Purpose Revealed in Pictures
"Migrant Mother" by Dorothea Lange
We Do:
As a class, we will look at "Migrant Mother" by Dorothea Lange. We will begin to apply visual/media techniques to this photo. We will also study some of the background of this photo and several other photos taken in this series.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/128_migm.html
Use the following important documents to help you analyze visuals. These pages will list features that could be significant in developing message, purpose, and position.
Visual Argument Analysis page
Media Literacy Hooks page
Some Examples of Author Purposes
You Do:
Look at the links below of Pulitzer Prize-winning photos by Carolyn Cole of The Los Angeles Times taken during war in Liberia, Africa. Below is a short synopsis of the climate of war in Liberia:
"Violent conflict has continued between the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) and the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy in northern Liberia. . . .The overall situation continued to deteriorate in 2002 as sporadic fighting and insecurity hindered the efforts of relief agencies to reach vulnerable populations. The various armed militias continued to recruit forcibly underage soldiers. . . . From February 8 until September 14, 2002, the Government operated under a state of emergency that suspended some civil liberties such as peaceful assembly in response to the armed insurgency of a rebel group, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). . . . As fighting with the LURD rebels spread and moved south, there were credible reports that government forces . . . continued to harass, intimidate, detain, and kill members of the Mandingo ethnic group and other suspected LURD sympathizers. The U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) reported from mid-year estimates that there were approximately 107,000 Liberian refugees in Guinea, 71,000 in Cote d'Ivoire, 38,000 in Sierra Leone, 11,000 in Ghana, and 3,000 in other countries. . . . By late May 2003 more than 10,000 Liberians had been forced in recent days to flee for their lives from southeastern Liberia, joining the already overflowing ranks of the displaced and refugees. . . .Crime was high in the capital, Monrovia, with theft and assault prevalent, particularly at night.” taken from “Liberia: Second Civil War” http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/liberia-1997.htm
"Violent conflict has continued between the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) and the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy in northern Liberia. . . .The overall situation continued to deteriorate in 2002 as sporadic fighting and insecurity hindered the efforts of relief agencies to reach vulnerable populations. The various armed militias continued to recruit forcibly underage soldiers. . . . From February 8 until September 14, 2002, the Government operated under a state of emergency that suspended some civil liberties such as peaceful assembly in response to the armed insurgency of a rebel group, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). . . . As fighting with the LURD rebels spread and moved south, there were credible reports that government forces . . . continued to harass, intimidate, detain, and kill members of the Mandingo ethnic group and other suspected LURD sympathizers. The U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) reported from mid-year estimates that there were approximately 107,000 Liberian refugees in Guinea, 71,000 in Cote d'Ivoire, 38,000 in Sierra Leone, 11,000 in Ghana, and 3,000 in other countries. . . . By late May 2003 more than 10,000 Liberians had been forced in recent days to flee for their lives from southeastern Liberia, joining the already overflowing ranks of the displaced and refugees. . . .Crime was high in the capital, Monrovia, with theft and assault prevalent, particularly at night.” taken from “Liberia: Second Civil War” http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/liberia-1997.htm
Out of the millions of photos she could have taken, why did Carolyn Cole take these photos?
As you look at each photo, fill in a chart you make on a sheet of paper. In the first column, list the photo's number (as listed in the web address). In the second column, decide what message Cole is trying to convey to her audience about the war in Liberia. In the third column, decide what details in the photo would support your understanding of her message?
http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/5465
http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/5466
http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/5473
http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/5476
http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/5470