"I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables—slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war . . . our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off." –Fight Club (1999) From the end of the 20’s into the early 40’s depression stirred up America. Everything was displaced, as wealth was lost, slowly regained, then redistributed. In 1933, twenty-five percent of America was unemployed. Every business, household, and organization was failing, except for Hollywood. When every component of ones life is crumbling all the people could do was dream. Movies delivered them to dreamland. They could sit in a cool theatre settled in comfortable seats, eating salty and sweet snacks as Shirley Temple and Fred Astaire took them to the American Dream located conveniently on the other side of Dorothy’s rainbow. It was the first Golden Age.
Since movies were in high demand, Hollywood went through extra lengths to come up with original films. Action movies became popular. In 1933 the first King Kong came out. It combined imagination and green screen to create a larger then life Gorilla and some dinosaurs to be Kong’s enemy. . On secret islands there were no tax collectors of stock markets. These unrealistic characters mixed with brand new technology created a real dreamlike escape. The next year, Tarzan and his Mate came out. The movie had a primal feel to it. Tarzan was the epitome of masculinity. Jane was the hardly dressed, damsel in distress. Tarzan and his Mate is the first of a five part series on Tarzan. As the Hayes Production Code got strict, the movies were banned because of Jane’s wardrobe, or lack there of. At one point Holt asks Jane, “Don’t you miss it, Jane? Things like this?... But Jane, you can’t spend the rest of your life camping out. Don’t you ever want to come back?” “No, Harry” Jane replies. This same question could easily be proposed to someone who faced the choice of the American Depression or the American Dream. Other such movies came out around the same time. Dracula (1932) was an instant hit. Unlike Tarzan and King Kong, it was more horror then action. It scared the viewers. Escape was easy because forgetting the real world is quite simple if one is startled. The director, Tod Browning, went on to create Freaks in 1932. He chose to go into the grotesque and bizarre. In 1931 Frankenstein came to the big screen. Universal Studios and MGM were responsible for most of these films. Except for Tarzan, all of these movies came out in the beginning of the 1930’s with surreal, monster protagonists. These characters excited their audiences
Gangster and action moves helped America overcome the Great Depression. In these films people fell in love despite the size of their bank account. Villains led glamorous lives stealing from the rich. Curtiz’s Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) was one such film. The two main characters, James Cagney and Pat O’Brien are street-smart kids. It takes place in the slums of New York City. Each kid is on the opposite side of the law, a theme common in 1930’s. O’Brien, a priest, tries to convince the criminal Cagney to go back to following the law. This storyline is one not so different from On the Waterfront. The movies attempts to make Cagney realize the importance of loyalty to one’s society and one’s country. Nationalism was a key step in reforming after the Great Depression. A lot of movies were reminiscent of the First World War along with the Great Depression. I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) is a reflection of post WWI America form the very height of the Depression. It told the story of how the Great Depression affected a WWI veteran. “Six sticks of dynamite that blasted his way to freedom...and awoke America's conscience!" The war taught him how to keep a clear mind. So by the time the depression is in full swing the Vet still can’t swing his way out of the hole. Unlike many films of the time, it took pace in the south.
Not all Great Depression movies were so downhearted. Actors like Charlie Chaplin, Mae West, Judy Garland, Shirley Temple, and The Marx Brothers tried to lighten the mood. After all, in the direst of situations, sometimes the most logical thing to do is laugh. Duck Soup and City Lights were profitably entertaining films that also held a lot of social commentary. City Lights is about a poor man who gets picked on a lot. He falls in love with a blind flower seller. This story teaches the viewers that love is more important then money. While the men added a comedic approach, the women lent their sexuality. Mae West is famous for being a vulgar, overdressed, funny, and sexual actress. She used Burlesque to entertain her audiences. Some of the movies she starred in were She Done Him Wrong (1993), I’m No Angel (1933), and Every day’s a Holiday (1937). Shirley Temple was America’s sweetheart. She sang and danced using her paten leather shoes and her high angelic voice. Some of her most important films were Curly Top (1935), Dimples (1936), and Heidi (1937). Last but not least, one cannot approach Hollywood and Escapism without touching upon The Wizard Of Oz (1939). Judy Garland stars as Dorothy. It was the first movie ever to be in color. That in itself taught the viewer how exciting it was to dream. The characters in Oz mirror the Dorothy’s family, teaching the viewer how to turn real life into a dream. The twister represents the stock market crashing and the wizard represents Roosevelt and the New Deal.
“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine morning— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” –Fitzgerald The American Dream was all about individualism, classlessness, and progress. Using horror, adventure, gangster, violence, comedy, and musicals Hollywood restored the country’s hope. They could once again find Gatsby’s green light.
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