Culture visuelle dans le monde anglophone

Week 1-2- the gilded age and progressive era (1877-1914)

Image 1 : ticket for Philadelphia exhibition celebrate the 100th birthday of the Declaration of
Independence, Philadelphia was a special city bc it was where the C° was drafted, continental
congress. Something to collect.

The problem is that it was no a happy period in america because of economic crisis since 1865//
capitalist Economy purges itself, no gov intervention necessary. Hard economic times + end of
Reconstruction period (post Civil War), when Union is rebuilt and the southern states are
reintegrated. Rights of black people started to decline again, as southern states start segration = life
in the south still not great.

1876: indecisive presidential elections, Republican “wins” but in return federal troops leave the
south. Political gain only.

In 1976: exactly the same (post Vietnam, economic crisis, Watergate).

 Each time US commemorate greatness, it is not so great.

Description: hand of the state of liberty holding the torch, with exhibition pavillon in the background,
the statue itself had not been inaugurated (1888).

To celebrate friendship France/ USA. But It took a lot of time to finance and build. Bartoldi (sculpture)
and Eiffel (for the structure inside). At the bottom, see people raising money to make it happen.

Image 2: New York newspaper, with the statue being built (structure)

Image 3: Saturday evening post magazine (weekly) 1934

Patriotic expectation (special issue 4th of July).

Context: hard times bc of Great depression, Roosvelt President, New Deal. Statue of liberty
celebrates friendship that made independence possible.

Symbol of greatness of the US.

First thing immigrants see when they arrive, so symbol of immigration.

Stormy waves are symbolic (represent great depression). So it’s dangerous.

Why the statue is red ? Because it is in copper and it’s red before turning to grey. (Doesn’t matter)
We are following the image, first big waves, then statue and finally an sun, that symbolize the future.

Image 4 and 5: both linked to the wild west and the frontier. Billy the kid, myth of the west / violent
dangerous. Some degree of organization but little (some authority trying to catch bad guy but no real
police force).

Context: demand for sport and religion revival and also, Wild West shows, big entertainment
business in the late 1900s century. Custer killed in 1876.

Description: looks unrealistic, staged (way of killing) + old photograph, be still for pic. Some kind of
postcard ? Re-enactmentq of event in history of west. Indians is some kind of myth.

Image 6: press, image of Indian, only link. End of Indian wars 1890 (last from Civil war). Television is
now offering re-enactment.

Image 7: Buffalo Bill pictures.

Image 8: Poster advertising a show touring America. Targets everyone.

Week 2: 28/01/2020

Exposé Laurie-Anne : the greatest showman

- Practical joke
- Concept of public entertainment was considered immoral
- American museum (first America aquarium)
- Fidji mermaid (a creature with body of monkey and tail of fish)
- Greatest show on the earth / the barnum and bailey (were one of the first one to use
electricity for the show) but barnum was making animal abuse. He pretended to be opposed
to slavery but not really.
- Joice Heth
- Exploited twins iko and eko/ cheng and eng/ Charles Sherwood Tom thumb
- Bought jumbo the elephant (their first major attraction)
- Circus close 2017
- In politics : considered himself of defender of African etc
- Theathre a place of education for himl, but at the time it was considered a devil thing
- Conclusion: the truth is that he made money on their explotation, but he remain the father
and the symbol of modern entertainment.
- What is not acceptable today where yesterday  we should not judge

Be careful : timing/ not to much text on ppt/ we want dates, figures, quotes/ elocution/ start
with the memeory, the legacy (movies, songs etc that highlights our subject)

Exposé Salomé Barbarisi: Jacob RIIS and social photojournalism

- The main theories of criminology

o The born criminal (black people were more incline to be criminals)
o Social desorganization
- Jacob Riis was a Danish immigrant, photojournalist, pionner in the use of photos for this
purpose, flash powder
 - Bring the lights to dark scenes  wanted to attract people
- But wanted also to promote his work so it was marketing
- Historical and geographical context
o d
o Industrialization
o Escape of the wealthy from the centre
o Decrease of the number of infrastructures in the centre
- Fighting the issue of socio-economic deprivation
o No livable tenements (no lights, no intimacy, no space)
o No playgrounds
o Unadapted schools
o No churches
- Thought that scools were not adapted especially for children who need money to survive
- Impossible to teach her the values of America, of success etc. in their conditions, they were
more incline to crime.
- Elle aurait pu parler des autres ays car ce n’est pas un phénomène exclusive auw USA, en
anglettre, à certains degrés en France etc.

Be careful: we want the progressive era with the SO WHAT ? GRAMMAR NEED TO BE IMPECABLE IN
FINAL EXAM.

Demander à Margaux:

- Buffalo
- Jacob riis
- Lewis hine
- Lynching of jesse Washington  Wilson was a progressive and at the same time he was ok
with that. Lynching was a parft of every day life in the south.
- The man who can make the dirt fly
- The Saturday evening post: the baby symbolize America (a young country), he looks scared
on the ship. Context in January 1914 is not the same in September 1914
-

04/02/2020

Presentation Jean : KKK

The birth of a nation, movie by DW Griffith :

- Considered as the most important filmmaker of his generation

Context: :

- 1865: end of the civil war and creation of the 1st KKK
- 1865-1877: reconstruction era

A super production:
 - 3h long
- 110.000 USD
- 54 cast members
- Blockbuster

President Wilson: “it’s like writing history with lightning. My only regret is that it is so terrible true.”

A criticized movie:

- KKK portrayed as the Heroes

- Black people antagonized
- Major historical inaccuracies

He defense himself under free speech

A masterful propaganda piece:

- Violence against blacks was now legitimized

- The klan was scene the only solution to save the South

Presentation Jonathan: Scopes monkey trial

John Thomas scopes and his lawyer Dawrence.