6. People/Culture

When your life is going badly and you want to forget your troubles, what do you do? Go to the mall? Play a video game? Surf the Internet? During the Great Depression, people looked for ways to escape their problems, even if only for a few hours. Let's find out how.

Introductory Notes for Module 6, People and Culture

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During the Great Depression, people looked for ways to forget about their problems, even if only for an hour or two. This is called escapism. This feeling was visible in popular culture. The expanded availability and improvement of entertainment technology made escapism easier. The New Deal helped to keep cultural work alive by paying some unemployed artists, musicians, and actors to produce paintings, songs, and shows.

You could go to a movie for an average price of 27 cents. Movie theaters were one of the few places that had air-conditioning. You may even have heard of some of the famous movies from that time such as The Wizard of Oz and the Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, which is still shown on TV. Radio became widely available. If your family did not have a radio, chances are you knew someone who did. People spent long hours listening to radio comedians such as Jack Benny, radio heroes like The Lone Ranger, and mystery shows such as The Shadow.

Not all of the cultural arts during the Great Depression were escapist. In his book, The Grapes of Wrath, author John Steinbeck focused on the hardships of migrant workers. Artists and photographers showed people suffering in food lines and Hoovervilles. A popular song, Brother Can You Spare a Dime, sadly expressed the loss of good times. Criminals like John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde were heroes to some people because they robbed bankers who had taken away family’s homes.

As you can see, a look back at the people and culture, can tell you a lot about a historical period.