This photo by Walker Evans, as well as the photo emphasizing the American way, made me think of the movie we watched in class on Thursday, and how everyone believed the American way would be this great achievement and higher order of living. In reality, these people were struggling to make ends meet, and wasted the money they did make on alcohol. The picture above reminded me of the many bars the characters would go to in the movie- the cheap prices of everything, and the black and white usage in the picture. Very cool!
I agree with Kristin's comment. The prices were so incredibly low in the 1950s due to people working and living just to earn a buck to get them by and they spent what little they did have on alcohol to numb the pain of having barely any money in the first place. it's a repeating cycle as was shown in the movie The Bowery.....wish prices were like that today!
When people came to America during this time period, many were expecting the streets to be paved with gold and that everything would be absolutly perfect. Little did they know that the world they were coming to was in fact a desolate wasteland full of misery and misrepresentation. The prices that are on the shop windows represent the wages that were earned during this time which was not much. Many who earned very little as Allyssa says, spent the money on alcohol and because of that, had to resprt to going to stay at soup kitchens and sleep on the ground. It was a sad life for those who had to live it and it still continues today for many.
This photo by Walker Evans, as well as the photo emphasizing the American way, made me think of the movie we watched in class on Thursday, and how everyone believed the American way would be this great achievement and higher order of living. In reality, these people were struggling to make ends meet, and wasted the money they did make on alcohol. The picture above reminded me of the many bars the characters would go to in the movie- the cheap prices of everything, and the black and white usage in the picture. Very cool!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kristin's comment. The prices were so incredibly low in the 1950s due to people working and living just to earn a buck to get them by and they spent what little they did have on alcohol to numb the pain of having barely any money in the first place. it's a repeating cycle as was shown in the movie The Bowery.....wish prices were like that today!
DeleteWhen people came to America during this time period, many were expecting the streets to be paved with gold and that everything would be absolutly perfect. Little did they know that the world they were coming to was in fact a desolate wasteland full of misery and misrepresentation. The prices that are on the shop windows represent the wages that were earned during this time which was not much. Many who earned very little as Allyssa says, spent the money on alcohol and because of that, had to resprt to going to stay at soup kitchens and sleep on the ground. It was a sad life for those who had to live it and it still continues today for many.
ReplyDelete