The Great Depression's Impact on Hollywood

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Hollywood has influenced American history since it began. It boosted and shaped the morale of a nation for almost a century. But Hollywood has not only been the influencing American society, it has been influenced by American society. In the 1920s, American society was booming; people were getting rich, spending and borrowing money, and they thought life was looking good. Then in October of 1929 the stock market crashed. Many people lost all they owned. People had invested all their money into the banks before the Crash. After the Crash, the banks had nothing. People were destitute. They had no money to pay for their houses, electrical bills, and food. It became the Great Depression. Likewise, Hollywood was impacted by the Great Depression. Hollywood lost money and felt the same loss as people all over the United States. But Hollywood used this depression for their gain. They altered their course of action to please the American people during this time. Hollywood then produced the Golden Age of Hollywood to boost American morale. This period required many innovations for Hollywood officials. This time period lead to the transformation of Hollywood. To understand the Golden Era of Hollywood, historians must accredit the Great Depression and Hollywood's tactics of satisfying society's whims.

In the 1920s, American society was booming. The economy was doing well, people were becoming consumers, and society was flourishing. The American people were content. Then, in 1929 the Stock Market crashed. The crash in October of 1929 marked a significant shift in American society. The crash, however, was not unprovoked.

Many factors lead to the crash of the Stock Market on October 29, 1929. A significant loss in th...

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...ood would not have achieved its greatness had it not been pushed through the Great Depression in its first years.

Works Cited

"Hollywood and the Great Depression." Digital Histories. 30 March 2010. 30 March 2010. .

"Hollywood in the Depression." 15 December 2000. 30 March 2010. .

"Shirley Temple." 2010. Biography.com. 15 March 2010, 11:10. .

Beaver, Frank. "The Hollywood Studio System adapts to Sound." The 1930s. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2000. 280-319.

Smiley, Frank. "The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics Great Depression." Library of Economics and Liberty. 30 March 2010. .

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