The Rich Have Their Own Photographers

2007 • 59 minutes

About this movie

In 1957, Milton Rogovin was declared The Top Red in Buffalo by The Buffalo News and his life was turned upside-down. Effectively, his political voice was silenced as society shunned him and his friends disappeared. In reality, he was an optometrist promoting workers rights in the local unions and helping to register Black voters. But refusing to be silenced, he found a new political voice- a camera. He began documenting Buffalos poorest and working classes, photographing the disenfranchised, the marginalized and those he considers the forgotten ones. His renowned series include miners around the World, a collaboration with Pablo Neruda of Chilean villagers and a Buffalo neighborhood across three generations. Through his prints Rogovin was able to depict the extreme inequalities that exist in the world and convey that message through beautiful works of art. But for Rogovin, his prints are his protests- and his only concern is the fight for social justice.

Ratings and reviews

Wonderful profile of an overlooked artist (photographer) 'incarcerated' by the powers that be during that heinous time in American history also known as the McCarthy era, and his contribution to capturing and preserving American history through the lens of his camera. Milton Rogovin's social documentary photographs tell another side of the American experience.