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Displaying the Dream

Displaying the Dream . The Visual Presentation of Family and the Self in the Modern American Household. The Study. Explores 3 neighbourhoods in New York City, varying in socio-economic status Examines the presence and presentation of family photographs in the household

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Displaying the Dream

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  1. Displaying the Dream The Visual Presentation of Family and the Self in the Modern American Household

  2. The Study • Explores 3 neighbourhoods in New York City, varying in socio-economic status • Examines the presence and presentation of family photographs in the household • Finds strong similarities in the patterns of presentation, representing the fragility of the modern day American Dream…

  3. Family Photos in Every Home Virtually every home visited has an abundance of family photographs Halle concludes on the notion that the more memories of your family captured in leisure the better

  4. Repetitive Subject Matter Absence of non-kin Shallow family history Moments of leisure

  5. Absence of non-kin Others un-related to family are not presented in home. If they are included in a photograph, it is usually in a context that further highlights the strength of the family unit (ex. A nanny or caregiver with members of the family)

  6. Shallow family history Subjects are only the mother, father, and children (with the occasional family dog) Reflects the generation’s distance from older kin on account of financial independence and prosperity

  7. The American Dream Built upon the idea that life is enjoyed through pleasurable moments with your family Vacations, leisure, and recreational activities are the setting for overwhelming number of photographs

  8. The Fragility of the Dream Divorce Geographic Mobility

  9. Denial through photographic presentation Never is there a photograph of a household member’s divorced spouse Photographs presented in clusters, with hardly any “solitaries” for fear of representing failure to sustain relationships.

  10. “By clustering family photographs and omitting any hint of aloneness families may be reassuring themselves and others of a longed for permanence.” (228)

  11. Case Study Peter Menzel’s “Material World” A study of the ways in which families in different cultures utilize and decorate their homes Argues against the idea that the more things you have, the happier you are. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worldbalance/material.html

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