Life Magazine: 1936-1972
http://books.google.com/books?id=P0EEAAAAMBAJ&source=gbs_all_issues_r&cad=1
Life magazine brought the culture and events of the 20th century into American homes through photographs. The first issue of Life hit the newsstands in November 1936 and ran as a weekly publication through December 1972. Although it was very popular, the magazine had difficulty making a profit and after 37 years as a weekly, Time, Inc. decided to have it published only monthly. Today Life can be found on the internet and in special published editions.
Google has entered into a partnership with Life to publish the archived weekly editions in their entirety. Issues are cataloged by decades. By clicking the cover of an issue and then the “Read this Magazine” button, visitors can easily read the issue’s articles and view its photographs and illustrations, page by page, just as it was published. Issues can be navigated by a tag cloud or by typing the words into the search engine in the upper left corner of the page. The search box can be used to search every issue of Life or it can be limited to search one individual issue. Google has included maps showing the places in the world that are mentioned in each issue. By clicking a marker on the map, the viewer is taken to the page(s) that corresponds to that place.
In the 1930s, photojournalism was a new idea; the images told the story with only brief captions. Throughout the years, Life hired well-known photographers to create photo-stories for the magazine. Margaret Bourke-White, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Dorthea Lange, and Ansel Adams are just some of the photographers Life employed.
The Life photos provide an excellent platform for teaching students how to view images critically, taking note of the way photographers use the camera lens to give the viewer their interpretation of the subject being photographed — or in some cases even staging images. By using the photographs in the classroom, students will not only learn about the historic events of the time, but they will also hone their visual literacy skills. (As with any website, it is a good idea to preview the images of a particular issue before sending students there.)
The advertisements, touting products that have since gone by the wayside, are just as interesting as the featured photographs. They serve as a time capsule of America’s popular culture. Ask students to look at the ads critically. What messages are they sending? What techniques do the advertisers use to make the public want to buy their products? Today, we know that some of the claims they made, such as cigarettes being good for you, are absolutely false.
It is wonderful to be able to see history unfold through the publication of the Life issues. In addition, Google has been granted permission by Life to publish around 10 million photographs and etchings from their extensive collection. Since 2008, Google has been adding them to their image database. Though it’s gone from the coffee table to the search engine, Life magazine continues to tell us about American life.
