Hollywood and the Great Depression (Paperback)

Iwan Morgan

ISBN 10: 1474431925 / ISBN 13: 9781474431927

Published by Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2018

About this Item

Paperback. 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. This volume examines how the political, economic and social changes of the Great Depression impacted on Hollywood and how it responded to them. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781474431927

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Hollywood and the Great Depression (Paperback)
• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1474431925
• ISBN 13: 9781474431927
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

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.

About the Authors

Professor Iwan Morgan is Professor of US Studies and Commonwealth Fund Professor of American History, University College London.

Philip John Davies is Professor in American Studies at De Montfort University.