Whose Migrant Mother was this?
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- Опубліковано 7 сер 2019
- Dorothea Lange captured this iconic photo known as Migrant Mother in 1936. But who was the woman pictured? And how did she and her family feel about its existence in the world? Guest host John Green introduces you to Florence Owens Thompson, her family, and her story. #migrantmother #dorothealange #photography
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I have seen this photo countless times and never noticed the baby
brandilyon it doesn’t help that the baby is often cropped out of the photo in reproductions.
i always thought that was her arm. Regardless, this photo is a masterpiece.
Me too! I was like, what baby?
This picture hung in my house for many years...I never noticed a baby!
That image symbolise American, the same way you didn't notice the baby, is probably the same way you ALL didn't NOTICE what's outside?
there is an irony in a native american woman being remembered as some anonymous 'migrant' mother
Finn Doye She was a migrant because she traveled to find work
Key word there though: Migrant. Not immigrant. "Migrant worker" just means that you follow the jobs and move to a new location to find work. That doesn't have to be to a different country. It can be to a different state too.
Mr. White I think the key is how often you change residency
@Mr. White traveled permanently!
@Mr. White that's because she was my grandmother. And she used to give me Werther's Originals when I was a young lady. Now, I am the grandmother, and what do I give my granddaughter? the very same Werther's original.
Not knowing that she was Native American, the image speaks louder than before
I agree.
@D Early Let's not turn this into a race issue. That's not what he/she meant.
@z Actually the human race is the only race humans have.
FashionPanda AndTheShapes I agree.
It does. I lends a moment captured about how displace the indigenous people became on their own land. It shows how deep the depression dug into the heart of America.
I was always struck by how beautiful she was. Such beautiful bone structure, and striking features against such a harsh life.
Mary GRAHAM yes and no makeup at all!
You're right. She is very BEAUTIFUL. What genuine beauty is ! No makeup. No implants. No surgery. No "designer" clothes. Just a woman and mother.
That is a portrait of all good mothers who somehow find the strength and love which creates her beauty.
As is always the case, many will romanticize or have their own interpretation of an image. Whether it's a photograph or other media. I am glad the truth came out about the people from this photograph but saddened because after all these decades some of our people in the United States still live life in hardship.
she looked 50 and was 32. And they say money can't buy happiness
Beautiful how? Loll
As a photographer since the 70's, this story illustrates why it's important to take good notes, ask questions, and interact with your subjects. One of the most famous pictures was taken by someone who knew nothing about her. Sad.
but the photo is the photo . Truly strong photos are still important in their own right with out context .
Unfortunately that was the normal of rude white folks
@@Ravenousyouth This is true. But most of those pictures with little or no backstory, the photographer was not able to ask questions. As they say shoot first, ask questions later.
@@bettythomas8660 At the time, yes.
I suggest it's more to do with the reason for the photograph. The story although specific is a useful tool when married to this expressive photo, which after all was for a specific purpose other than art.
"Three kids, literally leaning on their mom. And her eyes are carrying all that weight," gave me chills; I started tearing up thinking of all the times I've leaned on my my mom.
Amazing as always art assignment! I love being enlightened about the stories behind images I've seen dozens of time.
For some reason, that line made me cry, too, inexplicably.
Being a mother is a profound responsibility.
@@themaggattack Yeah. Don't be one if you don't mean IT.
I was an orphan,my mother left us on the "city welfare steps" we ended up in orphanages,juvenille jails,centers for children and many foster homes that abused us. I would have given anything to have any mother. She never wanted me.I was an only girl. I tried to feed my two little bros. by begging for food literally. There was times we went without eating for a long time. and if we found food we asked for it. That lady I feel bad for,my grandmother and great grandmother were around then.My gran born 1900. died 1971 I only knew her as a small child.My fathers mother. My dad was born a long time later as he was the youngest of 7 I think. In the 70's it was hard to get your children back if you were a father. He struggled many years,I guess he felt he had to,she just left my father.Never said a word, just left all of us. My brother older was in viet nam he joined the Marines and died last year 2018. two tours.My youngest brother and me are the only two left. My older brother never so much as left a message that he was dying in a vet hospital. I feel bad sometimes,When I die I will be alone,I have no big family or friends. I always cared for others,I never understood why I did not have care.Honestly,what is care. :'/ I'm 64 look younger,yet I'm a good person,I never let what happened to me damage my life or for anyone I meet. My brother (younger who died of cancer) knew of a girl who was into big time drugs.He introduced us,she did not want the baby,I begged her to keep him,she told me I can have him.I told her it does not work that way."Legal etc." He was born addicted to drugs and it was hard helping him,I never missed a day and made sure he could grow up to be the best he could be. God only knows what would have happened to him if he was raised on the street like I was. He has pblms due to drugs when his birth mother was pregenant. He is kind to people and understands why bad happens and why some haave good lives and others wish for a mother like this person above. I'm sorry you lost your mom. God bless all
What a horrible, selfish woman. Having all these kids without providing for their futures because she's a cock-addict. Women like her have kids becausw noone else would stay with her if they can get away.
Thanks for doing this respectfully.
She gives me strength, it doesn’t sadden me anymore, she survived,
It really makes me want to know more about what she did during the 40+ years before she was identified. Sadly, maybe her life struggle was not that uncommon.
As a passionate genealogist for many years, I have come to realize that all history is family history, and that every individual person has a story that is worth telling, and worth hearing. Thank you for this beautiful video of an extraordinary woman.
I too am a passionate genealogist. It started at my father's funeral when I was 16 and all my aunts got together and started telling me the family history and I got a notebook and started writing it down. I feel exactly the same way you just described. I did well in history because I was interested not in just the random facts, dates, places etc. but I read about the people and their families. You can't know history without knowing the people. And so many people have history wrong. They make blanket statements about how things were and never read one word about a single person who lived it. I was fortunate to inherit a huge collection of photos dating back to the 1840's. Several ancestors were avid photographers so I have a lot documented photographically. I also have about a dozen foot lockers filled with letters and journals of many ancestors on both sides. My mother wrote a poem a day from the time she learned how to write at age 5 to a week before she died of lung cancer in hospice. That's over 20,000 poems and she kept a diary during the same period. 63 volumes of her diary detailing every day of her life from age 5 to age 68. Her mother taught her to do that and I have her diaries, and her mother's diaries and her mother's diaries etc going back to Ireland 7 generations ago with one describing what the voyage to America was like aboard the Carpathia's maiden voyage and another describing the day her husband came home to their little village of Street Ireland in 1779 after fighting as a conscripted soldier fighting the American "rebellion." My grandmother's diary described the day my grandfather was admitted to an insane asylum. Another ancestor described the desperate situation in Ireland and how the British soldiers came into their house and took all their food and the three one penny coins it had taken them months to save up. Another tells of life in Boston in 1910 with two little babies. It describes the acrid smell of coal burning in the winter, something nobody today but a few recall, I being one. You can't truly know the history of the presidency without knowing the presidents AND their families and know that many are related to each other and it was those relationships that helped put many presidents in power from both John Adams (ancestors of mine) to both George Bush's, (distant cousins of mine). Many people demonized by history become human when you read of their actual lives and many people made into heroes in history seem less heroic when you read of their lives and families. We are not just a random collection of population but a woven fabric of humanity all interconnected and so many related to one another. We can't understand the history of Europe without first learning about all the bloodline connections between all the royals and nobility of Europe going back thousands not just hundreds of years and that the families that rule even today trace back to the families that ruled ancient Rome. OK well I guess I"m preaching to the choir.
I wrote my entire 15,000 word dissertation just on this photograph! It was about how and why certain photographs are 'chosen' to represent history, e.g. tank man; and how iconic images are really recognisable to us because we see them throughout history. The Migrant Mother has so many illusions to the typical representation of motherhood in general (From the religious Madonna image to Mother and Child taken by Lewis Hine).
I love that the photo has Thompson looking out to a better future. I love that her collar has an illusion to a more working class background. I love that the children's gender is ambiguous so they could represent any child. I love that their hair is choppy signifying hasty necessity. I love that she looks aged and beautiful at the same time.
It took a year of research for me to grapple with Migrant Mother and to see you sum it up in a video is fascinating, you totally nailed it. Thank you so much for bringing Thompson and Lange's story to more people's attention.
Amazing comment!!! ♡
@@carlingnugent Hey thanks! You seem nice :)
Would love to read it
Well Thompson at least. Lange’s comment about them having an ‘unspoken understanding’ illustrates why artists can be perceived as terrible narcissists-because some of them don’t care one wit about human cost. While she was giving interviews saying this sort of tripe Thompson and her *entire* family could have died and Lange was not concerned with finding that out.
I love art but this shows the dark side, the vanity, fame, and arrogance that success can bring to even the most kind-hearted person.
Beautifully observed and stated.
This story is worth to be made into a movie, instead they remake Robin Hood for the 10th time.
Yes, why? They should make movies about the real depression.
Laura Dern should play her!
Ya whats up with that remake after remake.
So someone else can make money off of her image once again?
@@kettle2293 John Steinbeck wrote the Grapes of Wrath. They made a movie based on the book. Both are classics. Its the same with anything people can make money of the misery one way or the other. Cheers kettle chips
It always makes me think of The Grapes of Wrath...
That said, I’m glad to learn the truth of the people behind the photo.
The face of the Dust Bowl and hard times when people with no option headed West to survive , strong proud people , hard workers with iron wills. Nothing but respect for them.
The pictures survive but the stories change....Sometimes, it is best not to have any identity of these subjects, at all. It has become ART and it shows the helplessness of humanity, under dire conditions. That is good enough there. I did not care to see a vulgar and obese elderly female claim she was one of these children. To me, it took away from the picture. It went from art to degradation of humanity. What was this woman doing to the poor chickens ? I felt horror there.....nothing respectable . It ruined the memory of the picture.
Absolutely, Migrant Mother struck me as the movie Grapes of Wrath. I would imagine those movie makers studied many photos and films of the Dust Bowl people, who were in fact migrants from the Midwest moving to California.
@@linanicolia1363 Art vs Reality ... what a shock ey ;)
@@jennifer86010 read it instead
For the world she was 'just' a migrant mother but for her family she was the world... 3 kids are leaning on their mother, just a powerful picture. There's a lot of pain, but also a lot of responsibility in the picture. The world doesn't credit mothers enough, and I definitely had my share of that. It took me approximately 23 years to really start to understand what my mom has done for me. The world doesn't come with a manual, it comes with a mom...
Always love to see opinions about other artists I like. Great video.
Update/edit: this video changed my perspective on the picture, still thinking about it.
Dries Ketels- "The world doesn't come with a manual, it comes with a mom.." Well and beautifully said.
Being a mom doesn't comes with instructions we figure it out as we go on. Some learn faster then others while some learn slow. Some do a better job then others.But we all try our best.
Like comment. Moms are great.
To me she looks worried thinking hard about what's next, but persevering.
One of her children, running, fell down. That is what she was reacting to.
How in the world do you work 2 jobs when you have a baby that small?
@Carol Howard what an awful comment
@@Soapandwater6 When you have children who rely on you, you just do it. She probably didn't know how she did it either.
The same way families have always done it: the older children took care of the younger ones. The older ones might have been 5 or 6, but they were old enough to manage.
I thought she looked like a beautiful dignified mother doing her level best.
My family are Native American. They have fought in the Second World War and continue to Serve the USA in the military. They Deserve So Much More Recognition. Not One of Them has Ever Viewed themselves as Victims. Honor & Dignity.
To be fair, the Navajo code talkers of WWII are very well-known and respected-as they should be.
Native Americans also fought in the First World War and Choctaw code talkers were employed there.
@Edward Gross BS She looks strong because she is strong not because she's native american. My mom was like this lady and had similar life experences. My mother in law was another similar lady descended from norwigens and worked 2 or 3 jobs as a single mom to feed her kids . . Had to walk or hitch hike 10 miles every day to get to work. Those women out of the depression were strong ladies of what ever race.
Thank them for their service. God bless them. My father served in WWII. He passed in '77 before people started thanking the men and women for serving.
America the not so great!
GIV IT UP.. GOD WE ARE SICK OF THE IDNTITY BULLSHIT... I SUGGEST MORE RESEARCH.. TRY STEPHAN MOLYNEUX ON THE SUBJECT OF SO-CALLED NATIVE AMERICANS (AND NO DOUBT YOU WILL PROBABLY BE OBSESSED WITH TRANSATLANTIC SLAVERY SO CHECK HIM OUT TOO). AS FOR THE REST OF THE LIES AND MANIPULATION BY THE LIBERAL LEFT I SUGGEST YOU CHECK OUT THE FOLLWING CHANNELS AND SITES - UNDOOMED, PAUL JOSEPH WATSON, LAUREN SOUTHERN, AND RED ICE TV
“She didn’t eat sometimes, but made sure we kids eat. “ This made me so sad! Such a great mother!
That's what a loving mom does.
Whelp, I'm in tears. This is so moving, empowering and inspiring. Thank you for taking the time to both educate and advocate on behalf of this mother, Florence, and her picture.
Very nice story sir .thank you 😁 so much ❤️❗
I see a mother's strength in that picture.
ok
XD
Many of us grew up in extreme poverty, but we are the better for it. This is a great story. How do we finish life in the end, with faith and gratitude?
Elsa Jones Irie Elsa !! I grew up inna 3rd world country and 6 other siblings ...hard times but always stayed positive and humble ...greetings from Los Angeles California
Yes, even the pilgrims of Plymouth and Mayflower fame started out as a hundred homeless people sneaking across the border in search of a better life. I know, I'm descended from nearly a third of them. We are a nation founded by poor people. The most successful colonies were founded on the backs of poor people. One colony, Jamestown, was founded by a bunch of spoiled rich people and that nearly ended in disaster and took over a decade to find some level of success. Bad times weed out bad blood. The toughest ones tend to be bred from stock that survives though the worst of times. I think that is one of the reasons why America is so strong.
What I've learned after living among poor people in the States for the past 25 years is that this sentiment is B.S. propaganda, sorry. Do you feel sorry for the Koch brothers, the stockbrokers and the multi-millionaires who made their money off your work? Maybe they should feel they could keep even more of your earnings, then you'd be *even* better for it.
The only reason things have been able to get as unequal and inequitable as they are now is people's readiness to swallow that line and blame themselves (or, more loudly, others in the same boat) for being ripped off.
@@gidget8717 No, I don't want more. I walked away from the system and a 6 figure salary in favor of an anarchist commune. It's a simple question - who does this belief benefit, the rich or the poor? Who gains by justifying every cent in economic growth since the 70s going to the wealthiest 1%? However you try to rationalise or dismiss it with a name, the results speak for themselves.
@@gidget8717 So it the idea gives Walmart's 2.2m employees the vague, fuzzy feels that their grinding poverty might have some undefined benefit, while it gives the Walton family a clearly defined $175bn. What a coincidence.
Sure you make the most of what you have - just not out of the suffering of others.
Only 32 years old!! I cannot even imagine a life so hard that it makes a young woman look like mid 50.
Great and impressive picture!
She definitely looks older than she is due to her wrinkles but her bone structure is also one that makes her look very adult. So she has the face of a woman in her early 30s minus the features many women (I guess people in general) that give you a "baby face" have to at least a tiny degree plus the wrinkles. I have a couple of roundish features in my face and I pretty sure that contributes to be being carded at almost age 35 in a country where I could buy the kind of alcohol I buy at age 18 already.
A beautiful POWERFUL image of a true Native American Woman, a true SYMBOL of USA - May she RIP💕🌽🙏
@D W you obviously didn't watch the UA-cam feature or you didn't understand it. Have a good day💕
@Bibi Perez I hear you 👍💕 I think its a beautiful powerful image & knowing her ancestry to me makes it more powerful.
As she said, she never liked that image & I understand were she is coming from.
Bibi, stay strong hone xx
@D W 3:26
@D W Yep 2%
HA HA HA ..TALK ABOUT LIBTARD VERTUE SIGNALLING...YOU DEMONSTATE YOUR OBVIOUS MANIPULATION AND DECEPTION BY LIBERAL LEFT PROPAGANDA... I SUGGEST MORE RESEARCH.. TRY STEPHAN MOLYNEUX ON THE SUBJECT OF SO-CALLED NATIVE AMERICANS (AND NO DOUBT YOU WILL PROBABLY BE OBSESSED WITH TRANSATLANTIC SLAVERY SO CHECK HIM OUT TOO). AS FOR THE REST OF THE LIES AND MANIPULATION BY THE LIBERAL LEFT I SUGGEST YOU CHECK OUT THE FOLLWING CHANNELS AND SITES - UNDOOMED, PAUL JOSEPH WATSON, LAUREN SOUTHERN, AND RED ICE TV
Few to no You-Tube videos ever make me weep. This video did. Just as Dorthea Lange composed and photographed "Migrant Mother" , so to, did the makers of this You-Tube video. You put together a presentation that amplified the photograph and explained the humanity in it and others represented by it. Simple production. Just still photographs, a few inserts, a few cameo appearances from people, and wonderfully human, natural, organic narration by John Green. The perfect narrator for this video who perhaps, some young people could learn from. But most of all, the writing in this video is superb. Real, unaffected, sincere and heartfelt. If I had one to give, I would award this video an Emmy.
My father, who was a young teenager at the time, learned how to hunt during the great depression. He said fast food was something you shot at. If you missed you didn't eat.
I LAUGHED OUT LOUD AT THAT ONE,ITS SO TRUE WE WE ARE SOFT AND NOT HEALTHY CAUSE OF THE WAYS WE EAT, LIKE MY HUSBAND WOULD GO FISHING AND BRING THEM HOME AND CLEAN THEM TO COOK AND PUT IN FREEZER FOR ANOTHER DAY,AND WE NEVER HAD LEFT OVERS CAUSE WE AND THE CHILDREN ATE IT ALL.
Absolutely
I've seen this picture countless times and never noticed Lange missed focus (repeatedly !). To all photographers out there : sharpness doesn't matter, composition and narrative do.
Wow ..I'm 50 years old and I've seen this photo so many times..My first time I was in school around the 3rd grade..It was a hard cover Time Life book...Wow..Thank you so much for sharing the information.
Well, that made me cry ugly tears. There is nothing more beautiful than a mother's love.
Fun Fact: Dorothea Lange is the grandmother of hit screenwriter, Leslie Dixon.
Dixon's most famous produced screenplays include 'Overboard' and 'Pay It Forward' and 'Limitless.'
Florence sounds exactly like I expected. I like her though, I feel like she was an amazingly fun and determined mother.
Love this video John. Context matters and I love this channel because it gives so much of it.
THIS AMERICA WE LOVE WAS BUILT WITH BLOOD,SWEAT AND TEARS,MY HUSBAND'S GRANDMA WAS A WOMAN LIKE THIS,HER AND HER CHEROKEE INDIAN HUSBAND,WERE FARMERS AND MOVED AROUND FOR PLACE TO PLACE TO WORK IN FIELDS TO MAKE MONEY TO LIVE,THEY HAD FOURTEEN CHILDREN AND THANK GOD MY MOTHER IN LAW WAS ONE OF THEM ,VERY STRONG PEOPLE THAT GOT UP AND LOOKED FOR WAYS OF KEEPING THEIR FAMILIES TOGETHER,I'V GOT A LIST OF MY MOTHER IN LAWS BROTHERS AND SISTERS NAMES THEY HAVE BEEN GONE FOR YEARS BUT THEY WERE WONDERFUL PEOPLE,JUST PROVES HARD WORK NEVER KILLED ANYONE.
Powerful and Moving! Thank you for the in-depth story of wonderful MOTHER!
Thank you John Green, for this beautiful tribute to the most famous migrant mother and her children.
The silent resistance of native, labeled a migrant, mother to fight poverty, and more importantly, a whole life summed up in a single photograph, that tells less than half the story. The story of a mother, and her persistence that penetrated the hearts of others so that they, themselves, may persevere.
Truly these people were refered to as "migrants" because of their nomadic lifestyle, having to go from job to job in town to town. The word doesn't infer she or her family are immigrants from some other country.
Please stop making words into offensive terms. We will run out of words one day. Migrant means one who migrates.
She is so beautiful and the eyes tell a story of there own.
Ok
Wonderful video. Glad I seen this picture again, I had forgotten it. I always looked at the woman as a mother with strength and resillance. I admire that, because I am a mother too. One of the best pictures ever.
Thank you so very much for this revelation. She was absolutely beautiful.
Florence was a great lady and mother.
The " Migrant Mother " photograph has a harrowing beauty to it and this is what captures each viewer who gaze upon it.
Thank you so much for telling her and her family's story.
It brought a tear to my eye and a huge amount of respect for her from me, a Belfast boy.
I wish you rainbows.
what a sensitive, complex and well-explored expose of a human life. It's wonderful to know the story behind this iconic image. It's unfortunate that she and her family received so little benefit from it, and that there were so many misconceptions surrounding their story.
Great story of strength. Story of survival. I found a glimmer of happiness to see her as an elderly women and grown children.
What an amazing and strong woman. A beautiful Mother and a credit to self sufficiency ❣❣❣❣
I loved Nerdwriter's excellent take on the history of this photograph, and it was great to hear the story from the Art Assignment's perspective too!
Prior to this year, I had never seen the photo before. When I did, I had no idea where or when this was taken. When I read it was taken during the Great Depression, it surprised me. I didn’t think it looked that old. Perhaps because there was no obvious clue to the year when you first look at. To me, it appears timeless. The subject could be any mother, anywhere in the world, worrying about her children. In each of the photos taken of her, my eyes are drawn to the mother before the children and surroundings. She is a truly compelling figure and, to me, her story proves that assessment to be true.
Great great story! I've always admired the work of Dorothea Lange but now that epic photo has a NAME. Thanks for sharing this wonderful story. Regards from Cancun, Mexico.
Beautiful !!! Thank you for this vid!! Omg I had no idea she was Native American !!! What strength bless her heart!!!
"Strength that we shouldn't have to gain. Strength that we never truly lose."
I remember seeing this picture in my history textbook and I missed everything that lesson because I couldn't stop thinking of the story behind it.
Thanks for this John🤗
I remember my day at school when I first saw the picture, I then made a project about Lange at the end of the year because I loved this picture.
Powerful woman, credit to her children🧚♂️🇮🇪🧚♀️
My father brought a book home when I was just a child, called “ The Family of Man”. There were dozens of photographs in there and the one that affected me even as a kid was this one. I never forgot her and her aura of tragic strength, worry for her children and the future. I actually was brought to tears. My own mother had a tragic life, we lived in poverty too, so this photograph resonated with me on several levels.
This is the first time I’ve seen the story behind the photograph. To learn she was native only adds to the poignancy of her family’s story.
I still have that book! Now I can write her name in the margin thanks to this information. 💕
True stories. Reminds us that the media always make their own story. Nothing new.
Nothing is real.
sweetsavvywally yeah, Fox News comes to mind
Wow the photo is really catching her emotion - so stunning
She is very beautiful and dignified and for me she brings to mind all the women who looked like me and spent generations toiling in fields. Florence O Thompson is a symbol of female resiliance and determination. I think of all the mothers who had that same expression looking out into the world and thinking of how they will feed their children.poverty is not particular to a specific era or group of people, it is a side effect of a way of seeing the world and human beings as a means of making money for others who already have it. That will never change, this stunning picture reminds us of that fact.
Im glad Mrs Thompson found happinesss in her later life and had the love of her family to strengthen her.
Mr. John Green you are a great narrator
Fascinating insights into a picture I've been thinking about off and on for decades, ever since I first saw it. It was great to see the interviews with her and her kids years later, and to hear her voice after wondering about it for so long.
Most people in 1936 were poor and farmers. My dad went to school with no shoes on his feet.
Regardless, that woman should receive royalties on that pic!!
Her treasure is in heaven
There ARE NO royalties. Did you listen to the video? It is public...
You did a great job explaining it all.
It always saddens me when I see that picture. I thought, wow those were rough times. Now knowing her story, It now encourages me and lifts my depression.
Thank you for presenting Florence’s story in a kind respectful way.
I’ve seen this photo many times. The look of hopelessness on her face is just heartbreaking. I am the mother of 3 children. My own husband died young in an accident. I got plenty of support from my family and friends, and most of all, my God. I and my children qualified for government assistance, so we did ok financially. But, it was still the hardest thing I ever experienced. This poor woman had nothing except love for her children and her determination to take care of them at the expense of her own needs. I want to thank you for bringing this incredible story of an incredible mother to light.
"It's a picture of strength and dignity." Reminds me of my own mother.
Florence was never the face of America's poverty, that picture was. Transcendence and reality, if only we would feel the difference.
This picture has a beauty the lady should not regret.
I remember this photograph as an assignment in history class in high school. We had to analyze and describe it, and the teacher thought I did a good job. It's interesting to know what I perceived vs. what the context was.
This story brought tears to my eyes for so many different reasons.
Knowing what my parents and grandparents went through during the depression, it doesn't take much imagination to understand this photo or this woman's life. Her pride and dignity and lack of desire for 'relief' are familiar stories to me. What makes me angry, is that there are so many people in very similar situations now, and likely more to come in the near future, in the richest country in the world.
I realize they burned the history books in today's school but nothing like today, No welfare, soup kitchens in every town, food banks, the unlucky people with no work just STARVED, if you starve today it means you are to drugged out to make it to food or unfortunately, children with druggie parents, read grapes of wrath, we are not the richest country In the world, we owe China trillions
@@kathylarson8876 Well, since I majored in History, and am a senior citizen, I don't believe I'm particularly susceptible to whatever you claim is being done to today's history books. That being said; your views on poverty are simplistic, and do not take into account the vast degree of wealth inequality in the US, which now rivals that of the so-called Gilded Age and the 'Roaring Twenties', just prior to the Great Depression. As to a comparison of national wealth; you are right as to our no longer being the richest country in the word - Qatar is. We're at no. 12 and China is at no. 74. Here's a list for you: www.gfmag.com/global-data/economic-data/richest-countries-in-the-world?page=12
@@kathylarson8876 Here is also the GINI Coefficient as of now, in comparing wealth inequality: worldpopulationreview.com/countries/gini-coefficient-by-country/
Of course there is poor and always will be, I grew up poor due to a alcoholic father, I am stating that the enormous welfare situation that is handed down, food stamps, soup kitchens, etc., No one needs to STARVE, sounds like you want socialism, which doesn't work because you eventually run out of other people's money, people forever have been moving out of poverty, many people cannot because they are waiting for the handout or have mental or drug issues, telling people you can't and it is up to someone else to lift you up only hurts them, your mind believes what these people tell you that you can't move up because it is someone else's fault so up to them
I am proud of myself and my family to rise above the stigma the socialist want to put poor people in
Wonderful story. Thank you. To me, there is just such a gentle beauty about her in the photo, that tells you she is going to make it no matter what because her heart has all that it need in life. Thank you. She was gorgeous is away that no words can fit.
I also had never noticed the baby because I was so intent on looking at her eyes and face. Thank you for this video and your time
Thank you for sharing this story. It’s very cool to understand the history and greater context behind such iconic images. I would love more of these!
Wow..thank you for explaining that photo....I see strength in her eyes, that is why I love it but to hear the truth from her and the children even better!
Thank you for this documentary. It's well made. 🙏🏽👌🏾👏
You're well made 😘
@@jaanth314 😋😉
John I am crying while cleaning my room, this is your fault. This lady is awesome
Brought a little tear to my eye, which is always a good thing. Brilliant video.
You guys do the most incredible and important work. I’m your age and only discovered you a year or two ago. Now I learn as much as I can from you on this channel and others. Keep it up. There is hope for humanity in people like you.
You do this really well mister, please keep our minds and hearts well nourished like this.
I’m 73. I always viewed this woman as a great beauty! It gives extra depth to the photo that she is Native American! What greater validation of her strength of character is there than the children leaning on her? With NO caption and knowing NO backstory the image remains haunting and beautiful. It IS motherhood with all its responsibilities and endless joys! What a joy to be this woman’s child! 🌹
Thank you for this... It reminds me so much of my own mum's struggles... I celebrate her dignity and sacrifices for us her family.
this picture is Iconic to me. Because without saying a word it says everything. thank you for talking about this.
I know that picture wasn’t taken during a model photo shoot, but she was absolutely stunning. Unaware of this families saga, but there needs to be a film made for her.
I am truly grateful for the information about this strong woman and her family. I've often wondered if anyone knew who she was. Hearing her children speak, through the narrator's voice, has given me solace and strength when I've felt down-hearted. Thank you, The Art Assignment.
As politicians struggle with their comprehension of art in its many forms there is no better way to speak to humanity.
This is the kind of history lesson that people in America should take note
This is an excellent piece of journalism. Very well done!
That was like my grandmother, too ... it was a million mothers during the Great Depression and for years afterwards. Hard work, smart work and lots of love with the gravy!
Timing belt? No Hudson ever had a timing belt. Fan belt.
Learn something new every day !
Florence was one of USA most beautiful women. She energized many people far more then the very public. seeking women today
I'm Canadian and although I've seen this picture before I had no idea what it symbolized or what it was about. Florence Thompson's story has me tearing up. My own parents lived through the Depression and WW2 and my mom told me "you had to be strong, there wasn't another choice". My own Grandmother was not unlike Florence and I think it's that kind of connection that really makes the picture relatable for many from that time period. An amazing and strong American family.....i wish them happiness and love.
A. Stri so whos mom was she ??
Your essay made me cry a river. Wondeful erudition and of course, narration. Thank you.
Oh hey, a John video, I always appreciate these
Florence was the our great American heritage, surpassing all hurdles imposed.
An amazing story, thankyou for sharing. Regards from Queensland, Australia.
Beautiful story ! Mrs. Thompson was a true hero during this sad and desperate time in America's life. The determination and human dignity that her photographic portrait displays are bedrock American values -- and those which helped us all live through the tough times. Somehow, as with all timeless portraits, it seems as if this photo was destined to be made. The photo speaks to us in the universal human language : a mother's heart, that is both the toughest & most tender thing created by God.
I was fascinated to learn some of the true facts of Mrs. Thompson's life. It's important to remember that
"human icons," or those considered so by history, are still fully human, both before and after their brush with history.
I am so glad that Mrs. Thompson had the chance to hear from supporters and well-wishers, so that she could know how special she was to so many Americans.
And nice to hear from some of her children also. They, too, certainly have every right to comment on their memories of their beloved mother.
My hope is that Mrs. Thompson fully realized that in sacrificing a measure of personal privacy (to allow the portrait to be made), she galvanized Americans into action and thereby saved many lives !
While it is true that Dorothea Lange was a gifted, caring & hard-working photographer, Ms. Lange did receive proper credit for her work during her lifetime. Now it is only right that the subjects of her portraits receive the same recognition.
Congrats on a truly interesting story, handled with the right level of respect and sensitivity to all the people involved.
Shalom🌟
🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴
"He is risen indeed ! "
🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴
Brilliant brilliant piece. Thanks for researching this and providing a full, honest explanation behind it.
I'm not crying- You're crying.
Once again, John Green's telling of the story is perfect.
Thank you for sharing this picture and the people in it with such compassion
Just been reading Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, and these images really resonate with the story.
Every time I saw this picture it broke my heart!
My favorite photo. This is the photo that got me interested in Photography. Most photographers capture one moment to hold for a lifetime. Great photographers capture a lifetime in a moment.
I grew up with the picture everywhere. She was personal friends with cousins big the SF photography circle. After graduate school in Seattle, I began to pursue visual sociology of the city's growing homeless population. That was in 1989. I interviewed and photographed these individuals for three years. It is hard not to feel compassion for people who open up when you spend some time with them, talking, sharing a cigarette, and some change. They are Poor; but they are human beings. Then, when I moved to Israel and changed careers, taking two years of formal photography at the Open School of Photography in Tel Chai, northern Israel.
During my second year, there was a big national exhibition of her work at the School's museum. Rather than feeling awe for her masterpiece, I became angry at the duplicity of this image and what it represents. Each of the images, save one, showed people who were angry, upset, or turned away, like the Migrant Mother. The key moment for me was the portrait of young Dorothea with her camera, her attire, sitting on the hood of her roadster. Those faces captured in those camps are a reaction to her, her obvious social class, and that HUGE box camera.
I live and work among the new urban poor of WA State. They are my neighbors, friends, and associates. I never take advantage of their goodness and personhood. When they want, they invite me to make a portrait for them. Despite the excellent technical nature of her work, she was clueless (or simply did not care) about how great her social class was from her. Like so many of her generation, the anthropologists in search of primitives and ignorant savages, her work shows that in each of those portraits.
Just saying
My sister is a photographer and I can genuinely understand stand your anger and frustration with these portraits! Thank you for sharing your insight behind the pictures.
Beautiful story, thanks for telling it...We are a strong people.