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Culture in the 1930s

Culture in the 1930s. MAIN IDEA. Motion pictures, radio, art and literature blossomed during the New Deal. WHY IT MATTERS NOW The films, music, art, and literature of the 1930s still captivate today’s public. The Lure of Motion Pictures & Radio. MOVIES: Cost: $.25

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Culture in the 1930s

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  1. Culture in the 1930s

  2. MAIN IDEA • Motion pictures, radio, art and literature blossomed during the New Deal. WHY IT MATTERS NOW • The films, music, art, and literature of the 1930s still captivate today’s public

  3. The Lure of Motion Pictures & Radio • MOVIES: • Cost: $.25 • 65% of Americans went to movies once a week • 15,000 movie theater – more than the # of banks, twice the number of hotels • RADIO: • Sold: 13 million in 1930, 28 million in 1940 • ½ of all American households owned a radio

  4. Movies and Radio • NBC and CBS=Radio Networks • MGM, Warner Brothers, Twentieth Century Fox, and Paramount= Film Companies • 1935- 2 of 3 homes in Americans owned a radio. • 1940- 9 in 10 homes in America owned a radio

  5. Social Commentary • Films such as Public Enemy showed public distrust of the government and big business. • People turning to crime to survive the depression • G Men police officials capture bad men. • Mr. Smith Goes to Washington- Senator goes to Washington to fight corruption. • As the New Deal changed opinions about government, movies began to show that.

  6. 1930s Culture

  7. Escaping the troubles • Wizard of Oz • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs • Frankenstein • Top Hat • Gone With the Wind

  8. Gone With the Wind • Debuted in 1939 • Sold more tickets than any other film before or since. • If released today would gross over 1 billion dollars • One of the first color films.

  9. Clark Gable • Starred as Rhett Butler in “Gone with the Wind” • Biggest film star of the 1930s

  10. Movies of the ’30s

  11. REALITY OF THE DEPRESSION

  12. ROMANTIC COMEDY

  13. ANIMATIONS

  14. COMEDIES

  15. COMEDIES

  16. Gangster Films

  17. Social Commentary

  18. W.C. Fields • Comedic actor • Starred in “My Little Chickadee” • Famous for playing a lovable curmudgeon

  19. Errol Flynn • Starred as the title character in “The Adventures of Robin Hood” • Considered to be the most handsome man of his time.

  20. Fred Astaire • Considered by many to be the best male dancer who ever lived. • Starred in “The Gay Divorcee” “Top Hat” and “Shall We Dance”

  21. Basil Rathbone • Starred as Sherlock Holmes in over a dozen films. • Played the Sheriff of Nottingham in “The Adventures of Robin Hood”

  22. The Marx Bros. • Starred in “Animal Crackers”, “Horsefeathers”, “Duck Soup” and “A Night at the Opera” • Groucho, Chico, Harpo & Zeppo • “One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas, I’ll never know.”

  23. Ginger Rogers • Starred in “The Gay Divorcee” & “5th Avenue Girl” • Known for being Fred Astaire’s dancing partner

  24. Greta Garbo • Starred in “Mata Hari” and “Anna Karenina” • Born in Sweden 1905 • Considered to be one of the top 5 actresses of all time.

  25. Bette Davis • Starred in “Of Human Bondage” and “The Petrified Forest” • Sued to get out of a studio contract in 1934

  26. Jean Harlow • Dated Aviator Howard Hughes and boxing champ Max Baer • Starred in “Dinner at 8” and “Bombshell” • Died at 26 of kidney failure. • Played by Gwen Stefani in the 2005 film “The Aviator”

  27. Mae West • Starred in “She Done Him Wrong” and “I’m No Angel” • Powerful in Hollywood and wrote most of the scripts of the movies in which she starred. • Born in 1895. Older than most of the actresses of her time. • Was infamous for her sexual double entendres. “Come up and see me sometime.”

  28. Shirley Temple • Starred in over a dozen films in the 1930s • One of the first child stars. • “Heidi”, “The Little Colonel”, “The Littlest Rebel”.

  29. Dracula • Debuted in 1931. • Launched Bela Lugosi’s career. • Considered to be the scariest movie of all time when it was released.

  30. Frankenstein • Debuted in 1932 • Launched Boris Karloff’s career.

  31. King Kong • Debuted in 1933 • Won awards for special effects • Hitler’s favorite film. • Remakes made in 1976 and 2005.

  32. Wizard of Oz • Debuted in 1939 • First color film ever made. • One of the most popular films of all time. • “Lions & Tigers & Bears. Oh my!”

  33. RADIO • Drama and variety • War of the Worlds • Orson Welles later directed movie classics: “Citizen Kane” & “Touch of Evil”

  34. Comedians

  35. Woodie Gutherie • Music to capture the hardships of Depression America

  36. Golden age of radio • Bob Hope and Jack Benny- Comedians • Soap operas and variety shows were popular. • The Lone Ranger and The Shadow ran for years. • FDR used fireside chats

  37. Newscasts kept the public informed. • Orson Wells- War of the Worlds- October 30, 1938: Many panicked and thought Martians were invading the world. • Gracie Allen • George Burns

  38. Sounds of the Era • Swing dominated the charts • Duke Ellington • Benny Goodman • Artie Shaw • Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey • Bing Crosby • D.J.s introduced • Latin music rumba and samba. • Woody Guthrie

  39. Music provided a happy diversion and a serious outlet for social concerns. “Swing” musicplayed by“big bands”topped the charts. Latin music and dances like the rumba and the samba were popular. The folk singer Leadbelly described the harsh lives of African Americans. Woodie Guthrie wrote ballads about the Dust Bowl and the Okies.

  40. The Arts in Depression America • Art, music, literature • Sober and serious • But conveyed an uplifting message about strength of character and democratic values • Many artists supported the New Deal’s spirit of social and political change • Many of them also received financial support from the New Deal (Harry Hopkins and the WPA) • “They’ve got to eat just like other people.”

  41. Federal Art Project • Paid artists a living wage • Aimed to increase public appreciation of art & promote positive images of America • Artists: • created posters • taught art in schools • created murals • These murals were inspired by Diego Rivera • Focused on dignity of ordinary Americans at work

  42. Grant Wood’s American Gothic

  43. Thomas Hart Benton

  44. New Deal and the Arts • Federal Art Project- Job opportunities for artists. • Murals painted on public buildings, a lot had to do with the history of the nation. • Dorothea Lange- Photographer, created powerful images of the era.

  45. Literature of the Depression • John Steinbeck- The Grapes of Wrath • Richard Wright- Native Son- Racial prejudice • Lillian Herman- Wrote about strong women. • Clifford Odets- struggles of working class. • Dick Tracy and Superman

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