Actor, Will Rogers, Succeeded in Silent Films and Talkies Essay

The 1930’s was an era of harsh times for the American until they entered World War II. The stock market crash and dustbowl contributed to the start of the downfall of America for a period of time. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover both

Lawrence Levine’s “The Folklore of Industrial Society: Popular Culture and it Audience,” examines what popular culture is and how it relates, specifically, to the 1930s. He notes that popular culture is perceived as trash, something for a passive, mindless listener, but rejects this idea completely. Instead, Levine shows how radio, movies, plays, and television unite people, allowing them to feel certain things and relate to the characters. Communities were built around different forms of popular culture, giving individuals the chance to discuss what they heard or saw, take some ideas and reject others, mold the programs into their own lives, and form their own opinions about them. There was nothing passive about these forms popular culture

In the 1930’s there was a lot of racial tensions and expectations for southern culture. Things are different now than they were back then like the culture, but especially gender roles in the south.

He took up two other hobbies. His first hobby was radio. In 1922 ,he joined station KDKA. His station was called “The Gulf Headliners” ,which featured a weekly Sunday night show. In 1935, his station ranked in the top 15 radio shows in the country(“Will Rogers Memorial Museum & Birthplace Ranch,” 2005). His second hobby was writing. Will Rogers become known for an article he wrote in the newspaper. The paper, called the “Saturday Evening Post” was sold all across the country. His column dealt with issues of the day ,from a Republican viewpoint. After taking up these hobbies, he settled down and married a girl named Betty. As he got older, he began these hobbies for his own entertainment. Although, when he became more talented at radio and as an author he started to make money. He became well known for these as well as his shows and tricks.(Editors,

“At the ending of 1932, it was estimated 34 million men, women, and children, which is 28 percent of the total population, that was without wages and had little money. These rates did not contain the total of 11 million citizens inhabiting on farms which is to say, 25 percent of the population who were trying to live off the land’’ (Grand Design: Hollywood as a Modern Business Enterprise 13).

The transition from the era of silent films to the sound era in the mid 1920s was a big transformation for the American film industry and mass entertainment in general. This phase initially brought about much excitement for movie goers who were thrilled with the expectation of hearing the voices of their favorite actors for the first time. However, such expectations were met with much disappointment when the highly fancied actors had voices that did not much the preconceptions of the fans. The technical difficulties and various issues that the American film industry faced during this transition are actually captured in the 1952 movie, “Singing in the Rain”. In part, the film is actually about movie making during the silent-to-sound era as its

Movies were becoming one of the biggest businesses during the 1920s and most people would spend their leisure time going to the theatre to watch the silent films. They were becoming huge in the popular culture and Hollywood was the place to be. Roughly by 1922, 40 million people a year in attendance over the entire country for the movie theatres and in 1930 over 100 million people would attend the movies every year. By 1927, the movie industry became the fourth largest industry in the country. “The Great Train Robbery” which was released in 1903 was the beginning of the film industry and would eventually change everything. “Jazz Singer” was the first movie that had synchronized sounds throughout the entire film. The popular genres during this decade were western,

The 1930s was a time of negativity for many types of people. The country’s economy was at a disparagingly low state due to the crash of the stock market. Banks went into bankruptcy, businesses recorded all time lows, and people had massive amounts of debt. Companies couldn’t afford to have many

When Will was not acting he was writing. Will started with the Saturday Evening Post that was carried all over the country. With Wills writing styles hen soon wrote the book The Cowboy Philosopher on Prohibition . Also a book about a crazy pilot in Russia. In the 1930s Will was able to get with the director John Ford to do three films.

Will Rogers, the youngest of eight children, was born on November 4, 1879 at Rogers Ranch located in Oolagah, Indian Territory (BIOGRAPHY, n.d.). Will Rogers was a descendant of Clement Vann Rogers and Mary Schrimsher, who were both partly Cherokee (BIOGRAPHY, n.d.). Will Rogers grew up on his family ranch working with cattle in addition to learning to ride and lasso. He quickly realized his natural talent with a rope.

Will Rogers is honored in Oklahoma because he was a humorous person who did newspaper columns, radio shows, was an Indian and cowboy, and he helped raise awareness for the rights and needs of Native Americans Indians. He was a caring person who wanted the best for everyone. Rogers did a lot to make some of these things happen. He always wanted to be the person who was always helping. Also he was a person who people were confused about because he was a cowboy and an Indian, but he wanted to show people that you could be both.

In the 1930s, migrant workers didn't have to worry about having to juggle working in the fields with school. Having an education then wasn't as big of a deal as it is now. Today, if workers don't get an education they will most likely be working in the fields for rest of their lives. Another difference is that today people don't have to deal with the Dust Bowl. In the 1930s, people lost their homes after they were covered up with dirt.

This further demonstrates how the affluence of that period enabled people to support this industry and help its enormous growth. It was during the roaring 20s that the first real celebrities began to appear, with the ever-increasing role of cinema having a huge role to play. Similarly their fame contributed to the growing status of Hollywood and the American film industry. (Source J). Charlie Chaplin is one example of an actor that gained worldwide recognition in the twenties; he was particularly famous for his ‘highly visual style of acting’ (Soucre J). The 1920s was often referred to as “The Golden Age of Hollywood” (Source G) emphasizing how this period represents the era of greatest output in the United States movie market [an average of 800 films were produced annually]. ‘The cinema came of age in the 1920s and Hollywood confirmed its position as the “dream factory” of the English- speaking world. It was there that fame and fortune could be found.’ (Source J) This also highlights the growing image of Hollywood ‘throughout the roaring 20s, which started to represent wealth and achievement. ‘The establishment of the Academy Awards showed the maturing cinema as an industry confident of its own technical and artistic standards.’ (Source J) This further shows how there were many other expansions and transformations from this industry that occurred during this period. Artists, directors and other personalities of the film making industry received acknowledgement and recognition of their work in this industry. ‘The awards soon acquired international status’ (Source J) showing how Hollywood’s film industry developed into a global sensation that was supported by people all over

in the 1930’s was because of what was happening in the 1930’s such as The Great Depression

Every day millions of Americans go to theaters with their families to enjoy movies. Watching films has become one of the most popular activities to do. Although plenty of people know of Charlie Chaplin, most do not know any real information about him. Charlie Chaplin has been a major contributor to America’s advancement in the film industry from his innovative beginnings, and perseverance to improve and succeed, to his overall achievements in history.