Black and white. Scenes of death, disease, hardship. Also scenes of healing, joy, and new life. On their own, each photo portrays a different scene of a mid 1940s doctor. However, in a series, the photographs display the vast array of tasks doctors had to perform across the countryside during and after WWII.
Personally, I felt the arrangement of the photographs wasn't planned very well. There was a bit of juxtaposition of life and death, and grief and joy, but otherwise, the photographs were mainly ordered chronologically. I was confused why Ernest Ceriani (the doctor's) medical equipment picture was one of the last photographs. I felt it would have had a great impact on many of the photograph if shown earlier in the series, especially in the photographer showing the delivery of a baby. However, the final photograph is beautiful, the doctor going home at the end of the day, which I'll show below. It ends the series very nicely, showing the circular nature of the craft, going home only to be called out again, and probably at some ungodly hour.
What I have already briefly touched upon, the narrative of the hardships of life, but also the triumphs of life in the mid 1940s, is very clearly shown throughout the series. My favorite image from the series I will show below, but basically Dr. Ceriani is pulling out the baby, with the expression on his face that says, "Holy Crow! It's a baby! Would you look at that?" It just makes me smile, especially thinking about another picture in the series that shows a family surrounding a dead relative, sheet already pulled up over his chin. That this doctor can bring so much joy even after he has failed to save lives in the past truly is a testament to the human spirit.
Of course the main focus of this series is people, especially the duties of Dr. Ceriani, but there are also shots of the towns he worked in, as well as his equipment. All of these seem to add to the mystique of the doctor, the kind of back country feel you get from the title. I think the contrasts of dark and light, happy and sad, are what the photographer Ernest Smith was trying to satirically reflect about society at the time. Young men are dying by the millions in WWII, the world has already suffered the hardships of WWI. And yet, life goes on. Babies are born, people get kicked by horses, little Jimmy down the street has a cut on his arm that needs stitches. I think Smith was trying to examine the thought process and the lifestyle that Dr. Ceriani plays out every day, yeah this shit is hard, but it's worth it.
I think these photographs could have also served a purpose to the United States government after the conclusion of WWII, that "Look everybody! We know your sons died out there, but look at how beautiful life can still be!" It also is a way to desensitize grief, that there are other people out there suffering from a loss, so if they can keep on living, so can you. Whether or not this series was used for that purpose, I'm really grateful for this assignment, as I likely never would have seen this series otherwise.
Very bloggerific!! Your idea on the photo series being meant for post WWII is interesting but I fell to make a stronger post there needs to be more on it. You seem to jump right into that idea and I'm not sure how. Please explain how you got this idea
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