Culture of the 1930s

The Lure of Motion Pictures Escape from reality Wealth, romance, good times Comedies Gangster films N.D. accomplishments The visit to the theater was an escape from the drab realities of Depression living; entranced by never-ending variety of stories. Movies provided a window on a different, more exciting world. Cost 25 cents to go to movies By late in 1930s, approximately 65% of population was attending movies once per week Over 15,000 movie theaters (more than banks, 2x hotels) Clark Gable, Gone With the Wind

Wealth, romance, good times Gone with the Wind (1939) The Wizard of Oz (1939) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) Flying Down to Rio (1933) Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the first full-length cel animated feature film and the earliest in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. (Traditional animation, (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique where each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until the advent of computer animation.) Gone with the wind -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrhNPS4nbmQ Flying Down to Rio -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWb90-afKHw

Comedies Marx Brothers Duck Soup Chico, Harpo, Groucho Gummo and Zeppo

Accomplishments of New Deal Social & political accomplishments of New Deal in positive light Honest people winning over greedy special interests Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) These filmed portrayed honest, kindhearted people winning out over those with greedy special interests. In much the same way, the New Deal seemed to represent the interests of average Americans. Mr Smith Goes to Washington --https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6UbYHCkoZs

SUCCESS OF RADIO 90% of homes have radio Evening: dramas, variety programs Orson Welles, “The War of the Worlds” Soap operas, kids’ programs Immediate news coverage (Hindenburg) Radio embodied the democratic spirit of the time Families typically spent several hours a day gathered together, listening to their favorite programs No accident that FDR chose radio as the medium for his ‘fireside chats’  most direct means of access to the American people The War of the Worlds: Martians invade Earth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs0K4ApWl4g

ARTS Generally serious w/ uplifting messages FWP Steinbeck  “Grapes of Wrath” Woody Guthrie  “Dust Bowl Refugee” (1940) FAP: dignity of ordinary ppl @ work Despite grim artistic tones, much of artistic work conveyed more uplifting message about strength of character and democratic values of American people Number of artists and writers embraced spirit of social and political change fostered by new Deal Many received direct support through New Deal work programs from government officials who believed that art played an important role in national life Song-- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWlXG74XWIw ASK: Why did the New Deal fund art projects? Aimed to increase public appreciation of art and to promote positive images of American society Project artists created posters, taught art in the schools, painted murals on the walls of public buildings. These urals, inspired in part by revolutionary work of Mexican muralists, typically portrayed the dignity of ordinary Americans at work Picture  from the mural ‘industries of california,’ painted in 1934 by Ralph Stackpole. It decorates San Francisco’s Coit Tower, one of the best preserved sites of WPA mural projects

Grant Wood “American Gothic” 1930 American Gothic (1930) Grant Wood’s 1930 painting, American Gothic, became of the most famous portrayals of life in the Midwest during the Great Depression. Painted in the style known as Regionalism, Wood painted familiar subjects in realistic ways. The house in the background was discovered by Wood in Eldon, Iowa, while he was looking for subjects to paint. He returned home with a sketch and a photograph, and used his sister and his dentist as models for the farmer and daughter in the painting’s foreground. ASK: What is the message Wood portrays in this painting? Explain. ASK: Do you think this painting is representative of the Great Depression? Why/why not?