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Great Depression: 1930's Culture

Golden Age of Hollywood

'The Wizard of Oz', 1939. - Stars: Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Judy Garland, Ray Bolger.

WIZARD OF OZ, THE (1939) - LAHR, BERT; HALEY, JACK; GARLAND, JUDY; BOLGER, RAY. Photography. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 15 Jan 2012.

 

Jesse Owens - 1936 Berlin Games

  • Owens won four gold medals and broke world records.
  • Adolf Hitler refused to recognize Owen's achievements.
  • Hitler believed in the superiority of the German Aryan race.

Chicago's World's Fair 1933

Literature of the Depression

During the Great Depression, writers' works varied from the poignant to the lighthearted.

Writers:
John Steinbeck - Grapes of Wrath
Richard Wright - Native Son
William Faulkner - Light in August; Absalom, Absalom!
F. Scott Fitzgerald - Tender Is the Night
Ernest Hemingway - Green Hills of Africa
Alex Huxley - Brave New World
Lillian Hellman - the plays The Children's Hour; The Little Foxes; Watch on the Rhine

Comic Strips:
Flash Gordon (science fiction saga)
Dick Tracy (detective story)
Superman (superhero)