Ideas for Using “Documenting the Face of America: Roy Stryker And The FSA/OWI
Photographers” In The Classroom
written by Frank W. Baker, media
education consultant,
© 2008
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Locating FSA Photographs |
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"Documenting The Face of America" originally aired nationally on PBS Monday August 18, 2008, PBS (it was repeated during the week of August 10, 2009 on many PBS stations) “Documenting the Face of America” brings to life the remarkable stories behind the legendary group of New Deal-sponsored photographers who traversed the country in the 1930s and early 1940s, and created what has become a national treasure. It is a film that tells the stories of the photographers whose assignments were to document Americans living and struggling in the time of the Great Depression. The photographs themselves were powerful, and thus the story of those who took the pictures is also powerful. Who were these “documentary photographers” and what impact did their work have? These are questions explored in the film and perhaps you might have your students explore them in your classroom. Key quotes " In 1936 photography, which theretofore had been mostly landscapes and snapshots and family portraits, was fast being discovered as a serious tool of communications, a new way for a thoughtful, creative person to make a statement." "..it's clear that what we did at FSA constitutes a unique episode in the history of photography." Roy Stryker, from "In This Proud Land" © 1973 Website for the documentary's producers Original broadcast reviews: NY Times Boston Globe NY Daily News Producer Press release Purchase a copy of the documentary Note: this web site was created with the full knowledge of the documentary producers, but they have not endorsed this site.
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