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The Americans
Mulla, Atdhe ; Kolář, Viktor (vedoucí práce) ; Silverio, Robert (oponent)
The idea that persists in almost every article or review about the photography book of Robert Frank "The Americans", besides the many variations, is that the work communicates a strong political message. However such affirmation seems to have been underdeveloped and no reference is given to any particular political principle or issue that the work might be addressing. One of the reasons, I suppose is to avoid affiliations with political philosophies or ideologies that in the USA are historically seen to be dangerous and are discredited in the public domain, the most promenent of which Communism. It has been a strong trend in Cold War America, especially during the 50-s with the almost inquisitiory congressional hearings led by Senator John McCarthy, to label any kind of strong criticism toward its society as Communist in nature. Frank also encountered this trend on the making of the pictures. Once he was asked to leave, at the Ford Motor plant at River Rouge, Michogan where a supervisor feared he might be a Communist. However Rober Frank was not a communist. Therefore if Frank´s work has political implications, it becomes necessary to outline some of the political principles that emerge or are reinforced by the images. His critique to society comes through a critique of the images it has produced and their representation. So the political controversy of "The Americans" comes as by implication of the fact that the existing modes of representation , dictated by editorial boards, had a clear political principle; maintenance and advancement of the status quo. The political controversy of Frank´s work is the invitation to reconsider the taken for granted idea of America as a successful, prosperous, full of possibilities type of reality, and he grasp it right at the center of human negligence, everyday life. In the first chapter of this thesis I will treat in brief the prevailing cultural context of the 20th century America and the tensions that shaped it. In the second chapter I will make use of Karl Marks, Herbert Marcuse and Max Webber to outline what is the prevailing political opposition of the status quo created by Capitalism, Consumerism and the Class society. This is not to assume that Robert Frank had any of the above in mind, but to show a path of where a political inquiry incited by "The Americans" could lead. In so doing in the last chapter I will analyze how Frank´s images can complement the ideas presented in chapter two and see how these ideas contribute to the images and the relevance to 21st century circumstances.
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