The social and political films of the 1930s - Essay Example

The social and political films of the 1930s In 1930s Will Hays, head of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association, mentioned "No medium has contributed more greatly than the film to the maintenance of the national morale during a period featured by revolution, riot and political turmoil in other countries."(Digital History, 2006). During the Great Depression, Hollywood provided countless movies on social and politics issues of the time. Even though, Hollywood industry considered itself to be Depression proof, which was far from true. In order to finance movies and the new audio system that arrived in 1930s, the theaters invested huge amount of money reaching about $410 million, which put the industry into huge debts. Even though equipment was new, but American public was poor at the time, as a result by 1933 movie attendance fell by 40 percent. To survive, the industry trimmed salaries and production costs and also shut down one third of the US theatres. The depression 1gave rise also to such movies that were more propaganda in nature. For example due to influx of refugees from Germany, a lot of Germans were even working in the movie industry led to the Anti-Nazi themes. It was under this feeling that by the end of decade, fronts were formed against Anti-Nazism, such as Holy Wood Anti Nazi League that explicitly made Anti-Nazi movies, a move far from away from entertainment. The rise of communism also made its presence in Hollywood. In 1930s Hollywood had its own Communist party under the leadership of screenwriter John Howard Lawson, who championed the cause of intellectual rights. Our Daily bread (1934) is a movie based on Communism in the backdrop of Depression, which portrays that communal spirit could enable a community to overcome the economic problems. The Great Depression 2increased poverty; while Prohibition shifted ideologies, which were clearly reflected in the movies. The Depression broke the promise of American Dream; many thought of a revolution to bring change in the White House. In 1932 the American Legion mentioned that the reason for chaos was American political system that needs to be changed. The response it was believed is revolution, as capitalism failed; Stalin seemed the rescuer for new setup. This provided dictatorship craze 3in Hollywood, a series of films that have strong tyrannical personalities, who with all their flaws had the power to steer the nation. The Power and Glory (1931) is made around such character, the railroad tycoon Tom Garner, who in the wake of railroad crisis brings workers to heel through his haughty personality. A times comes, when Garners happens to kill 400 workers to suppress strike, again shows that cruelty is acceptable, if it can bail out the people. Employee's Entrance (1933) shows the ruthless world of the business. The film depicts establishment of business since 1878 throughout the roaring twenties with a tone, that in business there is no room for sympathy, again is depiction of blind power from Hollywood. The rise of Fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany and political corruption also produced characters for the movies. Colombia pictures presented an alternative to American inefficient democracy of the time, Mussolini Speaks (1933), where the pre-credit inscription mentions " This picture is dedicated to a man of the people whose deeds for his people will ever be an inspiration to all mankind." The narrator of the movie praises in the preface and mentions that, "Whether we agree with a man's policy or not doesn't matter. We're interested in a man if he marks himself a leader", depicts American society loss of faith on its leadership. This yearning for strong leadership is based on the assumption that even if leadership is flawed and tyrannical, if it knows, how things are done is better than democracy. Similarly in Gabriel over the White House (1932) again the need for a strong leadership is repeated, when newly elected president Judson Hammond is shown to be a lackey of his party willing to follow the party line even if it's not in the best interest of the people. He assumes dictatorial powers to cut through red tape taking sweeping measures to reduce unemployment clearly depicts yearning for fascism. Another important theme was chaos and violence of the unemployed mob often portrayed in the many movies, such as Heroes for Sale (1933) and Gabriel over the White House (1933), shows an army of unemployed mob violence. Similar scenes can be seen in American Madness (1932), where Frank Capra's chilling portrait of the thin line between investor confidence and panic in Hoover's America " Ah they have gone crazy, you can't reason with a mob" the president mentions. The Wild Boys of Road (1933) the insurgents erupt in anger attacking railroads wildly, but dispersed by clubs and police fire shows mob violence versus police violence. These movies show the restlessness of the men and their hopes in an era of Great Depression; the image of mad mob was depiction of the growing fear and unrest underlying despair of American society. The mob violence in some way shows the expression of individual fear who at times feel powerless, but in mob they find power and realize, what they can achieve in a group through violence. This hysteria accelerates in every forthcoming movie showing the looming despair in the society. The American Madness (1932) shows the prevailing fear with the famous sentence, "we have nothing to fear but fear itself'. The story of Bonus Army stands for many instances of the Great Depression mob where 15000 hungry and ragged veteran of World War descended on Washington DC to demand for payment and early bonus for wartime service. Most of them were encamped outside White House clad in old uniforms, carrying American flags and imitation of parade drill right up to the door of Capitol Hill. The Great Depression in early 1930s crystallized the social issues and the themes that were crude realities into movies. They expose the suppressed economic dislocation, escalating poverty, government corruption, injustice and the rotten treatment all around. For example, Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932) depicts a freshman congressman on a mission to rid Washington of corruption. He quickly runs afoul of the powerful Senator Norton, while falling for the granddaughter of the kindly senator Wylie. He then teams up with some members of the Bonus Army to foil the villains' plans. The Hollywood tackled the Great Depression and its problems directly by portraying bluntly, what people were feeling in the society, even though often in an exaggerated and in crude manner. The bulk of Hollywood during 1930 and 1934 and the decade portrayed boiling rage of the populous rather than soft musical movies. . The rise of gangsters movies in Hollywood was another theme of 1930s, where bad guys became heroes4. Al Capone surfaced in the movies and made his reputation by traveling in bulletproof roadsters with Tommy guns spraying bullets into shops and people. The Public Enemy produced in 1931 is a gangster film, which revolves around two young Chicago street small thieves becoming gangsters during the Prohibition, reflects the spirit of the age when nation was engulfed in liquor smuggling and gangsters. Scareface (1933) was also one such movie that shocked the nations, which for many created the feeling of nausea due to excessive violence and mad massacre depicted in the movie. Scareface presents the blending of brutal violence and assassination attempts. Ironically the film producer Howard Hughes in a strange move sent prints of the movie to state censor boards in order to gain the cooperation of the state authorities with an excuse to put down the gangster menace. Analysts believe that such move was meant to gain cheap popularity even though the movie mentioned the gangsters and corrupt politicians but every thing portrayed was too much to be based on violence. Success at Any Price (1934) is another movies, where John Howard follows the narrative of money mongers from 1927 to 1934 in an advertising company, whose main client is "Glamour Cream". Joe the movie hero is gangster brother, a workaholic personality, but a great betrayer and manipulator in the capitalism system. The story portrays hatred against American democratic system showing that the heart of system is rotten to the core. The Star Witness (1931) is a melodrama. Even the family dinner is depicted being interrupted by gunshots, while the killer escapes in front of every one. In later scenes district attorney asks the family members to testify against the murder, but the spirit of good citizenships is gone when gangsters again brutalize the father and kidnap the child. The un- bowing personality is Grandpa, who yells "yellow-bellied back-stabbing foreigners". The movie is insistent on un-American origins of the gangster. In a trail scene he mentions " a danged, dirty foreigner can crowd an American just so far-just so far!" is depiction of the xenophobia and denying the presence of evil in American society. In 1931 there were also two more movies Tarzan, the Ape Man and Tod Browning's Freaks. These movies are convergence of space and time coupled with racial adventure, where man and beast are mixed together stunning the audience. The movies are racial adventures blended with horror jumping boundaries of images and narratives. Both Tarzan and Ape-man are creatures loose from deepest recesses of white imagination mixed with cannibal Africans making it a horrific experience for the viewers. This aesthetic experience is more than melodrama mixed with horror and nightmarish stuff raising the fears and doubts of subconscious. If technology was advancing, there were new looming fears which were much more darker than science fiction in the shape of crude horror movies showing the disintegration of American culture in 1930s. Even though world was supposed to move towards civilization, the superstitions of medieval Europe were aroused through movies, such as Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1934) which created more fear about the creatures from Hell in the wake of Great Depression haunting American public. The Dracula would rise from grave waking up wolves and dead or mad scientists would resurrect the fear and terror-creating image of horror showing de-evolution of man to beastly level generating fear rather than thrill in already worried public. The Island of Lost Souls (1933) portrays geneticist Dr Moreau who would create a tribe of loathsome animal-men, reducing man to bestial state reminding the wretched and deprived Americans in the wake of Great Depression that man has fallen from his status of manhood. These movies on one side were escape from reality, and on the other portrayed crude and animalistic side of man, which perhaps came true in the wake of WWII. However in the end all of these movies refer to the pathetic conditions of the time when chaos was ruling society and the mood of the movies was dark murky and despair like the social environment. Conclusion Some critics mention that 1930s movies were escape from reality, which allowed the troubled American to seek escape for few hours from the harsh realities of life; other argue the Depression movies even though were escape from reality, yet tried to reinforce older values and dampened the political radicalism. However the 1930s movies were more than escape movies, most of them were grounded in stress and depression reflecting social unrest and despair of American society. The movies which Hollywood produced during the Great Depression has a profound sense of despair which is reflected in all its characters, starting from cruel dictators to Tommy gun gangsters, 5to sleazy politicians, Frankenstein and mad scientists. Even the comedies released show similar spirit of disdain for society and the system that ridicules family6, tradition and middle class values. Thus we can say that Melling calling 1930s movies a "cinema of despair" is a perfect remark for the American cinema of the time. Reference Doherty, T. (1999). "Pre-code Hollywood: sex, immorality, and insurrection in American cinema, 1930-1934". Columbia University Press. Pg no:69,70,71,141, 142, 143, 146. Eitzen, D. (1991). "Evolution, functionalism, and the study of American cinema". Velvet Light Trap. P, MELLING, "The mind of the Mob: Hollywood and the Popular Culture of the 1930s" in CINEMA, POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN AMERICA, ed.s Brain Neve & Philip Davis. Pg no 19,20, 21, 40,41,43. Nowell-Smith, G. (1997). "The Oxford history of world cinema". : Oxford University Press.Pg.207,208,209 Beverley Merrill Kelly & Jean-Michel Valentine.(1998). "Reelpolitik: political ideologies in '30s and '40s films". Praeger. Pg.164,165,166, 299,295,296. Leitch, T. (2002). "Crime films". : Cambridge University Press. Pg.52,18,22,23,24,26,27. Film History of the 1930s. (1996). Retrieved Apr. 18, 2006, from http://www.filmsite.org/30sintro.html. Hollywood and the great depression. (n.d.). Retrieved Apr. 19, 2006, from http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/hollywood_great_depression.cfm Larry Langman. (1995). "A guide to American crime films of the thirties". Green Wood Press.Pg. xiv Andrew Bergman.(1992). 'Warner Brothers Presents Social Consciousness' in the money: depression America its films. Elephant paperbacks.Pg I,III, IX. James B. Weave. (1996). 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