I chose this image because I believe that the men during the Great Depression were seen as being the bread winners for their family. However due to the economic conditions of the time, many were forced onto the dole (welfare). It was the idea that a man could be made to feel like less of a man that made me also choose this picture. The caption on the billboard which reads “Jobless men keep going, we can’t take care of our own” as written by the chamber of commerce, shows men walking in front of it. There may not be much going on with it physically, but it makes me think of the conditions of the time and its themes conceptually.
Taken from an angle that faces the billboard at a slight angle, it appears as though the photo has been slanted slightly to the side, causing some of the right side of the billboard to be cut off. It took me a while to notice that perhaps there was a reason that the image was cut off as I believe that this was done to place emphasis on the characters that are walking. There is implied movement within the photograph as the men in it appear to be walking from right to left with the four (possibly five) all walking as though they are dejected and possibly sad, something that would be common within the time frame of the Great Depression. There is social commentary that is being delivered within this photo, with the message that men will do whatever they can to provide and protect, with the social climate being very male orientated during this time.
Overall, it is a very simple photo that says a lot about the social climate of the time and how bad of a time it actually was.