Known for her powerful images from the Great Depression, including the haunting "Migrant Mother," Dorothea Lange bore witness as young America matured into a world power. For more than five decades of the 20th century, her lens brought subjects alive, transmitting raw emotions and capturing the human condition. This film is made by Dyanna Taylor, Lange's granddaughter, who began her artistic vision, literally, at Lange's feet.
American Masters: Dorothea Lange: Grab a Hunk of Lighting
I will go down there, I will photograph this thing,
I will come back, and develop it.
I will print it and I will mount it.
And put it on the wall - all in twenty four hours.
I will do this to see if I can grab a hunk of lightning.
- Dorothea Lang
More than four decades of 20th-century America are filtered through Lange's life and lens - her creations and achievements, her tragedies and losses. Known for her powerful images from the Great Depression, her haunting Migrant Mother remains emblematic of that period. In 1936, when photographs of the poverty-stricken mother of seven, stranded in a camp in California, were published, a national awareness began. As America matured into a world power, Lange continued to bear witness - mass migration, increasing urbanization and the cost of war at home - bringing I will set myself a big problem.
Producer: Dyanna Taylor, Roberta Grossman
Executive Producer: Lisa Thomas, Susan Lacy, Michael Kantor
Production Company: Rave Rogue Inc, Katahdin Productions, THIRTEEN Productions LLC
Production Year: 2014
Copyright Year: 2014
Rating: TV-PG
Narrator: Dyanna Taylor
Talent: Dorothea Lange
Writers: Dyanna Taylor
Number of Discs: 1
Length: 110 minutes
Subtitled: Y
Subtitle Languages: English (SDH)
DVI: N
Audio Format: 5.1 Surround
Aspect Ratio: 16x9 Widescreen
VIDEO USAGE RIGHTS
Why the AV version? Because it provides additional usage options for PBS videos. AV versions come with limited performance rights so they can be shown in classrooms, at PTA meetings, during after school programs, and transmitted on a closed-circuit system within a building or on a single campus. They also can be enjoyed in admission-free public screenings, which also makes them ideal for use by library patrons and businesses involved in community clubs and organizations.