Erich Salomon's Candid Camera and the Framing of Political Authority

This essay examines the cultural, technological, and political significance of the candid camera in the interwar press. Concentrating on Erich Salomon's photojournalism, as well as discussions of the work of the photojournalist and the relationship between the press and politics, it contends that the candid camera signaled a reframing of political authority in terms readers were encouraged to understand as "humanizing." Yet the candid camera's privileging of relatable detail had its complications: it was subject to a tacit set of guidelines governing appropriate representation, and its tendency to frame political authority in terms of the familiar could elide dangerous power imbalances.