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The great depression and cinema
The great depression and cinema
The great depression's effect on hollywood
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During the Great Depression, everyone was looking for a distraction from the terrible times around them. One way to put their mind at ease was to go to the theater and watch movies. Even during this era of distress, 60 to 80 million people a week still managed to go to the movies. Comedies were a great way to look at the bright side of situations and to put off the stress. In contrast, gangster films showed the fear that maybe what you are doing is not enough to get by and it would be nearly impossible to survive this economic crisis. Never the less, films of the Great Depression provided people hope and reassurance in that this too shall pass. Watching films from the Great Depression era today, we can see how people survived and made a living …show more content…
In the film Modern Times attention is brought upon how demanding and stressful being a factory can be. Although being comedic a point is made on how hard they work. There is even someone who advertising the failing idea of a machine to feed the workers as they work so there is no need for a break! After Charlie Chaplin’s character is given a break time at the factory his arms are still doing the motion in which his job requires on the assembly line. Comedy strikes as he walks around the factory twisting his arms as if he is till working. From this though we see how strict the job is and can conclude he had been on the job for a substantial amount of time. Working this hard can lead one to crave a way out, to live without having to work. There is an incident in which the character is arrested and put into jail. While seeming disastrous at the time, Chaplin’s character soon never wants to leave jail. He saves the police in a prison break and is upgraded to a “high-end” cell and then released shortly after. Entertainingly, he asks to stay, saying that he likes the way he is being treated. And why not, he does not have the stress of working and he gets meals and a roof above his head. After leaving jail he is told to search for a job but instead his search is for a way back in jail. In a comedic way, Chaplin manages to show how factory life in the Great Depression is a critical and stressful way to make a
The Great Depression is one of the worst time for America. Books, cartoons, and articles have been written about the people during the Depression and how they survived in that miserable period. For example, the book Bud not Buddy takes place in the time of the Great Depression. Bud is a ten year old orphan, who was on the run trying to find his dad. There are many feelings throughout the book like sadness and scarceness. There are many diverse tones in the book about what people were feeling at the time.
Or, the use of the body can suggest that life was tough during the Great Depression. For example, when Braddock was comforting his son after he was caught stealing, the viewers can get a good reference of people's well being from the surroundings. People were laying sleeping on streets and most of them had very poor posture or were slouching. It is simple to comprehend that they are miserable. In addition, in the scene when Braddock was in line for relief money, the people around him had very grim expressions. Their shoulders were sagged and their heads were down. Body language of the surrounding people make the Cinderella Man setting look like real life
The overall appeal of the cinema to the masses was particularly evident during the interwar era. Audiences worldwide wanted to watch the variety of films, particularly American produced films, and they always went back. The visibly attractive and glamorous Hollywood movies often depicted the success of the underdog over unjust authority. Values of cash over culture were often a theme in the early American films and societies with restricted social mobility, such as those in Europe, could dream of such a triumph. The working class and unemployed could fantasise about wealth, fame and freedom which America as a country was portrayed as offering.
America was not always in the right stand economically. While some assemble the change of how America did business in the 1900s, America’s economy stumbled down during the early 1930s. This downside to America was known as the Great Depression, one of the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the U.S. history. Films such as “Seabiscuit” captures an immense view on how the American people looked for a stress relief action, moreover methods to take their minds off the harsh times these individuals were facing.
The arts played a significant role in the Great Depression- not only as a means of escapism for some people, but also a psychological and ideological role that provided inspiration and optimism in a time of severe doubt and fear. For example, film provided an escape for a couple of hours, but also portrayed success during this time period. Many films focused on social realities of the time period, so that people could relate to these films. Films gave images of hope and success because they portrayed ordinary people, such as a girl winning a role in a play, or a man and a woman randomly meeting and falling in love. Andrew Bergman explains the effect of these films in his article Hollywood and the Great Depressi...
The Great Depression is a time in the history of the United States that people have learned and gained knowledge from. Its harsh times and conflicts have been written about in books, seen in movies, talked about on radios, and told to families throughout the generations. Seeing how life was during the 1930s in the movie, The Cinderella Man, was a great eye opener to how the people of this time truly survived and kept their true humanity in times of havoc. The time of the 1930s should be an inspiration to the nation and cause many to do well and live life smart and prosperous.
The great depression was a very sad and hard time. This was a time where people had little money, no available jobs and just had a hard time with everything. Many people had nd any way to make money whether it was cutting kid’s hair in neighborhood, picking fruit, selling iron cords house to house or even painting a house for 5 dollars. Even though this was a very hard time some people still had hope that things would get better. This was a really bad time until Franklin Roosevelt who was for the government supporting the Americans and not the other way around became president.
Following the relatively prosperous era nicknamed the "Roaring Twenties" came the Great Depression. Unemployment skyrocketed and good times were hard to be found. In the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" - we see the transformation from stability to utter chaos.
The 1920s were known as carefree and relaxed. The decade after the war was one of improvement for many Americans. Industries were still standing in America; they were actually richer and more powerful than before World War I. So what was so different in the 1930’s? The Great Depression replaced those carefree years into ones of turmoil and despair.
Smiley, Gene. Rethinking the Great Depression. American Ways Series. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, Publisher, 2004.
During the 1920’s, America was a prosperous nation going through the “Big Boom” and loving every second of it. However, this fortune didn’t last long, because with the 1930’s came a period of serious economic recession, a period called the Great Depression. By 1933, a quarter of the nation’s workers (about 40 million) were without jobs. The weekly income rate dropped from $24.76 per week in 1929 to $16.65 per week in 1933 (McElvaine, 8). After President Hoover failed to rectify the recession situation, Franklin D. Roosevelt began his term with the hopeful New Deal. In two installments, Roosevelt hoped to relieve short term suffering with the first, and redistribution of money amongst the poor with the second. Throughout these years of the depression, many Americans spoke their minds through pen and paper. Many criticized Hoover’s policies of the early Depression and praised the Roosevelts’ efforts. Each opinion about the causes and solutions of the Great Depression are based upon economic, racial and social standing in America.
The Great Depression was a very difficult time in American history. The Great Depression was the longest and most severe depression that was experienced in the Western World. The movie Riding the Rails is a good example of times during this depression. The movie presents a story of ten men and women in their youth, who gave their accounts about leaving their homes in search of a better life. I think Riding the Rails gives a very clear and accurate view of how life was for young teenagers during these historical times.
The Great Depression began in October of 1929 when the stock values in the United States dropped rapidly. Thousands of stockholders lost large sums of money-or were even wiped out. Many people had to depend on the government or charity for food. Many of the stories about the Depression have been told about the large cities and their struggles to live a life of poverty after being used to the luxurious lifestyle. However, those accounts do not reflect the true damage caused by this economic plunge. The many "country folk" that inhabit the area around Tennessee had a somewhat different recollection of this time period. The stories told by the people who had lost all of their money in the stock market are stories of doom and despair, but those told by the people who didn't have anything to begin with are filled with memories of family and friends helping one another in a time of need. In a personal interview with my grandmother, Vergie Matherly (eighty-seven years old) whom I call "Nanny", I learned first-hand what the Depression was like in a small community located in a very isolated area. Her accounts of family struggle seem to dwarf those accounts of the rich tycoons who lost it all in the stock market. A book entitled Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression of the 1930's contains several pages of anecdotes written by various people who lived in small towns during this time. This book goes hand in hand with the memories of my Nanny.
Often, the 1930s are classified as the age of economic depression. Although true, the decade has proved to be a time of reform and hope. In the midwest a series of windstorms occurred accompanied by a harsh drought causing the Dust Bowl, while in the more industrialized north, citizens struggled to find jobs. From song lyrics to baseball cards, artifacts from the decade rejuvenated the once crushed spirits of the American people. However, not all Americans regained a sense of hope, and instead some resorted to toxic ways to ease their minds. Moreover, as the Great Depression trudged on through the 1930s, American citizens searched for a way to escape their hardships, yet remained hopeful for a brighter future.
During The Great Depression, people had to find ways to save money on even the bare necessities. One example of this was the widespread use of vacant lots, and land provided bythe cities to grow food. Americans now had to live in the manner of their ancestors, making their own clothing, growing their own food, and agai...