Lauren Greenfield is a photo journalist and also has created films. She focuses on the capitalistic society and explores how Americans are obsessed with consumerism. In Girl Culture, Greenfield shows what girls’ lives are like and what they strive to be. The New York Times article “Follow the Money (Then Take a Picture)” discusses Greenfield’s documentary “Wealth Generation” and also her past exhibitions and documentaries and childhood.

Greenfield grew up in Los Angeles and in 11th grade went to the private Crossroads School, “where she befriended some of the city’s wealthiest teens. This formative experience ignited her obsessions with “materialism and class,” she said, “because my parents had rejected it so much” (Soller, New York Times). Her family, she stated in many articles, were focused on education and not material wealth, even though she grew up and was surrounded by a community of wealth and flashiness. She is “considered a preeminent chronicler of youth culture, gender, fashion, media, wealth, beauty, and consumer culture as a result of her groundbreaking photographic projects” (Institute). I am interested in focusing on youth culture, gender and beauty in my project as these topics are most prevalent in Girl Culture. 

Lauren Greenfield said she was “influenced by Juliet Schor’s concept of the vertical reference group, and how we changed who we compared ourselves to” (White, The Atlantic), meaning that with the onset of TV and mass media people no longer compare themselves to people around them they compare themselves to what they see on TV and in the media. This is shown through her work in Girl Culture where you see girls and women striving to be the ‘perfect’ kind of girl, with a perfect body. Girl Culture also addresses the pain and issues that striving to be perfect can play on a girl or woman. Greenfield said that the hardest part of shooting these images were the ones she took in the eating disorder clinic because of the extreme situations that the girls there experienced (Interview). 

I am going to focus mainly on the photos taken in Edina, Minnesota and a few others that I could personally relate to. The photos of Alli, Annie, Hannah, and Berit going to their “first big party of seventh grade” and getting ready for that party stood out to me because not only can I picture my middle school self in the same situation but can also currently relate it to my life now.

I also liked the photo of the popular clique in the seventh grade at the cafeteria because you can imagine what they are gossiping about and their relationships they have with each other.

Lastly, I am going to focus on the photo of Hillary and Olivia doing their “after-school Tae-Bo workout.” Looking at the photograph this week I can relate to it because my friends and I have turned our house into an at home gym during the corona virus quarantine. I think it will be interesting to look into how girl culture has changed in the onset of being quarantined due to the spread of COVID-19.

Sara,

This is an excellent start to your final project. A couple of technical points that will strengthen what you have written.

Keep your paragraphs short. For example, start a new paragraph with “Greenfield grew up . . . ”

Use italics for titles of books, newspapers (e.g. New York Times), and quotation marks for articles and films.

Insert links to the specific articles that you cite (e.g. White, NYTimes) as the best reference.

The sentence beginning “Meaning . . .” isn’t a sentence.

Your overall plan of work is very good. You can insert the three photographs that you mention into this opening statement if you wish. I know what you’re referring to, but others won’t. Also, be aware that one of the girls in the Edina group of four is Jewish.

Lauren Greenfield’s photographs are full of color and emotion. She uses saturated colors to make the photos pop. She distills  moments from the girls and women’s lives to focus on things that almost all girls and women feel or have experienced. She claimed in an interview that she is “uncovering reality” through her pictures. 

In order to take her photographs she puts herself in these women’s lives, meaning that she spends a lot of time in the environment getting to know the women. Then she takes their pictures and interviews the girls that she focuses on. She believes the interviews are important to go along with the photographs because some of the pictures are pretty and flashy whereas the interviews depict the girl’s true emotions. The photographs are not staged; they are raw images of the girl’s lives.

Within the photographs that I am focusing on there is movement in all of them. Although the girls are posed in one, viewers still see the activity that these teens are taking part in. Her point of view as a women shows that she understands and can relate to these girls because the issues they face are applicable to many women’s lives. 

In order to depict girl culture in my own work I reflected on my own life and what kind of issues are relevant to me and my friends. I watched how my friends and I are going about our lives in quarantine over the next week and photographed our daily activities. I also interviewed each of my roommates and had them reflect on their lives in quarantine so far. 

Sara,

The methodology that you propose is good, although I think that you might want to substitute some oral interviews with your friends rather than asking them to write. You can ask them if you can record the interviews and then edit the interview as Greenfield does so that they comment upon or are in dialogue with the photographs.

Start a new paragraph at “Within the photographs . . .

And be sure to use possessive apostrophes when you need them (e.g. the girls’ true emotions).

Good luck with the photographs.

DDM

Photos & Analysis: Presentation of your own photographs inspired by that point of view. Text articulating what taking your own pictures taught you about the photographer’s point of view and its relevance. What is liberating about the point of view you’ve chosen to explore? How does it challenge you to look at the world differently?

Over the past few weeks, I have taken pictures of my roommates responding to the COVID-19. This has allowed me to understand the importance of friendship because I have seen how we have relied on each other in this time of stress/confusion. It has also made me think about the privilege that we have to be quarantined together, having fun and making the best out of the situation.

Gallery:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bqe5gVxqr6gWKALv-Hc3rwVAS2jJizBn5NojQnLX0Cs/edit?usp=sharing

Selected Photographs:

These photographs both show the two extremes of what my roommates have been doing in quarantine, eating a lot of comfort food and working out a lot.

Slide Show

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qzB_I1b7kBHq4PRu9KycOV8brL62DE3fGKhcW6cFU5I/edit?usp=sharing

Slide Show 2:

After taking pictures and interviewing my friends I have learned how hard it is to make photographs have a feeling and tell a story. I think that Lauren Greenfield does a great job at using photography and interviews to convey the whole story of the girls and women she photographs. Lauren Greenfield uses her camera to bring issues of body image and insecurity to viewers attention. Although “critics have occasionally dismissed her work as marginal” (Girl Culture-Introduction), she continues to take photographs that are honest representations of women and girls across the country. 

While taking pictures of my own I found it hard to use the same kind of bright and vibrant colors that exist in Lauren Greenfield’s photographs. In all of her photographs she uses saturation and “candy colors” (Girl Culture-Introduction), while in quarantine in my home I have found it hard to do this for multiple reasons. I tried to incorporate the bright art that is in my living room in the photographs but the furniture that came in my house is far from photogenic, making it hard to make my photographs pop like hers do. I also found it hard to take colorful photographs like hers outside because of the environment that I am currently in. I think that if it was summer and the trees were green and bright it would have been easier to take photographs like Greenfield’s.  

Before I began taking pictures I thought it would be easy to document girl culture like Greenfield does because I am a girl and have an understanding of how my friends have lived their lives over the past month. However, it was much harder than anticipated. Not only was it hard to use bright colors and saturation in my images, but it was also hard to take photographs that convey a feeling. Not only was it awkward to sit out of the conversations and activities that my friends were doing to take photographs but it was hard to show the true emotion of the movement. 

Lauren Greenfield has the ability to tell a story in her photographs through the emotions of the girls. For example, in the image of the middle school girls in the cafeteria, Greenfield depicts a typical middle school experience. It appears that the two girls standing above the 7 other girls do not fit in and may be trying to join what seems to be ‘the popular group.’ The other girls are gossiping and do not realize the others, they seem engulfed in whatever it is they are whispering about, perhaps the dance they went to the weekend before. I tried to imitate this photograph by taking pictures of my friends talking at our kitchen table and on the couch. These moments were hard to capture because it is hard to take photographs when people are laughing which my friends did constantly. Lauren Greenfield does a great job of capturing the girls frozen in time going about their day. 

I also chose Lauren Greenfiled’s photograph of two young girls working out in their living room in Los Angeles because I could relate to it since my friends and I have been doing different online workout classes during quarantine. In this photograph not only does Greenfield capture the movement of the girls perfectly but paired with the rest of the photobook she calls to attention the pressure on girls to remain fit and work towards ‘the perfect body.’ While I attempted to photograph my friends working out I faced some challenges. The first being space, one of my roommates moved out of our house due to Corona so we turned her room into our own gym, however there is not a lot of space, This was a problem when I photographed Alex doing a Zoom Workout class. Once again it was hard to photograph action like Greenfield did. Instead of photographing a high intensity workout I chose to photograph my friend Emma doing a yoga flow, this was easier because she held poses for long periods of time. 

Greenfield takes photographs of girls in places that they feel most comfortable as well as places where they may feel uncomfortable. However I took photographs of my friends where they feel very comfortable, our house. Greenfield takes this photograph of a girl on her bed, in her interview she talks about how people feel the need to fit in to the popular group of girls and she does not understand why. She is different and understands that but knows that it is not accepted in Edina. My photograph of my roommate Alex on her computer in bed shows a place where she is comfortable and is able to talk about any problems or issues she may experience.

During this process I found it liberating to put myself on the outside of my roommates conversations and daily activities. This allowed me to be able to reflect not only on our friendships but also how we are dealing with COVID-19 as a collective unit and each individually. 

I was able to interview each of them about how the quarantine has affected them day to day and how they keep a sense of normality during this time of uncertainty. I realized that because we spend at least 12 hours together a day we each have similar ways of coping but each put a different spin on it, I believe this is shown in my photographs. In my interview with my roommate Diana she said “I have enjoyed the quarantine by creating fun new activities, workouts, and keeping up with friends and family. It makes me feel connected although apart, and productive in the comfort of my own home. I have been able to work out more than I ever have and learned how to do a headstand.” In my interview with my roommate, Hannah, she said “I’ve been enjoying the quarantine as best as I can. When the weather’s nice it’s great to be outside and get fresh air. I’ve been watching a lot of tv and reading books. Overall we are making the most of the situation.” My roommate, Emma said “I’ve been enjoying staying on campus during the quarantine, but I’m sad that this semester is different than I anticipated. I have been virtually contacting family and friends and making the most of this! Almost everyday I have more time to go on walks with my roommates and enjoy parts of Ann Arbor I have not seen before.”  Lastly, my roommate Alex said “I’ve been doing my best to create a routine for myself so I stay on top of my school work and physical health. With classes ending, I anticipate more struggles in terms of keeping active in quarantine. I’ve been catching up on books, laughing with friends, working out every day, and cooking new meals.” To me all of these quotes show that during this time of quarantine my friends and I have each been individually trying to be the best versions of ourselves, giving the circumstances, while connecting with each other and our families in new ways. 

Sara,

Interesting choices in your photographs.  I’m looking forward to your analysis and reflection on what you learned from taking pictures as Greenfield did. Did you end up interviewing your roommates as well?

DDM

Sara,

You’ve written thoughtfully about the challenges of taking photographs of your roommates and friends as Greenfield did. Not only the issues of color but also the issue of distance. You admit, understandably, that these are your friends and it is hard to adopt the professional stranger or “outsider” position with them. That is part of how Greenfield can photograph. She does not seek to laugh with the people–or, on occasion, cry–but rather to photograph, to understand, to “mirror” them, to convey their emotions. So, in some ways, because you identified with the girl culture pictured by Greenfield, it was much harder for you to photograph as she did.

Consider including the photograph of the person on her bed looking at the computer. It reminds me of Greenfield’s photograph of Lisa. You might want to choose slightly different Greenfield photos to complement and engage in dialogue with your own.

DDM

Conclusion: Did you come to understand your Jewish photographer differently after taking your own photos? What did you learn about your thesis?

After taking photographs and researching Lauren Greenfield I have learned many different things. I learned that Lauren Greenfield’s Jewishness, like many other photographers that we have studied this semester, does not explicitly exist in her photographs however it exists behind the photograph. I also learned about the importance of being an outsider while taking photographs when I was taking my own photographs. The relationships Greenfield made with the girls and women she photographed allowed for her to create “Girl Culture.” Even though they are strangers Greenfield is able to talk to them and depict their feelings through the photos she takes. Lauren Greenfield took these photographs during the early 2000s, it is interesting to see how even with the influence of technology in Girl Culture today it so much remains the same. It would be interesting to study these photographs in 20 or 30 years and see what has changed within Girl Culture.

Sara,

Good conclusion. Given the pairing of the photographs at the end, it would be best if you presented them in pairs, rather than having three on one line and one on another.

I take it that you decided not to include interviews in your final project. That’s fine but you might want to edit your discussion of interviews since you don’t actually present them.

DDM

New York Times

Institute

The Atlantic

Interview

Girl Culture, Lauren Greenfield