In particular, Cameron focuses on Sunday Afternoon going right up to an extreme close up down to individual dots where all detail is lost. Cameron focuses on the child, seemingly being without a mother.
Separately, American Gothic is one of the most important pieces from 20th century American art history. It was painted in 1930 and is seen as a symbol of the hardworking resilience of rural Americans at the time. This was early on in the Great Depression. It speaks to Protestant stoicism and while not directly relevant to nor painted in an area to be affected by the Dust Bowl, that event is so significant to the Midwest in the 1930s, you can't really ignore it.
When I was younger I didn't have as much of a reaction to Nighthawks but now? It seems like an early bellwether to the urban isolation and fragmentation of society in postwar America that has eventually come to pass. It's like this late night spot became a place for people to go who had nowhere else to go.
[1]: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnhughesmovies/video/7227281023661...