Theatre/Film

The 1930's is always associated with the Great Depression and despair in America. There was, however, a thriving industry during this dismal time and that was the American film industry. Hollywood, in particular, was one town that harbored the new form of art. As movies grew in popularity, the numbers of actors hoping to make it "big" flocked to Hollywood much like farmers flocking to Salinas in a John Steinbeck novel.

Movies were often more successful than theatre during this time. Among these new blockbusters was Gone with the Wind starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. The movie went on to sell more tickets than any other movie of all time and, when adjusted for inflation, it is the number one top-selling movie of all time. Another movie during this time that went on to gross the most money of the decade (Gone with the Wind sold more tickets in the 1940's despite coming out in the 1930's) was Walt Disney's Snow White. This charming family film was the pinnacle of animation at the time and was well-recieved by critics and movie-goers alike. Sticking with the family-friendly genre, The Wizard of Oz also came out in the 1930's (1939 to be exact) and was instantly a classic. The film starred the young Judy Garland as Dorothey who is swept into a strange land that is not at all like Kansas. She meets a mob of misfits and eventually makes it to the wizard who tells her that she can get home by tapping her shoes together. Despite traveling across a strange world inhabited by talking scarecrows and having to go through danger to find out that she could have used the shoes all along, Dorothey is happy and goes back to Kansas.

Of course, the movies of this time wouldn't be quite so grand if not for the actors who were responsible for portraying the characters. As mentioned above, Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, and Judy Garland were all actors during this time and 2 of those 3 listed went on to have great success in the 40's (and for Gable the 50's and 60's). Gable was also the most popular male star of the 1930's and second only in total popularity to Shirley Temple. Shirley Temple was immensely popular and starred in such movies as Curly Top and Heidi. Her movies often had Temple tap dancing and doing something patriotic. Among other popular actors of the time were The Marx Brothers, Mae West, and Fred Astire. The Marx Brothers, in particular, were depicted (by themselves) as goofy and always getting into situations that could have easilly been avoidable. This style of humor would become relevant in movies of a time in the future.

Music

During the 1930's music was all over. Jazz was a major part of the music and was just about everywhere such as the famous cotton clubs. Jazz was started just before the 30's and was started by primarily African American artists. Some have considered it the first truly American music, blues combined with African polyrythms created this new sensation. starting in New Orleans, it was played in bars where both African Americans and whites could go to enjoy the music. big bands were also very popular, as well as what some may call the most popular song of that time period, "It Don't Mean a Thing (if it ain't got that swing)". Some of the other popular artist's of the time included: Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and Tommy Dorsey.

During the 1930's America was still struggling with the great depression, and music took a hit because many people were not into the music industry, simply because it didn't pay very well. This left the music industry dry, so the government came up with a plan to get it back on track, it became known as the Federal Music Project. The government began hiring, training, and retraining musicians to get music back into daily life. The music projects goal was simply to bring back high standards of musicianship, as well as to teach the public how to appreciate musical culture.

Also during the 1930's many famous songs even today were released. In 1939 Kate Smith released a new song that would be heard for many generations all the way until today, "God Bless America". In 1931, the Star Spangled Banner was announced to be the United States National Anthem. With the Great Depression, many people did not have the money to get out, which was about the time when the radio reached its peak, by 1939 about 80% of every home in America had radio. After that, radios were primarily used for music but also served other purposes such as Franklin Roosevelt's famous "Fireside Chats".

Architecture

The 1930's was a great time for architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright was a great contributions to architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright introduced the Cathedral ceilings, built in furniture and lighting, casement windows, carports, massive fireplaces, and split-level ranches. Wright would also blend his architecture into the enviroment, didn't use posts or columns, and sometimes his architecture was too abstract to be useful. One Building that he built in the 1930's was Falling Water.

Before Falling Water was built another man, William Van Alen, built the Chrysler Building in New York, New York. It is owned by Abu Dhabi Investment Council. It is still used today for business. It was the world's largest building from 1930-1931.It was a popular example of an art deco.

The Golden Gate Bridge, made by Joesph Strauss, completed in 1937 it was a 35 million dollar project. It weighs 894,500 tons. It is 90 ft. wide and 1.7 miles long. Through October 30, 2002, the Golden Gate Bridge has been crossed 1.75 billion times.

The Empire State Building made by Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon. Began building in 1929 finished building it in 1931. It is 381 meters long and has 102 floors. It cost 40.9 million dollars to build. Was the tallest building in the world for 40 years from 1932-1972. Used alot of labor during the depression which gave alot of people jobs during this time. In 1945 a US B-25 Plane crashed into it.

Introduction

Introduction to the 1930's

The 1930's were the polar opposite of the roaring 20's. On October 29, 1929 the stock market crashed due to overspeculation and mass deflation. All of this brutal, life-destroying devistation came to be known as the Great Depression. The Great Depression lasted from 1929 to the end of World War II in 1945. This depression in not just the economy but the American life inspired many artists, dancers, musicians, etc.

One featured artist is Dorothea Lange who painted the Migrant Mother (the picture to the top right) as well as many other migrant farmers. During this time, Grant Wood also began painting. For those who don't know, Grant Wood is the guy who liked to paint rural scenes like farms as well as the painting American Gothic (seen to the left). What makes Grant Wood so famous is that he was an American painter and many painters that we have studied were not.


In addition to art art, music was also gaining immense popularity during this time. Number one singles from Duke Ellington and Harry Richman captured audiences through radio broadcasts. Puttin' on the Ritz by Harry Richman was one of the most popular songs of the time and has been remade many times since. Programs like the Federal Music Project (FMP) gave money to musicians so that they could pursue their talents even in a time of economic distress. As mentioned above, the radio was also extremely popular and was also relatively cheap to purchase. That being said, radios became a necessity in most American homes.

Another form of art that exploded during this time was the cinema. Since the movie The Jazz Singer added sound to movies in the late 20's, all movies now had sound and could offer cheap entertainment during a time of such misery. One of these box office hits was The Wizard of Oz which is still popular with audiences today. Snow White also came out and became the first huge animated film as well as the highest-grossing film of the decade. Plays featured on Broadway in New York were also popular although usually more popular with the affluent since the working classes tended to be lured to the cinemas.