Stuck In The Suburbs: This Photographer Shows How The American Dream Has Shifted In The Last 20 Years
The American dream has changed. Because the fabled house in the suburbs with a white picket fence and 2.5 kids? That’s in past.
More than 20 years ago, photographer Beth Yarnelle Edwards started a project based in her town of San Carlos, California. It showed the dissatisfaction of folks living among the strip malls and fenced-in backyards.
And now Edwards is picking up her Suburban Dreams photo series from where she left off in 1997. But she has revived the series by photographing her original subjects and showing the changes in their lives and surroundings. Because a lot changes in 20 years.
And Edwards’ work behind the lens shows just how malleable the American dream is.
Meet Beth Yarnelle Edwards
Beth Yarnelle Edwards is a San Francisco-based photographer most famous for her Suburban Dreams project cataloguing the lives of individuals growing up in suburbia.
“This population is kind of blessed,” said Edwards in reference to her decision to focus on the lives of suburban individuals and their families. “This isn’t how the larger population lives.”
How It All Began
[dx_custom_adunit desktop_id=”RTK_K67O” mobile_id=”RTK_5yk0″]
In 1997, Beth Yarnelle Edwards started her Suburban Dreams project in an effort to make sense of her growing disillusionment with life in the suburbs.
“I felt isolated and trapped, but I realized that the people around me really loved being there,” she said. After selecting her subjects, Edwards attempted to understand what suburban life meant to a wide range of inhabitants.
Setting The Stage
For Edwards, snapping real, authentic images was a vital part of the project–staying true to the individual subject while also contributing to a larger narrative.
The California-based photographer made sure to interview her subjects before asking them to pose for a shot so that the images she captured rang true with their day-to-day lives.
“It’s really important to me that the images are authentic to what is happening in the home,” she said.
Erin 1997/2017
For Erin, becoming a mother was the most visible change for Edwards to photograph in the two series set 20 years apart.
“In the first photo, I had an average life for that time,” she said. “It was all about friends and school. Now, my life is all about the children.”