“There’s no way like the American Way”

-Margaret Bourke-White; “At the Time of the Louisville Flood”; Louisville, Kentucky; 1937-

This is one of the most famous photographs depicting the effects of the Great Depression. Margaret Bourke-White’s “At the Time of the Louisville Flood”, taken in Louisville, Kentucky during 1937, shows a group of African American residents of Louisville waiting in line for food. Behind them, a huge billboard depicts the stereotypical happy American family enjoying a car ride, and is emblazoned with the phrases “Worlds Highest Standard of Living” and “There’s no way like the American Way”.

I feel that this is an ironic and even cynical photograph. Obviously, the contrast between the upper class, white “American Ideal” depicted on the billboard and the reality of the destitution among the black population of Kentucky is the central message behind this image; one of Margaret Bourke-White’s main concerns throughout her life, and the subject of many of her works was social injustice. This is a grim and pessimistic photo, and it really captures a vivid and honest image of the poverty brought on by the great depression. Margaret Bourke-White was clearly concerned about the hardships and inequalities produced by the Great Depression, and her photographs depicting its effects on the American people are among the very best ever taken.

http://www.artscenecal.com/ArticlesFile/Archive/Articles2005/Articles0405/MBourkeWhiteA.html

http://www.vpphotogallery.com/photog_white_timeoftheflood.htm

http://www.gallerym.com/work.cfm?ID=1357

http://www.gallerym.com/work.cfm?ID=1486

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression