Cinema During The Great Depression And World War 2

“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).

During the Great Depression entertainment such as movies, music/radio, and dancing provided people with and escape from the harsh realities of what was going on around them. As for movies, while (SUB) people in the 1930s were struggling because of their loss of jobs. Hollywood had entered what was called the golden age (“Popular” 2), the Hollywood golden age lasted from 1930-1950, and consisted of people and new movies flourishing due to people's lack of work and extra free time, popular examples of movies include: Snow White and the Seven dwarfs, The Wizard of Oz , King Kong, Frankenstein , and Dracula. New people, specifically child star Shirley Temple (“The 1930s” 1) played a key role by influencing the younger population. Even though movies were popular, they had to appeal to a mass audience in order to stay running (“The 1930s” 1), in that sense cartoons and family friendly movies we're most popular. The air conditioned theaters also provided people with a luxury outside of their homes for a couple hours, after all seeing a movie only cost a person $0.27 (“Popular” 1) opposed to the average price today of $8.61. Even though

The introduction of the film industry was a crucial factor in the metamorphosing American Dream. At the time

American media can be said to have reached its peak during WWI due to the movies based off the battles and suffering happening in Europe. As new methods of film came out and more people went to see them the shock factor ingrained itself in the minds of many. Thus, an opportunity for war propaganda arose and films shaped the popular public opinion on the war. The American film industry greatly influenced the American view of the war, as it gave people a visual of the occurrences overseas;consequently, this also allowed stereotypes and negative thoughts to be formed about the enemy, which influenced active participation in the war.

The history of film is essentially one of representation of certain groups, or as the case may be, misrepresentation. After America’s short stint with Nickelodeon-type movie theatres, full-length feature films became the norm with Birth of a Nation (1915). D.W. Griffith used the film to innovate cinematography, but made few compromises to create a

Movies, we’ve all seen them, but during the depression these movies were so important to the daily life of those people. During the depression, movies were just getting pioneered and some classics emerged, such as The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind. These movies along with many others meant so much to the people of the depression era because of what they really were. For the most part, people didn’t have the best living qualities during this era, hence the name “The Great Depression,” and movies were some of the best ways to escape their terrible lives. Movies have a way of taking you away from your life for the two or three hours of runtime that the movies have, and that is what movies did so well for the people during the depression.

The Great Depression was an era of traumatic experiences and despair for many Americans in the nation. The Depression reinforced many traditional goals and created more traditional values for American life. Almost every American family owned a radio during the Great Depression because it was a form of an escape from the daily hardships they encountered but also a way to hear important news they desired. In the first few years of the Depression the attendance at picture shows decreased rapidly due to the decrease of income in the American households. In the middle of the 1930’s, the movies were now in color and contained sound which intrigued the American people and the rise of picture show attendees raised again. The movies were also a getaway

During the 1920s, American Film was at the peak of its glory. 1920s Film was the biggest form of entertainment and a weekly pastime for millions of Americans, regardless of race and social background. Silent films continued to improve and innovate the film industry. Hollywood established themselves as an American force and produced hundreds of silent films. Also, Hollywood became the birthplace of “movie stars” such as Janet Gaynor, Rudolph Valentino, and Charlie Chaplin. Movie studios such as Warner Brothers Pictures, RKO, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, and 20th Century Fox owned thousands of theaters and received public acclamation for hundreds of films produced. The 1920’s American film industry is the epitome of the ascension of Hollywood and the innovation era of film.

The 1920s also known as the “Roaring Twenties”, “Jazz Age” or the “Golden Age” by North Americans and Europeans were the years of economic and artistic growth as well as social and cultural change. Whether in the 1920s or present day, films are a result of the public’s demand for entertainment. However, the production of films is an art that subtly delivers hidden messages to the public or as Kracauer suggests, coded references. After World War 1, despite the hardships each nation had dealt with and the frustration towards those in power, the public was happy it finally ended. Afterwards, America dealt with economic prosperity and a rise of interest in entertainment and enjoyable activities, specifically films, to in a way make up for the

In the late 1960s, the “New Hollywood” era approached a new style of filming geared towards different generations of people. Leading up to new Hollywood, the 1960s brought devastation to the film industry. With the massive production of televisions along with the migration of millions to suburbs away from the cities, movie theaters lost their popularity very quickly. Fewer films were being made, thus hurting Hollywood in every way possible. However, as the late 1960s approached, the new Hollywood era arose with new ways to attract movie-goers once more.

During the postwar era new convenient forms of entertainment were created. That created struggles for others, such as hollywood. An equally important factor to the changes, was Veterans coming back from the war with new priorities. The content of movies, television, music, and literature was regulated heavily by the government such as HUAC(Un-American Activities committee). The entertainment industry fought for their rights, thus obtaining more freedom of speech. The world of entertainment had many changes during the postwar era leading to a successful industry.

During the Great Depression, Hollywood’s role in the country was providing a sense of security during a difficult time. Even throughout the Depression’s most difficult times, 60 to 80 million Americans attended the movies each week, and in the face of doubt and despair, films helped sustain national morale. To keep up theater attendance,

The invention of television greatly affected filmmaking in America. Although attendance dropped greatly in movie theatres for a significant time certain elements were employed by the film industry to bring the audience back. Additionally, the Production Code changed during this time as well as the reflection of American culture and social tensions in films.

In this essay I will discuss how American filmmaking was changed forever due to the invention of the television, focusing on both social and cultural tensions during this post war era.

The movie was remarkably popular at the time, and many impoverished Americans of the Great Depression forked out precious change to see it in theater. Perhaps, the movie’s immense popularity was due to its release at the time of the Great Depression, to viewers who were desperate for hope and empathy. Therefore, the Wizard of Oz’s popularity should be attributed to its representation of: common Americans in movies, the nation’s fear surrounding the president’s lack of control, and the problems that the working class of the Great Depression faced.