Clifford Odets’ Golden Boy has survived the test of time, being just as empowering and impactful for its audiences today as it was over 75 years ago during the late 1930s. Being a founding member of the Group Theatre, Odets used his company to explore new territory within the theatrical industry. Odets crafted his plays to depict the unstable and unsettled lives of American citizens, bringing a fresh and new perspective to the stage. Within this paper, I will perform an in-depth analysis of the themes present within Odets’ Golden Boy, studying how it relates to the decade in which it was written, as well as how it can still impact audiences of today. Playwright Biography Clifford Odets was born on July 18, 1906, in Philadelphia. At the age of six, his family moved to the Bronx of New York City. Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford, and Lee Strasberg founded the Group Theatre during the summer of 1931. With the mission to depict the lives of everyday Americans, the three idealists recruited 28 actors, of which Clifford Odets was included amongst. He became a founding member of the group after …show more content…
During the summer of 1929, consumer spending continuously dropped while production output stayed consistent. In October 1929, the stock market crashed, sending Wall Street into chaos and destroying millions of investors and companies. 12.9 million shares were traded on what is called “Black Thursday”, and the next “Black Tuesday” over 16 million shares were traded . Companies began slowing down their production output and laying off their employees. Over the course of the decade, industrial output continued to decline as the unemployment rates steadily rose. Many American citizens were forced to buy their goods on credit, ending up in massive debt and the number of foreclosures and repossessions grew substantially
After nearly a decade of optimism and prosperity, the United States took a turn for the worse on October 29, 1929 the day the stock market crashed, better known as Black Tuesday and the official beginning of the Great Depression. The downfall of the economy during the presidency of Herbert Hoover led to much comparison when his successor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, took office. Although both presidents had their share of negative feedback, it is evident that Hoover’s inaction towards the crises and Roosevelt’s later eccentric methods to simulate the economy would place FDR in the positive limelight of fixing the nation in one of its worst times.
When “Black Tuesday” struck Wall Street on October 29th, 1929 investors traded 16 million shares on the on the New York Stock Exchange in just a day which caused billions of dollars to be lost and thousands of investors who got all their money wiped out. After the fallout of “Black Tuesday” America’s industrialized country fell down into the Great Depression which was one of the longest economic downfalls in history of the Western industrialized world. On “Black Tuesday” stock prices dropped completely. After “Black Tuesday” stock prices couldn’t get any worse or so they thought but however prices continued to drop U.S fell into the Great Depression, and by 1932 stocks were only worth about 20 percent of their value. Due to this economic downfall by 1933 almost half of America’s banks had failed. This was a major economic fallout which resulted in the Great Depression because it caused the economy to lose a lot of money and there was no way to dig themselves out of the hole of
Kislan, Richard. The Musical: A Look at the American Musical Theater. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1980. 84, 110, 116-121, 125-127, 128, 134, 163, 195, 201, 209. Print.
In Dialogue: Theatre of America, Harold Clurman said, “we make theatre out of life” (27), and it was precisely this view that motivated him to help create a uniquely American theatre. Clurman, considered one of the most influential directors of the modern American theatre, had a unique vision of what the American theatre could become. One of the founders of the quintessentially American troupe, the Group Theatre, Clurman was a contemporary of Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg, and even married to Stella Adler for twenty years. At a ceremony honoring Clurman, Elia Kazan stated that Clurman’s “greatest achievement [was] himself” (Harold Clurman: A Life of Theatre). An important figure in our theatrical past, Clurman’s theories on theatre and directing require close attention. In this paper, I will first provide a brief biography of Clurman, second, examine his theories of theatre and directing, and lastly, I will explore his criticisms of the then-contemporary theatre, and draw conclusions to the current state of the Broadway theatre.
The United States first major economic recession was the Panic of 1819, which led to unemployment and a political debate over how to approach the economic plunge. This happened due to the fact that banks throughout the country failed as a result of irresponsible banking practices. American banks gave out huge loans for settlers trying to expand their land and businesses. Many of the loans the banks gave out were not formally issued. Countless Western banks were very negligent with offering discount rates on loans to clients. This led to the foreclosures of farms and widespread personal and business failures. When Americans lost most of their money people were left jobless and homeless with many businesses going under. Debates
A time in America’s history was made dark by an economic downfall. The Great Depression made life almost unbearable for most people living in the 1930’s. The stock market crash started on Tuesday October 29, 1929, it is also known as “Black Tuesday”. The stock market crash is known as the worst economic collapse in the history of the modern industrial world (“The Great Depression”). The Great Depression was a deep economic crisis that began in 1929 and lasted until the nation’s entry
The cause of this was the Stock Market crash in 1929. Many investors in the stock market panicked and sold all their stocks. The results of this include frightened Americans withdrawing all their savings, causing and hoarding it in their homes, many banks to shut down and less money to circulate in the economy. Although the economy had taken a dramatic blow, there was hope. A new program was administered by the government to help people suffering from the depression.
Finally, investors went into “panic mode” on October 24th, 1929, and began trading and dumping their shares, totaling a record of 12.9 million. Of course, following “Black Thursday,” the more well-known “Black Tuesday” ensued as a result of this. Between Black Monday and Black Tuesday, the market lost 24% of its value, and investors bought and traded over 28.9 million stocks. These stocks, now worthless, were used as firewood for some investor’s homes. The Dow Jones Company is perhaps the greatest example for this crash. Dow Jones started at 191 points at the beginning of 1928, then more than doubling to 381 points by September 1929. The crash caused their record 381 points to plummet to less than 41 p...
However, in 1929 when stocks had soared to an all-time high, in September they plummeted. This day in history is known as Black Thursday and is remembered as the Wall Street Crash of 29. The crash hit people's interests hard. and Americans all over lost a lot of money. Banks had to spend all of the money they had on regaining the economy, and agricultural needs.
Before the great depression started, so many people said they couldn’t pay the banks back, which caused the banks to close down. During the late 1920’s American consumers were buying less, prices were rising and Americans were overbuying on credit which were to blame, problems with the economy emerged. Many American people were engaged in speculation- they were buying bonds, and also stocks hoping to make a quick profit. Americans were buying “on margin”- which is paying a small percentage of a stock’s price using it as a down payment and borrowing the rest of the money. A lot of Americans put all of their saved money into the stock market. On the month of September the stock market had some unusual movements increasing then decreasing, but on black Tuesday October 29, 1929, the stock market crashed. Lots of people lost all of their money. M...
Devastation and desperation started on Thursday, October 24, 1929. There was a strong sense of panic in the air at the Stock Exchange. The stocks were dropping, alarmingly fast; the worried American tried desperately to keep their savings. Markets began to steady again on Friday and Saturday only to sweep back down the following Monday. By Tuesday the twenty-ninth all doubt was erased, many Americans lost everything they had on Black Tuesday (Andrist and Stillman 190). President Herbert Hoover made a decision and refused to provide emergency relief. Hoover believed that it was “strictly a state and local responsibility.” Most local organizations were far too small to handle this big of a situation (Andrist and Stillman 193). America needed a change, a change that would come at the next election time.
The black Tuesday, October 29th, 1929 has been identified as the symbol of the Great Depression. Stock holders lost 14 billion dollars on a single day trade, and more than 30 billion lose in that week, which was 10 times more than the annual budget of the Federal government.[ [documentary] 1929 Wall Street Stock Market Crash
Most of all, those values that the American musical celebrated — and that is those values of American life, American philosophy, American belief — what we find is by the mid-1960s all of those beliefs, all of those philosophies, are being challenged, are being upset. As in all genres, the musical has had its share of failures. Some worthy dramas have been pressed into service and musicalized and sometimes butchered in the process, and audiences have had to watch a fine play diluted into a mediocre musical. But the successes have been many and spectacular, and they have left a long lasting effect on the American art and culture.
People who didn’t have the money bought on margin. The stock market was booming and the excitement about the market caused a lot of over- speculation. People ignored the small signs of the impending crash until Black Thursday, October 24, 1929. Four days later, the stock market fell again. At first, the effects of the crash were felt by people who had invested a great deal of money in stocks, which was about four million people out of a population of one hundred and twenty million people.
On Thursday, October 24th, 1929, people began to sell their stocks as fast as they could. Sell orders flooded the market exchanges. (1929…) This day became known as Black Thursday. (Black Thursday…) On a normal day, only 750-800 members of the New York Stock Exchange started the exchange. (1929…) There were 1100 members on the floor for the morning opening. (1929…) Furthermore, the exchange directed all employees to be on the floor since there were numerous margin calls and sell orders placed overnight. Extra telephone staff was also arranged at the member’s boxes around the floor. (1929…) The Dow Jones Average closed at 299 that day. (1929…)