Pop Culture: the Great Depression Today: What was music like during the Depression years? REALITY Pop Culture
"The Golden Age of Hollywood" 1930s Popular Culture Escapism
Life During the Depression was sad…
Unemployment 1 out of every 4 = Unemployed (25%)
Hunger forced to wait in line for soup & bread
Homelessness
1930s Music = Sad Optimism? “How Can a Man Stand such times and Live” “We Sure Got Hard Times Now” “Welfare Store Blues” “Happy Days are Here Again” “Keep on the Sunny Side ” “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf”
The Dust Bowl Location:U.S.A, The Great Plains (Nebraska, Oklahoma, etc.)
Woody Guthrie – Voice of the Dust Bowl “I Ain’t Got No Home” “Do Re Mi” “Dusty Old Dust”
How do we survive the Depression? “We Have Nothing to Fear… But Fear itself”
1930: Pop Culture Tragedy
1932
J Edgar Hoover FBI Ransom Note Dear Sir!Have $ redy $ in 20$ bills 15000$ in 10$ bills and 10000$ in 5$ bills After 2–4 days we will inform you were to deliver the mony. We warn you for making anyding public or for notify the Police The child is in gut care. Indication for all letters are Singnature (Symbol to right) and three hohls
Bruno Richard Hauptmann Executed 1936
1930s Pop Culture
G - Men
Pop Culture: the Great Depression Today: What was film like during the Depression years? How did the film industry survive the Depression? REALITY Pop Culture
"The Golden Age of Hollywood" 1930s Popular Culture Escapism
1 st Movie to Feature Sound: (1927) The Jazz Singer 30s Films called “Talkies”
Overall the 1930s theaters were powered by the musical Why? Escapism
Jean Harlow Greta Garbo 1 st Platinum Blond
Joan Crawford & Clark Gable John Wayne Spaghetti Westerns
Goldwyn Girls Dance, Sang, and Looked Good
Busby Berkeley #1 musical choreographer
Lucille Ball 1950s Comedian got her start as as a Goldwyn Girl
Pop Culture: the Great Depression Topic: How did the film industry survive the Depression? REALITY Pop Culture
The Big 5 – Studios that survived the Depression
How did the film industry survive the Great depression? What were ways the Big 5 held onto their power? Big name actors in their films…and only their films Packaged the films = had to purchase Less popular films in order to get the blockbuster They owned the movie theaters
How did the film industry survive the Great depression? The “Little 3” Studios
How did the film industry survive the Great depression? During the crash and after; why did film production companies start making extremely moral & uplifting films? After the crash big companies or anyone left with money were the enemies. Movies went overboard with morals to prove they were the good guys.
= Steamboat Willie March 16, 1934 “The Three Little Pigs”
December 21, st Feature Length Animated Film
Studio Lot = 51 acres Burbank CA
Mickey Pigs What to Watch? The Ugly Duckling