Dorothea Lange-Towards Los Angeles

Dorothea Lange ‘Towards Los Angeles’ 1937

I have chosen this image as it captures a number of aspects related to last week’s lecture and the course as well as being a powerful and an image that is somewhat appealing to the eye.

The obvious power within this image is the irony. At the left side of the image we see two men walking with luggage along a long straight. This gives the viewer the impression that they are travelling somewhere far by foot. The irony, of course, lies on the right side of the image as a billboard reads ‘Next time try the train. Relax’. This is important as it contrasts the other side of the picture. Dorothea Lange was iconic in capturing images of the depression and this is a somewhat different take on her other work which often pulls on the heartstrings and is much more raw. The fact that these two men must walk all the way to Los Angeles rather than take the train plays well to the idea of Depression photography. The men clearly do not have the funds to be able to afford to use the train and so must walk to Los Angeles.

This image is also interesting as it plays into ideas of the American Dream and the perfect victim, as Lawrence Levine writes about in his article. It plays on ideas of the American Dream with the idea of new found wealth in a new found country. This is because the railroads were still a relatively new invention that were mainly used by more privileged members of society. While this wasn’t just for the rich and trains weren’t particularly expensive, it is a luxury that many blue collar workers during the depression would aspire to use-constantly seeking a self made wealth and playing to the American Dream’s ethos of aspiration and social mobility.

This also plays well to Levine’s idea of a ‘perfect victim’. This is the sense that imagery somewhat victimizes the people who are captured but is also somewhat harmless as despite these Depression images being very raw and emotional, it is simply a short insight for a purpose. The people captured still went about their everyday lives. Levine writes, “they also continued, as people always must, the business of living. They ate and they laughed, they loved and they fought, they worried and they hoped … they filled their days, as we fill ours, with the essentials of everyday living.” So despite these images somewhat being exploitative at working class economic despair, in reality it is often the way the image has been taken, background, and timing that convey this message rather than the actual people. There’s no telling what the men’s distance is away from Los Angeles or their economic status. It is only assumed by the contrasting irony of the billboard, again reinforced by the caption of this image, suggesting Los Angeles is somewhat of a distance away. This shows that Dorothea Lange does somewhat play to that Perfect Victim illusion that Lawrence Levine talks about.