Through his photojournalism, was Riis trying to arouse activism?
Riis' work was often sensationalized, yet neutralized with realism. Is his photo set reminiscent of modern day photojournalistic depictions of poverty in the third-world? Why or why not?
It is likely that Riis was able to capture American life of squalor with such intimacy because he himself had experienced poverty and tenement housing first-hand. Does this make Riis a hero? Or something less?
Theodore Roosevelt once said that Jacob Riis was "the greatest American" that he knew. According to this assignment of such a title, what made/makes one a "great" American?
I think that Roosevelt and Riis worked together so well because Riis was sort of apolitical--in that politics was never his aspiration--aid was, and Roosevelt was very analytically political. He had the action portion of the program down for the pair. When TR says "He is the greatest American..."it was his way of showing how deeply he felt that Riis felt about the condition of the people.
ReplyDelete1) I can't say that Riis was trying to arouse activism so much as he was just trying to bring attention to the squalid conditions immigrants had to live in and face when they came to America. These pictures wouldn't stir riots because the people in them looked peaceful almost surrendering to the circumstances they had been facing, like the portrait of an immigrant (1915) or the Polish Steelworker (1908).
ReplyDelete2) Modern day pictures of poverty in the third world do share some commonality with the works that Riis captured. Modern day pictures just like Riis's work capture poor people during labor and depict their slummy environments. The people in the pictures also have this almost dehumanized look on their faces just like the ones we've seen.
3) I wouldn't call Riis a hero, but rather a sympathizer. He can sympathize and empathize with these immigrants because he himself went through what they went through. When you share similar upbringings with a certain kind of people, you're better able to capture their feelings and atmospheres like Riis was able to.
4) It's hard to say what makes one a great American only because its hard to say what makes one an American in general. We all like to pride ourselves on being true and great Americans, but if you were too ask any of these people, "what is an American?", they wouldn't be able to clearly answer you. I think an American and a great American are broad terms, but anyone who helped build and shape this country, in my eyes, is a great American. Artists like Riis of course helped shape America because they showed not only the promising and affluent perspectives, but also the struggling and impoverished side that one would have to go through in order to achieve the "American Dream."