Poor Whites, Georgetown, D.C.

Poor Whites, Georgetown, D.C.
Carl Mydans, 1935.

The solemn expressions on these children’s faces evoke emotion within the viewer of the photograph. They appear dishevelled and ragged, demonstrating how little their parents had to clothe and clean them properly. This is emphasised by the lack of shoes and ripped dress on the older girl, and the dirt on the younger girl’s face. Levine notes that “we are not prepared to see the symbolic victims we have become familiar with do anything but appropriately despairing, to suffer – with admirable dignity perhaps – but to suffer nonetheless.” We can see truth in his statement visualised in this photograph as we expect children to be playing, not sat in a doorway looking as though they are suffering. However because of the nature of the project carried out by the Farm Security Administration, what we are expecting to see alters to suit the context and as such, we are not surprised by the visible suffering of these children.

By not attaching a name to these children, as many of the photographers failed to do for their subjects, and instead referring to them as “Poor Whites” Mydans is detaching them from their individuality. In doing so, they created a unique collection of historical references. This is also suggested by Levine when he says, “it was precisely from the photographers’ attempts to picture their subjects not as individuals but as components of a larger context.”

These children represent family poverty that was prevalent during the Great Depression. This could also indicate that the children’s parents are believers in the American Dream, as so many were during this hard time, as they would want to stay strong and positive, despite everything that life has thrown at them.