In collaboration with Danish production company Citizen Dane, Tribe Pictures is developing a documentary about famed photographer Jacob A. Riis (1849-1914). The young Dane emigrated to New York in 1870 where he lived in utter destitution before becoming a journalist. He documented the living and working conditions of the poor with his photographs and articles, and advocated tirelessly on their behalf. Widespread social reform resulted from the awareness his work brought about, through new labor and housing regulations. A perfect instance of the connection between storytelling and results. This historical documentary presents interviews, photographs and reenactments with an attention to detail and visual quality which pays homage to the great photographer.

Video Transcript: Jacob A. Riis

Card:
Jacob A. Riis

On Screen:
Still photograph of Jacob A. Riis

Narrator:
The legendary Danish-American Jacob A. Riis was one of the most ground-breaking journalists of the 19th century, and the creator of modern documentary photography.

On Screen:
Archive black-and-white video of people getting on a boat.

Narrator:
Heart-sick and fleeing the pain of unrequited love, Jacob Riis emigrated from Denmark to the United States only to end up the embodiment of the American dream. President Theodore Roosevelt called Riis an ideal American.

On Screen:
Various photos and short video clips of workers and the president.

Narrator:
Upon arriving in the U.S. Riis struggled his way up as everything from a vagabond to a flatiron salesman.

On Screen:
Video of the town of Ribe, Denmark.

Narrator:
Jacob A. Riis was born on May 3rd, 1849 in Ribe, the beautiful yet remote Danish medieval town.

On Screen:
Video of Riis as a boy, and a young girl.

Narrator:
At the age of 15, he fell deeply in love with 12-year-old Elizabeth but Elizabeth, an upper-class girl, gave him little thought. And in the end when Riis, almost beside himself with love, proposed to her, not surprisingly the answer was no. She later wrote that she could never fall in love with him.

On Screen:
Video from onboard a ship as it sails that fades into a map of Atlantic Ocean.

Narrator:
Miserable, despondent, and desperate, in 1870 Riis emigrated to New York. Riis’ goal was to return hom from America a wealthy man, believing that money and prestige would win Elizabeth’s heart and she would no longer be able to resist him.

On Screen:
Video of people working fading into a hand-drawn map of New York City, and then later a newspaper.

Narrator:
But the struggle to merely survive was incredibly difficult, and at one point Riis become so distraught that he considers throwing himself into the Hudson River. However, first and foremost Riis was a fighter and he manages to endure until by chance he’s offered a job as a reporter.

On Screen:
Extreme close-up of fingers typing on an old-fashioned typewriter.

Narrator:
As fate would have it Riis possesses a brilliant talent for writing, and during the 1880’s…

On Screen:
A newspaper. It’s the New York Tribune.

Narrator:
…after becoming a well-respected police reporter for the New York Tribune, he discovers that by reporting from the slums…

On Screen:
An old photo of the slums.

Narrator:
…he can garner attention to the miserable conditions that hundreds of thousands of immigrants were living under in New York.

On Screen:
More of the slums.

Narrator:
After reading of the discovery of lightning light powder, forerunner of the photographic flash gun, Riis literally gets a bright idea. He will photograph the most wretched areas of the city, the darkest tenement apartments, and their residents.

On Screen:
Residents of the slums.

Narrator:
In this way he brings the dark realities of the slums to the attention of middle- and upper-class Americans to show how urgently reforms are needed. With his photos, Riis helped to create modern photojournalism.

On Screen:
Back to extreme close-up of fingers typing on an old-fashioned typewriter.

Narrator:
In 1890, Jacob Riis publishes the book entitled How the Other Half Lives. His animated writing style punctuated by striking photos of the slums depicts the extreme poverty in which two-thirds…

On Screen:
The Cover of the book is presented, as well as more photos of the slums.

Narrator:
…of New Yorkers lived. The book becomes an immediate best-seller that’s hailed as a classic as soon as it is published.

On Screen:
A photo of Riis.

Narrator:
Riis was certainly the last person who would’ve predicted that his work would bring him the life of a celebrity who hobnobbed with the likes of mentor and…

On Screen:
Photos of Riis with President Roosevelt.

Narrator:
…personal friend Theodore Roosevelt. Together with Roosevelt, Riis succeeded in shutting down the worst tenement houses in New York.

On Screen:
Back to video of young Elizabeth in Ribe, and then old photos of Riis and Elizabeth.

Narrator:
And so how did the love story end? Well the dream of Elizabeth back home in Denmark was Jacob Riis’ driving force throughout those first five years of poverty and hard-work in the U.S.

On Screen:
Elizabeth with her man.

Narrator:
But in 1874 came the news that Elizabeth was now engaged and it dealt him a terrible blow. However, Elizabeth’s fiancée died right before the wedding and so hope was re-kindled once more. Throwing caution to the wind…

On Screen:
Video of Ribe, Denmark.

Narrator:
…Riis took the biggest gamble of his life and journeyed back to Denmark to propose to his beloved Elizabeth…

On Screen:
Photograph of Elizabeth.

Narrator:
…and against all odds, she said yes. They were immediately married and she accompanied him back to the United States…

On Screen:
Photos of their new family.

Narrator:
…where they made a life and a family, eventually managing to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary together.

On Screen:
Photo of Riis. Cut to…

Card:
Citizen Dane

End.