The war was in colour

[baleanoptera]

I've fallen a bit in love with a blog. It is called Shorpy - the 100 year old photo blog, though that title shouldn't be taken literary as they've recently posted a lot of kodachrome images from the Second World War. And such stunning images as well. The colours are nearly vibrant and translucent, and I find them particularly interesting when compared to the almost monochrome vision of World War II as seen in Letters from Iwo Jima or Saving Private Ryan.


Riveter at work on a bomber at the Consolidated Aircraft factory in Fort Worth. Taken by Howard Hollem in October 1942. I just love the yellow glow of the centre, and how it is balanced by all the grey and blue around her. Including the very distinct blue ribbons in her hair.


This shows an air plane mechanic, same specifics as above. I love the silver shadows and the shades of blue and grey here.


Sorting oranges at the co-op citrus packing plant in Redlands, California. Taken by Jack Delano in March 1943. These oranges are nearly translucent dammit, and the contrast to the blue shirt is captivating.


And a photo more troubling and sad. It shows a young woman at the community laundry Saturday afternoon. Farm Security Administration camp at Robstown, Texas. January 1942. But there is something about the light and glow of this photo that makes me love it.

It is pictures like these that makes you wonder why we continue to depict the Second World War as a bleak and shadowy place. Do we desaturate the colours of the films to fit the mood of the story? Or are we influenced by the grainy, black and white look of old documentaries? In other words are we so used to looking at blurry black and white films that this has become the staple for how the war should be depicted? So that a movie with vibrant colours would seem "off",even if it in reality would not be?

But do you know the really scary part? One of the films that most accurately depicts World War II as far as colours go is Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor. Troubling isn't it?

ETA: This is not a colour photo, but the composition is just too wonderful and surreal.

Comments

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

This again shows that life is the same basically now and back then. I think that the soldiers' uniforms are often muted in colour and this plays a big part in overall muted-colourness of our impression of war.

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

This again shows that life is the same basically now and back then.

yes, absolutely - and it lately it strikes me as odder and odder that WWII films appear more real if they are muted in colour. But this is true of a lot of historical films. Almost all "realistic" films dealing with the middle ages will have drab, brown colours as their main scheme - and the buildings will be dark, gloomy stone. While the facts are that people in the Middle Ages dressed in colours if they could, and painted their castles and houses in colours as well.

[applegnat.livejournal.com]

Is it a cliche that we perpetuate because we want to believe it, at some level? It helps to put distance between us as well as give us significant cues on how to feel, in the pop-cultural sphere. The blatancy of the work of, say, Spielberg, is just catering to that need in us. Because, surely, the need is created by some psychological need for it, even though it may be sustained by pop-cultural forces for reasons of their own?

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

Is it a cliche that we perpetuate because we want to believe it, at some level?

I would say yes (though with room for some exceptions.) I think when it comes to The Second World War in Europe history has started to edge over into myth, and since the land of myth is always a bit vague and covered in fog then the images of it must be as well. Or more precisely - we (aka western Europe and the US) have turned WWII into a story, and like all stories it has acquired certain plot points that must be repeated, or the story will seem false. Just like the story of Snow-white needs a wicked step-mother, then the story of the WWII has its designated heroes, villains and in a way its specific images.

The blatancy of the work of, say, Spielberg, is just catering to that need in us.

I think it's a bit more complex than that. He caters yes, but he also reinforces the need for such images. So it isn't so much a chain of events as a circle that spins both ways. Spielberg makes films that are popular, but a reason for his films popularity is that they tell us the want to hear.

[winterdahlia.livejournal.com]

I love these images, especially the riveter and the mechanic. The red nails, the ribbons, and the curly hair, in the context of the mechanical work, is truly fascinating. And you are right, because we are so accustomed to dreary images of this time period, these almost seem like they are too brilliant to be true. If you hadn't explained them, I may have thought they were still images from a modern movie set or photo shoot.

That blog is a very cool find! :-)