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HAPTER 23

Terms & Names

MAIN IDEA

One American's Story

Culture in the 1930s

•Gone With the

Wind

•Orson Welles

•Grant Wood

•Richard Wright

•The Grapes of

Wrath

Motion pictures, radio, art,

and literature blossomed

during the New Deal.

The ﬁlms, music, art, and

literature of the 1930s still

captivate today’s public.

WHY IT MATTERS NOW

Don Congdon, editor of the book The Thirties: A Time to

Remember, was a high school student when the New Deal began.

While many writers and artists in the 1930s produced works that

reﬂected the important issues of the day, it was the movies and

radio that most clearly captured the public imagination.

Congdon remembers the role movies played at the time.

A PERSONAL

VOICE DON CONGDON

“ Lots of us enjoyed our leisure at the movies. The

experience of going was like an insidious [tempting]

candy we could never get quite enough of; the visit

to the dark theater was an escape from the drab

realities of Depression living, and we were entranced

by the never-ending variety of stories. Hollywood, like

Scheherazade [the storyteller] in The Thousand and

One Nights, supplied more the next night, and the

next night after that.

”

—The Thirties: A Time to Remember

During the Great Depression, movies provided a

window on a different, more exciting world. Despite economic hardship, many

people gladly paid the 25 cents it cost to go to the movies. Along with radio,

motion pictures became an increasingly dominant feature of American life.

The Lure of Motion Pictures and Radio

Although the 1930s were a difﬁcult time for many Americans, it was a proﬁtable

and golden age for the motion-picture and radio industries. By late in the decade,

approximately 65 percent of the population was attending the movies once a

week. The nation boasted over 15,000 movie theaters, more than the number of

banks and double the number of hotels. Sales of radios also greatly increased dur-

ing the 1930s, from just over 13 million in 1930 to 28 million by 1940. Nearly 90

percent of American households owned a radio. Clearly, movies and radio had

taken the country by storm.

People line up to get

into a movie theater

during the Great

Depression.

▼

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MOVIES ARE A HIT

Wacky comedies, lav-

ish musicals, love stories, and gangster ﬁlms

all vied for the attention of the moviegoing

public during the New Deal years. Following

the end of silent ﬁlms and the rise of “talk-

ing” pictures, new stars such as Clark Gable,

Marlene Dietrich, and James Cagney rose

from Hollywood, the center of the ﬁlm

industry. These stars helped launch a new era

of glamour and sophistication in Hollywood.

Some films made during the 1930s

offered pure escape from the hard realities

of the Depression by presenting visions of

wealth, romance, and good times. Perhaps

the most famous ﬁlm of the era, and one of

the most popular of all time, was Gone With

the Wind (1939). Another ﬁlm, Flying Down

to Rio (1933), was a light romantic comedy

featuring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers,

who went on to make many movies together, becoming America’s favorite dance

partners. Other notable movies made during the 1930s include The Wizard of Oz

(1939) and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), which showcased the dazzling

animation of Walt Disney.

Comedies—such as Monkey Business (1931) and Duck Soup (1931), starring the

zany Marx Brothers—became especially popular. So did ﬁlms that combined

escapist appeal with more realistic plots and settings. Americans ﬂocked to see

gangster ﬁlms that presented images of the dark, gritty streets

and looming skyscrapers of urban America. These movies fea-

tured hard-bitten characters struggling to succeed in a harsh

environment where they faced difﬁculties that Depression-era

audiences could easily understand. Notable ﬁlms in this genre

include Little Caesar (1930) and The Public Enemy (1931).

Several ﬁlms, such as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) and

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), by director Frank Capra,

presented the social and political accomplishments of the

New Deal in a positive light. These ﬁlms portrayed honest,

kindhearted people winning out over those with greedy spe-

cial interests. In much the same way, the New Deal seemed to

represent the interests of average Americans.

RADIO ENTERTAINS

Even more than movies, radio embod-

ied the democratic spirit of the times. Families typically spent

several hours a day gathered together, listening to their

favorite programs. It was no accident that President Roosevelt

chose radio as the medium for his “ﬁreside chats.” It was the

most direct means of access to the American people.

Like movies, radio programs offered a range of enter-

tainment. In the evening, radio networks offered

excellent dramas and variety programs. Orson

Welles, an actor, director, producer, and writer,

created one of the most renowned radio broad-

casts of all time, “The War of the Worlds.”

Later he directed movie classics such as

Citizen Kane (1941) and Touch of Evil

(1958). After making their reputation in

Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh starred in Gone With the Wind, a

sweeping drama about life among Southern plantation owners

during the Civil War.

▼

HISTORICAL

WAR OF THE WORLDS

On October 30, 1938, radio lis-

teners were stunned by a special

announcement: Martians had

invaded Earth! Panic set in as

many Americans became con-

vinced that the world was coming

to an end. Of course, the story

wasn’t true: it was a radio drama

based on H. G. Wells’s novel The

War of the Worlds.

In his book, Wells describes

the canisters of gas ﬁred by the

Martians as releasing “an

enormous volume of

heavy, inky vapour. . . .

And the touch of that

vapour, the inhaling of its

pungent wisps, was death

to all that breathes.” The

broadcast, narrated by

Orson Welles (at left),

revealed the power of radio

at a time when Americans

received fast-breaking news

over the airwaves.

The New Deal 717

A. Answer

Movies provided

realistic portray-

als as well as

escapist come-

dies and

romances, all of

which helped

people to cope

with Depression

reality.

MAIN IDEA

Developing

Historical

Perspective

Why do you

think movies were

so popular during

the Depression?

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The comedy couple

George Burns and

Gracie Allen

delighted radio

audiences for years,

and their popularity

continued on

television.

radio, comedians Bob Hope, Jack Benny, and the duo Burns and Allen

moved on to work in television and movies. Soap operas—so named

because they were usually sponsored by soap companies—tended to

play late morning to early afternoon for homemakers, while children’s

programs, such The Lone Ranger, generally aired later in the afternoon,

when children were home from school.

One of the first worldwide radio broadcasts described for lis-

teners the horrific crash of the Hindenburg, a German zeppelin (rigid

airship), in New Jersey on May 6, 1937. Such immediate news cov-

erage became a staple in society.

The Arts in Depression America

In contrast to many radio and movie productions of the 1930s, much

of the art, music, and literature of the time was sober and serious.

Despite grim artistic tones, however, much of this artistic work conveyed a more

uplifting message about the strength of character and the democratic values of

the American people. A number of artists and writers embraced the spirit of social

and political change fostered by the New Deal. In fact, many received direct sup-

port through New Deal work programs from government ofﬁcials who believed

that art played an important role in national life. Also, as Harry Hopkins, the head

of the WPA, put it, “They’ve got to eat just like other people.”

ARTISTS DECORATE AMERICA

The Federal Art Project, a branch of the WPA,

paid artists a living wage to produce public art. It also aimed to increase public

appreciation of art and to promote positive images of American society. Project

artists created posters, taught art in the schools, and painted murals on the walls

of public buildings. These murals, inspired in part by the revolutionary work of

718 C

HAPTER 23

This detail is from

the mural Industries

of California,

painted in 1934

by Ralph Stackpole.

It decorates San

Francisco’s Coit

Tower, one of the

best preserved

sites of WPA mural

projects.

▼

MAIN IDEA

Analyzing

Causes

Why did the

New Deal fund art

projects?

B. Answer New

Deal ofﬁcials

believed that art

played an

important role in

the life of the

American peo-

ple. They also

believed that

artists deserved

work relief just

as other unem-

ployed

Americans did.

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Mexican muralists such as Diego Rivera, typically portrayed the dignity of ordi-

nary Americans at work. One artist, Robert Gwathmey, recalled these efforts.

A PERSONAL VOICE ROBERT GWATHMEY

“ The director of the Federal Arts Project was Edward Bruce. He was a friend of

the Roosevelts—from a polite family—who was a painter. He was a man of real

broad vision. He insisted there be no restrictions. You were a painter: Do your work.

You were a sculptor: Do your work. . . . That was a very free and happy period.

”

—quoted in Hard Times

During the New Deal era, outstanding works of art were produced by a number of

American painters, such as Edward Hopper, Thomas Hart Benton, and Iowa’s

Grant Wood, whose work includes the famous painting American Gothic.

The WPA’s Federal Theater Project hired actors to perform plays and artists to

provide stage sets and props for theater productions that played around the country.

It subsidized the work of important American playwrights, including Clifford Odets,

whose play Waiting for Lefty (1935) dramatized the labor struggles of the 1930s.

WOODY GUTHRIE SINGS OF AMERICA

Experiencing ﬁrsthand the tragedies of

the Depression, singer and songwriter Woody Guthrie used music to capture the

hardships of America. Along with thousands of people who were forced by the Dust

Bowl to seek a better life, Guthrie traveled the country in search of brighter

opportunities, and told of his troubles in his songs.

A PERSONAL VOICE WOODY GUTHRIE

“ Yes we ramble and we roam Yes, we wander and we work

And the highway, that's our home. In your crops and in your fruit,

It's a never-ending highway Like the whirlwinds on the desert,

For a dust bowl refugee That's the dust bowl refugees.

”

—“Dust Bowl Refugees”

Guthrie wrote many songs about the plight of Americans during the

Depression. His honest lyrics appealed to those who suffered similar hardships.

The New Deal 719

Woody Guthrie

History Through

AMERICAN GOTHIC (1930)

Grant Wood’s 1930 painting, American Gothic, became

one of the most famous portrayals of life in the

Midwest during the Great Depression. Painted in the

style known as Regionalism, Wood painted familiar

subjects in realistic ways. The house in the back-

ground was discovered by Wood in Eldon, Iowa, while

he was looking for subjects to paint. He returned

home with a sketch and a photograph, and used his

sister and his dentist as models for the farmer and

daughter in the painting’s foreground.

SKILLBUILDER

Interpreting Visual Sources

What is the message Wood portrays in this

painting? Explain your answer.

Do you think this painting is representative of the

Great Depression? Why or why not?

SEE SKILLBUILDER HANDBOOK, PAGE R23.

MAIN IDEA

Summarizing

In what ways

did the New Deal

deliver art to the

public?

C. Answer The

Federal Art

Project paid

artists to pro-

duce public art.

It also promoted

the teaching of

art in schools

and poster and

mural painting.

The Federal

Theater Project

assisted pro-

ducing theater

productions

Image not available

for use on CD-ROM.

Please refer to the

image in the textbook.

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720 C

HAPTER 23

MAIN IDEA

2. TAKING NOTES

Create a web like the one below, ﬁlling in

the names of those who contributed to each

aspect of American culture in the 1930s.

What contribution did each group make?

CRITICAL THINKING

3. HYPOTHESIZING

What type of movies do you

think might have been produced

if the government had suppor ted

moviemaking as part of the New

Deal? Use evidence from the

chapter to support your

response.

4. ANALYZING EFFECTS

How did the entertainment

industry affect the economy?

5. DRAWING CONCLUSIONS

In your opinion, what were the

main beneﬁts of government

support for art and literature

in the 1930s? Support your

response with details from the

text. Think About:

• the experiences of Americans

in the Great Depression

• the writers who got their

start through the FWP

• the subject matter of WPA

murals and other New Deal-

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