"People's lives, public images: the New Deal documentary aesthetic" re-examines 1930s documentary literature, photography, and film in the context of recent documentary theory. Using an innovative intertextual approach, the book offers in-depth analyses of representative documentary works in all three media. It argues that while documentary realism was originally derived from 19th century literary realism, it was established as a powerful arena for cultural and political renegotiations especially during the years of the Great Depression. Although the focus throughout is on this specific historical period, the book's conclusions extend into contemporary valorizations of the "real".