As we all know, 1930's was the decade of the Great Depression. In this time of economic and political turmoil what were the main sources of entertainment for the people of America?
Many people turned to inexpensive amusements such as card games, backyard games, and board games. Monopoly, a board game that we probably grew up playing or played at least once, was introduced in 1935 with its real estate based on Atlantic City's street names. In 1936, the Parker Brothers created several editions of Monopoly ranging from $2 to $25 in 1930s money. By 1937, six million copies of Monopoly had been sold and continued to sell out during Christmas seasons. It was the game of the decade since it provided a sense of false satisfaction of being a millionaire and hope that the economy may prosper again. However, in my opinion, I would not have enjoyed this game if I was an economically independent person of the 30s. Whenever I played games where the main object is to earn money, sure, the fact that it was so easy to earn money in a game and the feeling of being rich was great. However, the daunting realization that games can't become reality would in turn have the opposite effect and made me lose interest in being caught up in a virtual world. That's just my opinion, but Monopoly did a great job in incorporating real world laws of economics which helped people realize that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Surprisingly, even baseball, the national pastime, changed due to the Great Depression. Major League baseball players' and rosters salaries were cut, numerous minor leagues were eliminated, and night games were introduced in order to attract more viewers and increase the attendance rate that had decreased by 40 percent in 1933.
Prohibition, which was passed by Congress as the Volstead Act in 1919, was legalized by Roosevelt in 1933 and along with bars came nightclubs where people gathered not only to drink but to dance, socialize, and show off the latest fashion.
The 1930s was also a golden era for Hollywood Films. Some famous films from the 1930s are Tarzan, the Ape Man (1932) Three Little Pigs (1933) by Disney, Popeye the Sailor (1933), Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937),Wizard of Oz (1939), Gone With the Wind (1939, and Superman.
Superman was first published as a comic by Action Comics #1 in June of 1938. As many of you may know, Superman is a citizen of Krypton sent to protect the people of Earth. Superman comics were an overnight success as it became a source of comfort for the children living during such times, especially, with storm clouds of war brewing. It also provided readers a perspective on issues such as corruption and social injustice that became obstacles in their daily lives. The creators wanted to convey that the world is full of injustices and obstacles that they should and could overcome.
Its is interesting how many films, games, and social pastimes from this decade reflected the social and economic issues of the Great Depression.
This is a really interesting post. You would think that since most people were barely making ends meets, they wouldn't be spending money on games and movies and yet they did.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really well written post, Amber! It's interesting to know what entertainment was like back then. With regards to what Perla said, I believe that the people spending their money on entertainment was justified as they needed something to take their minds off the depression and their state of being. Entertainment probably greatly helped people relieve their misery and lifted their spirits.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post, Amber! I think it's interesting that Superman was published during the Great Depression. It seems one of the reasons Superman became so popular during this time was because of the hero concept the comic book brought forth. You mentioned in your post that the book was a comfort to children, but I think it was also a comfort to adults. People were attracted to the idea of having a hero who could solve all their problems, because at this time people wanted someone to magically fix all their financial troubles. Furthermore, I find it interesting that baseball was changed so much by the Depression. It seems as if in the years of 1931 and 32, attendance dropped by a significant amount and "the majors would not reach the 10 million attendance mark for sixteen years." It seems the game was hit so hard because ticket prices were not lowered, and people no longer had so much money to spend on leisure activities.
ReplyDeleteSources:
http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1110&context=constructing
http://history.knoji.com/the-cultural-impact-of-the-great-depression/
This is a really great post! I had no idea what the entertainment world was like during the years of the Great Depression. I do agree with what other people have said so far about people were spending money one these type of entertainments in order to distract themselves for a little while about the major problems they were dealing with. I noticed that all the different films Disney put out were never fully realistic or set in present times. This, again, I think is related back to the idea of trying to distract people from current problems they were facing.
ReplyDeleteI believe this relates to Mazlo's hierarchy of needs when we try to explain why people handled entertainment in the great depression the way they did. If you look the bottom layer is vital things to make your body function, the second level is kind of a reason to live. You need to have basic needs before you spend money on entertainment like sporting events.
ReplyDeleteP.S.- I love monopoly
This is a very interesting post. Another thing I would add would be the cartoon shorts of the time like Betty Boop. Still, it's very interesting to see very famous fictional figures start off as distractions of the Great Depression Era.
ReplyDeleteAmber, really interesting post as this unit we are really focusing on the troubles and reforms of the American people. I just find it interesting to note that all of the things that you mentioned are still known today, but they are not really associated with the Great Depression. The genius of individuals such as Walt Disney and Margaret Mitchell still are culturally significant today as it was back then.
ReplyDeleteDuring this time, people really looked toward entertainment. And, as you mentioned, one of the major forms of entertainment at this time was sports, and in particular, baseball. Baseball gained popularity quickly, and became America's game. The game then skyrocketed with the arrival of the sensational Babe Ruth. Although baseball was great, there was also things such as football, boxing, and radio shows. So entertainment really took over during this time and made people happy.
ReplyDeleteIt's also important to note that a lot of forms of entertainment popularized during the Roaring Twenties continued through the Great Depression.
ReplyDeleteFor example, America's infatuation with jazz music continued throughout the 1930s, as artists like Duke Ellington continued to grow increasingly popular.
Radio was also a huge source of entertainment at the time, as people could tune into listen to comedies, fireside chats with President Hoover, or just, as Nick mentions, a baseball or a football game. Entertainment must have been increasingly important to the people of the Great Depression as a means of staying positive and just getting away from the problems of the time, no matter how fleetingly.
Love this post! It's great to see the perspective of entertainment for people back then compared to today's standards. The love for sports is still there and can now understand why they call Baseball America's favorite past time. It is really interesting to compare the early 1900's love for jazz compared to our love of hip hop and electronic music today.
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