1. The Great Depression: Popular Culture
11/30/11

2. Songs of The Great Depression
Music was a source of relief during the Depression
Jazz, later known as Swing, become extremely popular in the 1930s.
“Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?” (1931)
Written by E.Y. (Yip) Harburg
Performed by Al Jolson, Rudy Vallee and Bing Crosby
(Listen to Rudy Vallee’s version)

3. Rudy Vallee

4. Songs of the Great Depression
“Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (1939)
Written by E.Y. (Yip) Harburg
Performed by Judy Garland in the famous 1939 film The Wizard of Oz
“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” (1931)
Composed by Duke Ellington
Known as a jazz standard, or a piece of music that is important to Jazz musicians

5. Novels of the Great Depression
Gone with the Wind (1936)
Written by Margaret Mitchell
An epic novel set in the Civil War era
The Grapes of Wrath (1939)
Written by John Steinbeck
A novel set in the Great Depression that follows a family of Okies

6. Hattie McDaniel

7. Films of the Great Depression
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Directed by Frank Capra
Starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
1st full length Animated film made by Walt Disney

8. Films of the Great Depression
Gone With the Wind (1939)
Starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh
238 minutes, including an intermission
Won numerous awards, including:
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actress
Made $198,676,459 in theaters
Adjusted Gross: $1.6 billion (1st)

9. Films of the Great Depression
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Directed by Frank Capra
Starring James Stewart and Jean Arthur
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Starring Judy Garland
Based on L. Frank Baum’s book

10. Cars! Cars! Cars!
Cars became status symbols, or signs of wealth, during the Depression
Cars became the most prized possessions for most Americans
Auto shows grew in popularity
Some of the most popular cars of the 1930s:
Buick Series 40
Ford V-8 Cabriolet

11. Tourism Boom In the 1930s, the travel trailer became extremely popular
Allowed Americans to travel wherever they wanted (and provided inexpensive accommodations!)
1936 Travel Trailer

12. Electricity Brings Forth Changes
With the increasing availability of electricity came larger markets for new appliances
The refrigerator was the most popular
Other appliances included washing machines and electric irons

13. Radios
Radios were the social focal point of the typical 1930s household
30 million people owned radios in the late 1930s
Radio set the pattern used today in television:
Midday: game shows, soap operas, discussion panels
Late Afternoon: children’s programming
Evening: News programs, comedy hours & dramas