“F.B.I. agent interrogating a Japanese woman in San Francisco immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor” (1941) I’m a little late with this — I know the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor bombing was last week! But this picture is timeless in what it says about power, generational change, in-group trust and betrayal. Look at the body language in this picture. The older woman who is being interrogated is keeping her cool and her dignity; I have no doubt that she is speaking politely. But see how she’s curling her left hand up. She’d punch this young traitor if she could. How dare he treat her this way! Doesn’t he know she could be his mother? Of course he does, which is why he’s not looking at her (instead his eyes are averted away from her, towards the camera….) His posture says, “I’m just trying to do my job. I’ve got my book, I’ve got my questions, I’ve got my orders.” But he knows he’s wrong, and that’s why he’s trying to avoid eye contact. He knows better, and later on he will be ashamed. These kinds of interactions have such a long history between so many different groups of people. Yet they remain endlessly fascinating. The picture’s got a pretty good composition, too: all the vertical lines cut by the positioning of the three figures in a huddle. But there are many stories here beyond a good photograph. Copyright Hansel Mieth

“F.B.I. agent interrogating a Japanese woman in San Francisco immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor” (1941)

I’m a little late with this — I know the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor bombing was last week! But this picture is timeless in what it says about power, generational change, in-group trust and betrayal.

Look at the body language in this picture. The older woman who is being interrogated is keeping her cool and her dignity; I have no doubt that she is speaking politely. But see how she’s curling her left hand up. She’d punch this young traitor if she could. How dare he treat her this way! Doesn’t he know she could be his mother?

Of course he does, which is why he’s not looking at her (instead his eyes are averted away from her, towards the camera….) His posture says, “I’m just trying to do my job. I’ve got my book, I’ve got my questions, I’ve got my orders.” But he knows he’s wrong, and that’s why he’s trying to avoid eye contact. He knows better, and later on he will be ashamed.

These kinds of interactions have such a long history between so many different groups of people. Yet they remain endlessly fascinating.

The picture’s got a pretty good composition, too: all the vertical lines cut by the positioning of the three figures in a huddle. But there are many stories here beyond a good photograph.

Copyright Hansel Mieth