Documentary projects
...them still have captions, but in this case we can assume that someone has told the photographer or author what to write for each photo. By this method the true meaning of how the turmoil during this period affected the people in question is more precisely illustrated because it includes the words uttered by the people themselves. Both Lange and Evans are documentary photographers; they just had alternative styles of taking photos. They are both called documentary photographers and they took their pictures because of the social cause, to show what was wrong with the world, and to influence others to take action and make it right. They wanted to illustrate to society the changes that the Great Depression caused and how people were affected by it. Dorothea Lange started taking photographs so she could document the misery of the American lower class. Lange wanted to make the lower class more visible so that she could encourage others to help. Dorothea Lange remained loyal to her principles by taking direct, unmanipulated footage of the social issues that were going on during the Great Depression. Lange tried to capture the image, but was more interested in the feeling and moods behind the image and the underlying connotation of the pictures. Lange’s main goal was to present her project to society in the true form that she observed the conditions and by this she wanted the portraits to reveal a deep understanding and sympathy towards her fellow human beings. Together with her husband Paul S. Taylor they collaborated to make the book An American Exodus: A Record of Human Erosion. They tried to connect photographs, and text dealing with the causes and effects of this huge social disturbance with an added element: words they heard spoken by some of the people that were victims of the Great Depression. They did this to tell the story the way it actually was; how the people themselves felt and experienced the terrible times they lived in. The outcome of this is that we, the readers, get a clear meaning of what’s going on. We do not have to read into the photographs or text to much, it is clear and simple. I think they included the captions in the text to reflect how they wanted to portray the situation to the public. By having sentences spoken by the people in the photos, the project is more believable and authentic. Lange and Taylor completed the project through the eyes of the people affected by the Great Depression and not how they perceived the situation themselves. The writing style of Paul S.Taylor is also very different from James Agee. Taylor’s way of writing differs because it is more straightforward and interesting; the language is simple and easier to comprehend. The writing style draws you in because the language is formulated in a way to bring attention to the topic and captures your interest due to the simplistic style of writing. It is not complicated language and therefore the text is easier to engage in. An American Exodus: A Record of Human Erosion applies more to the more “simple-minded”. The text goes hand in hand with the pictures and states a point that is easy to understand. There is no need to analyze the text or pictures any further. In 1936 Walker Evans started taking photographs for what has become Let Us Now Praise Famous Men and I feel Evans photographs are more manipulated. The photos are carefully chosen in the way the pictures are presented. I find Agees writing at times boring and confusing. The writing just keeps on repeating, and there are no periods in the text. Agee describes the world around him with his own thoughts and perceptions, in a complicating way to the point were it becomes exhausting to read. His writing, breaking usual grammatical standards, makes his text virtually unreadable. The sentence structure is more elaborated and a takes on a messy unstructured way of writing. The sentences contain too much information so it becomes strenuous to read. B...