Plantation Owner and Field Hands

As I've posted before, I'm quite a fan of American photography - particularly that from the years of the Great Depression. The image below is another one of my favourites, speaking volumes about power, wealth and race relations in pre-war America.

"Plantation Owner and his Field Hands near Clarksdale, Mississipi"

- Dorothea Lange (1936)

The whole image is dominated by the white plantation owner, confidently stood with his hand on his knee, leaning against one of the most potent symbols of American industry - a motorcar. To own such a car was a sure sign of wealth. By contrast, his black field hands are sat, submissively, in raggy clothes waiting for their next orders. Despite the plantation owner being physically the same height (though not width) as the workers, he appears to have a stature of largesse and grandeur. The workers appear thin and malnourished, while the plantation owner is fat and well clothed. He appears like a Roman Emperor - all-conquering and powerful within his own domain.