Photographs and Persuasive Campaigns

Examining how a photograph is used, and not just what it shows, can help students gain valuable insights into how media can be employed as a powerful tool for persuasion.

Show students this 1936 photograph of destitute pea pickers in California, also known as “Migrant Mother.” Invite them to observe it, and then ask:

• What is being shown in the image?
• What can you learn from it?
• Why do you think the picture was taken?

Students will likely comment on the woman with two children hiding their faces from the camera. Some might see the face of the baby tucked against her. They might also say that her posture, with her hand on her chin, and her facial expression, look troubled. After they make preliminary observations and reflections, encourage students to scan the photograph’s item record for additional insights. Some may highlight that the mother is a migrant pea picker in California during the 1930s. Others will note that the photograph was taken by Dorothea Lange, on assignment from the Farm Security Administration (FSA), a U.S. Government photography project. Most will agree that the photograph illustrates human costs faced by migrant farmers during the Dust Bowl. But the mention of FSA photographers may also introduce questions about the photo’s purpose: Why were photographers hired to document the plight of migrant farmers?

Introduce this FSA Migrant Exhibit. Once more, ask students the three focus questions above, then encourage them to compare the exhibit with Lange’s photo and look for clues about how the photo was used and why.

In examining the exhibit, students will likely note that someone — not necessarily Lange — selected a number of photographs and added captions in order to tell a larger story. Some of these pictures, like Lange’s, illustrate the plight of farmers affected by the decline of small farms. But others describe how FSA programs were assisting these displaced farmers, explicitly marketing the government’s efforts. Students may wonder: Where did these exhibits take place? For what audience and purpose? How else were the photos used?

Then, introduce this Migrant Mother publications log, allow time for students to examine it, and ask what questions it prompts. Students may point out that the publication log shows that Lange’s photo was made available to the press and that its publication was actively tracked. Why might the FSA have done this?

Conclude by discussing the role of FSA photographers in 1930s and 1940s America, as well as the potential for photography to tell stories for persuasive purposes.

Extensions

Tracking the use of “Migrant Mother” in the Library’s collections can also lead to additional student research. For instance, your students may search for additional FSA photos, both in color and black-and-white, as well as exhibits featuring some of these photos. They might also be interested in researching how, in the 1940s, the FSA became the Office of War Information (OWI), where many of the same photographers continued to take photos for persuasive purposes.

Let us know what interesting connections your students make!