Entertainment During The Great Depression Essay

During the early 1930s Movies, Music and Art had a major role during the Great Depression. Despite all the hardships in the 1930s, people were enthralled by the entertainment provided during this time period. It was extremely exciting and it had a huge impact on peoples daily lives. It would also take people out of the dark times, and to a much happier place. Some people were so impacted by the Great Depression, that they began to lose hope until Movies, Music, and Art spoke to the people of our society.

Before the depression, there was a limited concept of social class which allowed the rich and poor to enjoy many of the same luxuries. Hollywood began to produce more films when the demand of movies and live performances began to rise. As the depression was beginning to take its toll on American citizens, the people wanted an escape from their reality so the movies had an important role with Americans. As the movie industry grew, the venues had to accommodate the massive increase of people attending the shows and they were primarily placed in larger cities (Khan Academy). The prices of a movie ticket were very low which meant that anybody who was rich or poor, old, or young could attend these showings. The affordability of the tickets allowed people to escape their issues and enjoy simple

There have been many sports that were very well liked during The Great Depression such as baseball and horse racing. The sports were used to keep peoples minds off of all of the things that were wrong with the world. Many famous sports heros played there greatest games in the 1930s.

The 1920s is notorious for being a good time, with its reputation of being full of fun parties and extravagant living. Those wealthy enough were able to enjoy that along with all the other changes in American culture. In the 1920s the use of installment buying, credit, and stock market investments became a typical part of life. Technology that improved home life, like vacuums and radio, were desired, and these shifts in culture added to the stigma that good times would continue forever. The American people were not aware that common habits in the 1920s would lead to the Great Depression in the 1930s, during which unemployment reached over 25%, the economy struggled, and the fun times ended. The Great Depression was caused by experts that encouraged

“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).

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

The 1920's also saw the growth of the motion picture industry. It was highly influential and helped shape popular culture by promoting the diffusion of common values and attitudes nationwide. Soon movie studios began building elaborate movie palaces in cities, and by 1930, the movie attendance grew to about 115 million. Movies performed many purposes. It created national trends in clothing and hairstyles and even served as a form of sex education.

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

The 1930s for the United States was not one of the best times in history. October 29, 1929 was the start of the great depression. One of the hardest parts of history in the united states. The Great depression was when the stock market crashed and unemployment skyrocketed. Unemployment reached to nearly 13 to 15 million people, which is about 25 percent, up from 3.2 percent in 1929. Industrial production declined by 50 percent, international trade plunged 30 percent, and investment fell 98 percent, and almost half of the banks in the united states also have failed. People across the nation lost their farms and homes. Some traveled to other states in hopes of employment with no luck.

Music in the 1930s During the deepest economic downturn in the United States, the Great Depression, music and dancing made people forget the hardships of their daily lives. Research shows that listening to music can improve your mood. Music has been used as a therapy for centuries, especially in the 1930s ("How Music Changes Your Mood"). Popular music during the 1930s included many upbeat and fun genres like swing, jazz, and country/western.

The era of the great depression was one of hardship and struggle. The film sets

The surprising way people lived in the 1930’s was much more different and basic than life now. This is true because in the 1930’s almost all people lived the same looked the same and bought the same things. Even though life was basic in the 1930’s it was also a hard time to live in for example, At the beginning of the 1930’s, more than fifteen million americans fully one quarter of all wage earning workers were unemployed (https://www.history.com/topics/How life has changed since the 1930’s

There were many primary causes for The Great Depression, Unequal distribution of money to the economy,

The Great Depression brought upon programs that were supposed to stimulate the economy, give people jobs and increase the overall peace of mind in American society. One of the programs that did this was the Federal Theater Project (FTP). This program brought about work for former performers of the arts of all kinds, who had lost their jobs due to the