The Way It Is

Originally created as part of the New Deal, the Farm Security Administration was an effort during the Depression to combat rural poverty. Although it failed, the Farm Security Administration is well known to this day for the influence of its photography program, which spanned the years from 1935-1944. During this propaganda campaign, photographers and writers were hired to report and document the plight of the poor farmer. Under Roy Stryker, the Information Division of the FSA adopted a goal of "introducing America to Americans." Many of the most famous Depression-era photographers were fostered by the FSA project, including Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, and Gordon Parks. Since many of the images appeared in popular magazines, the FSA photography project is the project most responsible for creating the image of the Depression in the United States of America. Del McCoury's newest album tries to capture the stories of these forgotten people, who still exist today-the small-town farmers and the rural Americans of the South, on whose backs our economy has rested for a long time. In it, he has compiled a number of songs and artists whose work reflects that social consciousness. The song included in this film is a rendition of Bruce Hornsby's "The Way It Is", accompanied by the Fairfield Four. This music video is shot in the same vein of social realism with a documentary focus that permeated the work of the FSA photographers. When coupled with the soundtrack, the film begs the question "Sure, that's the way it is now...but is that the way it has to be...?"