Timmers Loc: San Antonio Texas.

This is the film adaptation of the book entitled Wisconsin Death Trip. The book is an important book in the history of photography and should be read or at least be seen as this video presents.

Wisconsin Death Trip, film adaptation of the book:
https://ffilms.org/wisconsin-death-trip-1999/

Watch and/or read the book (found in many book stores and public libraries).

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

Read the info available on iMDB. The “shocking” movie is a hodgepodge of old newspaper articles and local rumors about mysterious problems affecting residents of Black River Falls, WI. The playback link has failed. The while thing is a farce not related to photography.

krl48 Loc: NY, PA now SC

As a counter to Ralph's unfavorable (and somewhat inaccurate) review of the book and movie, here's a little more information on "Wisconsin Death Trip".

https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS15388

Timmers Loc: San Antonio Texas.

Actually I expected the response of members like rjaywallace. His evaluation or review would be much like a negative review of the work of the New Orleans photographer E. J. Bellocq* published as The Story Ville Portraits as though it were a seedy side show of the idiotic popular film Pretty Baby.

Thank you for the link to the accurate historic relevance to this important body of work, that is why I though it might guide some into discovering the alternate views of what some 'professional and commercial' photographers have done.

Photography is a strange kettle of fish. The ins and outs of what photography is and was is not some silly pedestrian small social side show for the publics amusement. Few ideas or events have shaped and charged the thinking of the human race as much as the introduction of photography.

It is critical that creators of the photographic arts understand that they play with the single most powerful tool that humans have ever possessed. It may be said that this tool, photography, is much like the introduction of the movable press. That ideas is bound up in Walter Benjamin's stark statement of 1910 where he asserts that "The illiterates of the future will not be those who do not know the alphabet, rather it will be those who can not make a photograph."

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._J._Bellocq

Timmers Loc: San Antonio Texas.

Hummmm, I just went and clicked on the link as posted above, it worked just fine.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

Timmers - I was simply quoting the very unfavorable review from info about all movies which is stored for reference by IMDb. As to the link, I was specifically referring to the “playback link” within the long article brought up by the main link in your post. And still don’t think the post has any relevance regarding actual photography. Have a great day.

Timmers Loc: San Antonio Texas.

I have no idea what this is "IMDb" I don't do well with code, being dyslexic. Why rely on some 'grading' system that is obviously flawed?

I say 'flawed' because a major university awards a PhD for the research, then it is published as a book that become 'cult', mostly that 'cult' that is referenced is due to many references to it's value and importance in both the academic community and the photographic community as well. After 20 years it is still in print. It generates a film from the BBC and several other books on the related subject matter.

What ever the 'IMDb' is it is apparently not a good source of evaluating what they are reviewing, to have 'so missed the boat' as one might say.

Dik

Here's a link to watch the movie without any "downloader" junk:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMhr6JY352g

sbohne

Can't we all just get along?

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

Not on this forum! 🙁

Stan

Timmers Loc: San Antonio Texas.

Thanks, I'm probably too dense with modern technology. I just went to the link I posted and it went right to the film. Don't know why it didn't work. U saved your link to U-tube for future reference.

Tim.

Timmers Loc: San Antonio Texas.

Sure we can and most of us are kool. The problem occurs when members loose tract of the fact that another human being who is a participating member has negative energy slung at them. But I was the OP and was sharing. Often there are comments made to people that are outside my participation and I leave it alone because this forum is NOT about me, it is a community activity.

Next time why don't you make a constructive comment if you feel someone is not participating in a constructive manner instead of playing the roll of 'Miss Manners.'

Back to the post about becoming informed about the activities of several generations of Americans and the problems that have confronted them and continue to be part of what drives our social structure.

I found it rather interesting that the BBC had as their interest to show that age old proverb that the more things change the more we humans remain the same.

Timmers Loc: San Antonio Texas.

As many of us back in the 60's said, "Your either part of the problem or part of the solution."
Stan in the peanut gallery.

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

See what I mean? Case in point.

Stan

RodeoMan Loc: St Joseph, Missouri

Thank you for letting us know about the film adaption of this book. I have owned the book for several decades. It is a troubling read to say the least. The book looks at life in a Wisconsin county during the final years of the nineteenth century and clearly shows that the Gay Nineties were not so happy for those people that prosperity passed over. The book is full of short excerpts from small town newspapers reporting the daily desperation of people seeing no way out of their grim circumstances. There are report after report of people throwing themselves in front of trains, or down wells or drinking arsenic. There are any number of photographs of deceased infants in caskets. This book covers a particular area of Wisconsin, but a similar study no doubt could be made of of many other areas of the United States. I agree with Timmers, this is an important book not only for its photographs, but also for its incisive commentary on a time and place in America that is not known about by most people.