Hollywood and the Great Depression
American Film, Politics and Society in the 1930s
Iwan Morgan editor Philip John Davies editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Edinburgh University Press
Published:22nd Feb '18
Should be back in stock very soon
In the popular imagination, 1930s Hollywood was a dream factory producing escapist movies to distract the American people from the greatest economic crisis in their nation’s history. But while many films of the period conform to this stereotype, there were a significant number that promoted a message, either explicitly or implicitly, in support of the political, social and economic change broadly associated with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programme. At the same time, Hollywood was in the forefront of challenging traditional gender roles, both in terms of movie representations of women and the role of women within the studio system. With case studies of actors like Shirley Temple, Cary Grant and Fred Astaire, as well as a selection of films that reflect politics and society in the Depression decade, this fascinating book examines how the challenges of the Great Depression impacted on Hollywood and how it responded to them.
The articles in this collection serve to bring new information to light, challenge some ideas about Depression-era film and deepen readers’ understanding of other aspects of the film industry in the 1930s.' -- Richard Bodek, College of Charleston * Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television *
The articles in this collection serve to bring new information to light, challenge some ideas about Depression-era film and deepen readers’ understanding of other aspects of the film industry in the 1930s. -- Richard Bodek, College of Charleston * Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television *
This stimulating collection energetically revisits and frequently revises the history of Hollywood’s political engagements during the height of its cultural influence in the 1930s, offering new insights into the responses of writers, stars, moguls and distributors to the Depression and New Deal, and their expression in some of the decade’s most memorable movies.' -- Professor Richard Maltby, Flinders University
ISBN: 9781474431927
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 458g
296 pages