Film Industry Depression

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

Movies have the ability to transport people to different times and places and distract them from ordinary everyday reality. They allow for a range of emotions to be experienced. At their core, movies examine the human condition. There are plenty of deeper truths woven into screenplays and plenty of lessons to be learned, even when an individual is solely seeking entertainment.

Movies are a perfect way to express the image of America. Movies are the mixture of art, music, and literature, containing words like a book, sounds like music, and images like art. This trinity of expression helps illustrate the picture of the individual. The western genre of film is a perfect example of this. The old west was a place that

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 1950s marked an incredible time in United States history. Many events that lead to the inspiration of future generations were revolutionized in economic and social expenditures of paramount proportion, most notably the manufacturing of war related materials for World War II. With an economic surge that catapulted the US even further into a position of world power, several industries flourished and suburban America took shape. Of these industries, film was one of the most substantial influences on the public and subsequently sparked a multitude of emotions. The culmination of entertainment adjoined with pressing issues allowed for designations of many political agendas. Some agendas proved to be melodramatic in nature regarding social reform while others were seen as substantial regarding national safety and protection.

One thing that movie entertainment fulfilled was attracting people to the big screen. For example, I can introduce this quote: “In just eight years, from 1922 to 1930, weekly U.S. movie attendance soared from about forty percent to over ninety percent of the population” (americainclass). This shows how in just eight years movie popularity spiked, where as about 40 million Americans went to motion picture theatres on a weekly basis. As the brink of silent films came to society and the evolution of the industry had risen, going to the movie theatre became a weekly event. This transition in entertainment, from stand-up comedy/plays to movies, was remarkable. The huge trend and liking for going to the movies impacted America in the way it had reshaped entertainment. Movie companies like Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros made a lot of money and success. The industry became very rich. Going to the movie theatre in the 20s was classy, fashionable, and it became a

The years surrounding the Great Depression and World War II were neither pleasant domestically nor internationally. During the Great Depression, businesses and industries fell rapidly, people became unemployed, and chaos ensued in trying to pick the global economy back up. Like every other industry, the movie industry, albeit a few years later than others, suffered a massive dip. Despite the conditions, however, many Americans still went to see movies, averaging around 60 to 80 million patrons every week. During this time, movies were not necessarily a means of escaping real world problems despite the fact that they did help to keep morale stable. Instead, movies that were produced in this era could be seen more as following a trend of realism, as we saw a rise in criminal, gangster, and scandal movies (Hollywood).

An example of a talkie is the film, “Bright Eyes.” In 1934, Shirley Temple starred in the film as a young girl who lost her father to a plane crash. The film is a comedy, yet audiences were able to relate to the young girl as she finds her way through custody battles and more (Document 3). This was also the beginning of movie theaters. Movie theaters began to take the streets between 1900-1920, where people would pay between five to seven cents to watch around an hour and a half film (Document 1). There were a variety of ways to watch films, such as drive-in movie theaters. In drive-in movie theaters, the viewer would drive into a lot with a big screen and watch the film from their car. However, these were very popular in the 1950’s as apposed to the roaring twenties (Document 6). By 1920, such men had been replaced by teams of specialists. Another significant change was the relocation of the industry from the east coast of the United States to Hollywood, a suburb of Los Angeles in southern California. A third important trend was the emergence of several film studios that came to dominate production and distribution during the interwar era. By 1930, the structures and formulae of modern commercial motion pictures had been

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

Influence of the Great Depression on Hollywood The cycle of poverty is not one many wish to live. From struggling throughout an entire day to make ends meat to waking up having to face the same struggles, it is common for one to wish for a better life. During the Great Depression nothing was enough to permanently improve the hard situation, but the population of American found a way around the hard times. Hollywood films were being produced almost every week and many used this to their advantage; it provided a sense of serenity, a feeling that was not offered in their lives.

Hollywood in the 1940s produced hundreds of films, many of which define the decade. America was in a dark time; most movies were used to cheer people during or after the war. Movies made by Walt Disney cheered up children and families with fun cartoons and happy endings. (Dirks, N.P.) Romantic dramas contented couples everywhere, showing them what might or might not have been in their relationship.

Hollywood has influenced American history since it began. It boosted and shaped the morale of a nation for almost a century. But Hollywood has not only been the influencing American society, it has been influenced by American society. In the 1920s, American society was booming; people were getting rich, spending and borrowing money, and they thought life was looking good. Then in October of 1929 the stock market crashed. Many people lost all they owned. People had invested all their money into the banks before the Crash. After the Crash, the banks had nothing. People were destitute. They had no money to pay for their houses, electrical bills, and food. It became the Great Depression. Likewise, Hollywood was impacted by the Great

Films and movies hold much than we can guess, they reveal a lot of vices and rots that are happening in society. Others give a history of a particular society, its beliefs, culture and their standard of living in the society. Films are used to disclose the social responsibilities in a given season and customs, moral values, societal worries and other cultural practices.