Great Depression Themes in 42nd Street
Seen through a particular light and given specific occasions in the film, we can see how 42nd Street echoes the general attitudes of the Great Depression. Particular characters in the film exemplify the wealthy citizens of the time, the common laborer, and Julian Marsh (Warner Baxter) portrays a life-force, Franklin Roosevelt, bringing hope along with his New Deal. Throughout the film, there is a dichotomy exhibited through the members of the production and the financiers, namely Abner Dillon. He represents the side of competitive capitalism, while the actors stand for a community. The actors identify with each other because they are all in the same situation and each need the job to survive. Abner, on the other hand, has the money to throw around whimsically, for the difficulties facing the nation do not have the devastating effect on the wealthy that they have on other classes. Hard times have fallen on the nation and they realize that it will take a group effort to pull themselves out of the Depression. While the competition is cut-throat and individualized off of the set, as we see with Dorothy Brach’s arrangement with Abner Dillon, the sense of collectivity is emphasized on stage.
Leading the march against the depression and maintaining the collective voice, is Julian Marsh. He can be equated with Franklin Roosevelt his work ethic can be seen as a reflection of the New Deal. As Roosevelt gave hope, optimism, and unity to the nation; Marsh gives the same to the cast members of 42nd Street.
Marsh fights for the actors because he is in the same situation as them, not exclusive of it like Abner. He is in poor health, and yet, he takes responsibility on; seemingly, he cannot afford to pass up the job. He realizes that it is going to take a lot of hard work to make the show a success (end the depression) so he works the actors night, day, and in-between. Marsh may seem like a slave driver, but this is because he knows that it is going to take an immense amount of work for the show to go on. A key scene in the film is when Abner is going to pull out of the production, but Julian pleads for him not to. Obviously, we see that Julian is looking out for the interests of the hundreds of workers who need the show, while Abner is merely concerned with his own selfish desires.
The Great Depression tested America’s political organizations like no other event in United States’ history except the Civil War. The most famous explanations of the period are friendly to Roosevelt and the New Deal and very critical of the Republican presidents of the 1920’s, bankers, and businessmen, whom they blame for the collapse. However, Amity Shlaes in her book, The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression, contests the received wisdom that the Great Depression occurred because capitalism failed, and that it ended because of Roosevelt’s New Deal. Shlaes, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a syndicated financial columnist, argues that government action between 1929 and 1940 unnecessarily deepened and extended the Great Depression.
Hoover is also vilified repeatedly for his inaction with the Depression. His personal policy and his party’s policy were designed to let the country find its own way, for if it became dependent on government aide, it would be a weaker nation that if it found it’s own way. This was a flawed assumption on their behalf though, because even in the 1920’s, there was a movement from many of the nation’s younger voters advocating change.
During the 1920’s, America was a prosperous nation going through the “Big Boom” and loving every second of it. However, this fortune didn’t last long, because with the 1930’s came a period of serious economic recession, a period called the Great Depression. By 1933, a quarter of the nation’s workers (about 40 million) were without jobs. The weekly income rate dropped from $24.76 per week in 1929 to $16.65 per week in 1933 (McElvaine, 8). After President Hoover failed to rectify the recession situation, Franklin D. Roosevelt began his term with the hopeful New Deal. In two installments, Roosevelt hoped to relieve short term suffering with the first, and redistribution of money amongst the poor with the second. Throughout these years of the depression, many Americans spoke their minds through pen and paper. Many criticized Hoover’s policies of the early Depression and praised the Roosevelts’ efforts. Each opinion about the causes and solutions of the Great Depression are based upon economic, racial and social standing in America.
The classic film 42nd Street (1933), directed by Lloyd Baken, follows the coming-of age story of breakout Star Peggy Sawyer in Julian Marsh 's Pretty Lady musical production at the height of the Great Depression. Marsh needs to make enough money for retirement and is on the edge of another nervous breakdown. According to Chapter 3 entitled "Musicals," classical Hollywood Musicals are a form of escapist entertainment, coping with war, depression, and re-building. Most importantly, they were constructed to be pleasurable for film viewers and thus it was vital that the narrative resolved. In the lecture, Gillian states that the classical narrative counters verisimilitude, the appearance of realism. The ideological subtext of the Hollywood Musical
Today as I was walking on the streets of Harlem to get my daily newspaper, I noticed everyone in panic. People yelling at the bank workers, “Where’s my money?” “What do you mean, it’s gone?”. There was hardly any room to walk past the bank because of all the fuss about money. I couldn't get to the newspaper stand, but I found the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” on the ground, it stated it was economic downfall with the stock markets. They call it “Black Tuesday” where all the share prices on the New York Stock Exchange completely collapsed. Today, October 29, 1929, marks the beginning of the Great Depression. I knew it would happen, people buying anything and everything with the money they do not have. America is going to face the worst years of their
After watching the movie “Cinderella Man” I was quite impressed by the way the director, Ron Howard, portrayed the life of the famous boxer James J. Braddock. The movie was set during the Great Depression of the late 1920’s and early 1930’s and dealt with the struggles associated with the time. What first caught my attention was how director Ron Howard insured that the movie set and costumes were so authentic to the time frame of the great depression. In the movie they had James J. Braddock go through everyday struggles that would be very authentic to the timing. For example James J. Braddock had to go through the struggle of losing his home and children by not having enough money to pay for the basic necessities to life, such as food or
It also serves as a good medium for the growth of many microorganisms and bacteria. Bacterial contamination of raw milk can originate from different sources, including low quality raw milk, improper refrigeration before handling and an inadequate packaging system and the type of packaging the have been used to pack the milk (Richter et al., 1992; Torkar and Teger, 2008). Raw milk deteriorates in few days and pasteurized milk with high temperature short time system (HTST) has a shelf life of about seven days from it first open (Meunier-Goddik and Sandra,
Sunset Boulevard (Wilder 1950) explores the intermingling of public and private realms, puncturing the illusion of the former and unveiling the grim and often disturbing reality of the latter. By delving into the personal delusions of its characters and showing the devastation caused by disrupting those fantasies, the film provides not only a commentary on the industry of which it is a product but also a shared anxiety about the corrupting influence of external perception. Narrated by a dead man, centering on a recluse tortured by her own former stardom, and concerning a once-promising director who refuses to believe his greatest star could ever be forgotten, the work dissects a multitude of illusory folds to reveal an ultimately undesirable truth. Its fundamental conflict lies in the compartmentalization that allows the downtrodden to hope and carry on. Sunset Boulevard carefully considers the intricate honeycombs of dishonesty and deception that constitute a human life, then dissolves the barriers and watches the emotions, lies, and self-contradictions slurry together and react in often volatile and destructive ways.
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is a novel by Maya Angelou and it talks about Mayas childhood and her growing up through racism, rape, and homosexuality. People may learn by reading, but reading I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is not the right way. The novel has a strong use of racism, rape, and some homosexuality that is put on Maya Angelou.
On Tuesday October 29th 1929 the stock market crashed 15% to trigger to what we now know as the great depression. The depression hit canada hard, no one buying raw materials and all american factories located in Canada were shut down leaving the people of Canada unemployed, poor and hungry. The depression had forced people out of homes and into unemployment camps. Why did things come to this ? Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King Believed unemployment is seasonal and refused to help while so many struggled. Then elected was Bennett a rich Lawyer who knew nothing about running a country resulting in many failed plans. To end all of Canada’s responses the government raised tariffs cutting us off from the world. Though the Canadian government may have tried their responses to the great depression were inadequate and failed to bring the canadian economy back.
For some, simply having infinite wealth and popularity is enough for them to be happy. For others, they need something that money can’t buy. Two books that express these qualities are: The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Both of these books describe the life of a wealthy man but each of them have different ideas of the American dream. Examples from these books will show how the American dream differs from person to person.
The Great Depression was a time when unemployment rates increased, people lost their life saving, and banks went on a crisis. The primary reason why this happened is because of consumer culture. Borrowing money was easier than ever in the 1920s. Buyers could easily pack a small percent of the stock price and borrow the rest from a broker. Consumers were buying goods at a rate higher than their income was expanding (6). However, as the market was rising, stockers were happy to lend money to anyone. The methods used to purchase items caused the stock market to collapse. Borrowing money became risky when starting a business because you could only hope for profit. However, purchasing on layway and going into debt was becoming acceptable (6). This encouraged the continuation of these methods which lead to something greater. Consumer culture occurring in the 1920s is the primary reason why the Great Depression occurred. Consumers were using purchasing methods such as buying on the margin and layaway which caused the stock market to crash in the 30s.
In a study by Ballard and Morrow, results show that breast milk contains the perfect balance of nutrition. It is high in vitamin rich nutrients and is easily digested and nutrients are absorbed more easily as opposed to formula. Breast milk contains the proportionate amount of protein, carbohydrates, fat and calcium. The nutritional content of store bought formula depends on proper preparation by the care taker and toleration to the non-human milk. Some babies have difficulty tolerating some nutrients found in formula. Formula manufacturers add synthetic ingredients to infant formulas in an attempt to imitate the composition of human milk. There isn’t any man made formula that can replicate the nutrients in human breast milk. Breast milk contains active infection-fighting
Fashion trends, fashion houses, fashion designers, and this career field as a whole were affected by the Great Depression. According to Overview 3.0: Fashion During the Depression, the fall of New York's stock exchange in the late 20's caused the Great Depression which made the couture houses decrease in size.In France, another major change included ten thousand employees in this career field losing their jobs. A trend during this time was fashions that showed off the back originating from actresses(SNHU, 2017). According to 100 Ideas That Changed Fashion, in the 30's, this event had females emulating fashions featured in films, as a means to escape this hard time ( King, 2014). Since this situation poorly affected the money in this industry,
Once newborns and calves are weaned, the growth rate is not as aggressive, digestive systems and immune systems become complete. To simplify, it means mothers milk is not needed nor appropriate. There is no reason to re-send children through growth, hormone, and immune messages that people and animals need when they are first born. Growing kids need energy, protein, healthy fats, micronutrients, but they do not need the other factors that milk contributes to. To conclude dairy, It Starts With Food says “Once a toddler is weaned and eating real food, there is no need to supplement his or her healthy diet with cow’s milk. (Not to mention that dairy consumption has been linked to a variety of medical conditions in children including acne, asthma, juvenile myopia, insulin resistance, and type 1 diabetes.)(Hartwig,