was given strength and decided to be a photographer. As she left her homeland to travel, she saw people that needed—and deserved—attention. She responded by documenting their existence for the others to see. Since 1930, Dorothea traveled and documented people in desperate conditions. Foremost amongst those eras she captured is obviously the Dust Bowl migration. Those photographs of hers revealed the misfortune Americans were going through, and those visuals were very important in forcing the government issue the government relief to the Okies. What makes Dorothea Lange’s photos so effective of getting attention is her integration of her visuals as “texts” which can be used for the studies of the Dust Bowls by students who views it.

Mary:

Without a doubt, Dorothea Lange’s documentary photography helped the Okies obtain government relief during the Dust Bowl because it illustrates life during the Dirty 30’s. Dorothea Lange’s successes in making the government realize the plight of the migrants from the Dust Bowl region helped change the ways of how the Okies lived and act. She was very much important to the migration of the Okies to California than the Okies because it made people realize what life, as an Okies was like, excruciating and treacherous, but at the same time, worthwhile because they were skilled with the ability to endure than other people. Her photos can educate students about the Dust Bowl in US history by showing how the Okies where exposed as and the unsympathetic times they had to live and go through. From Dorothea Lange’s experience in documentary photography, it can assist several of today’s tribulations, such as judgment on race and ethnicity.

Jack:

As always, documentary photography has been showing the public another view of the world compared to reading text. Dorothea Lange, founder of documentary photography was one of the many who convinced the government to give the Okies and other migrants relief from the effects of the Dust Bowl. With the power of photography, Lange joined up with her second husband Paul Schuster Taylor and showed America what the migrants of the “Dirty Thirties” endured to escape their past and strived to get a better future with opportunities opened for them. Lange took photos of families in the Dust Bowl region, showing the reasons of departing their land due to ruined agricultural grounds and corporate takeovers. Due to these her pictures of homeless individuals to families attempting to survive from the feedbacks of the Dust Bowl, the Mother Road, and California, America saw the plight of the Dust Bowl migrants in a way speech couldn’t have delivered.

Judy:

Dorothea Lange was the most important person that took pictures of the Migrants in the Dust Bowl Region that affected the government and their thinking of life for the Okies. Her pictures gave students a clearer view of how Okies lived their new life in California, which they weren’t treated fairly and were discriminated by people that were living in California. During today in the early 2000’s, documentary photography might help the government have a clearer thinking of how people disagree on the war, or how might conditions in Iraq would be bad to have war with the United States.

Melanie:

Dorothea Lange, a famous photographer during the dirty 30s was definitely important in forcing the government to recognize the plight of the migrants from the Dust Bowl region. She made sure the government passed acts by showing her photographs and documents of the Okies. She took pictures of them in Oklahoma and as they migrated to California. Lange wanted to make sure that the government was paying attention to the Okies who were suffering.