The Great Depression: Difference between revisions
Pennies From Heaven
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (trope->useful notes) |
|||
Line 5:
''Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?"''|'''E.Y. Harburg''', "Brother Can You Spare a Dime?"}}
'''The Great Depression''' / [[The Dirty Thirties]]: Home to dust bowl farmers, reedy-voiced folk singers and rail-riding hobos. Life pretty much sucks unless you're lucky enough to be a rich socialite, in which case you can expect to be involved in a wacky screwball comedy which may or may not involve either [[The Three Stooges|three short, bumbling men named Larry, Moe and Curly]], or [[Marx Brothers|two fast-talkers named Groucho and Chico]] and their [[The Voiceless|mute accomplice]] Harpo (as the Depression drove prices plummeting through the floor, people with money suddenly found their cash increasing in value). Or if you're female, you could ditch the dust bowl and head off
Otherwise, you would be scraping to survive, as Steinbeck wrote in ''[[The Grapes of Wrath]]'' and ''[[Of Mice and Men]]''. For some, it's a time to run wild to take what you want against the fatcats who exploited the people as one of the ''[[Public Enemies]]'' like John Dillinger or the bank robbing couple ''[[Bonnie and Clyde]]''. Others found more constructive paths such as folksinger Woody Guthrie who rode the rails ''Bound For Glory'' singing as the voice of the underprivileged. And there were more than a few examples of ''[[Pennies From Heaven]]''-style escapism as listeners didn't want to be reminded of the hard times they faced.
Against this, President [[Herbert Hoover]] found himself completely over his head, refusing to accept reality of how bad the times were, while blindly mouthing absurd statements like "Prosperity is just around the corner." He was replaced by [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] who did his best to pull America out of the economic ruin with his New Deal.
Line 15:
If you're in Europe, chances are you are living in the Nazi or fascist version of [[Ruritania]], trying to forget your troubles in the ''[[Cabaret]]'' while the [[Black Shirt]] goons become more bolder and brutal outside as your country slides into a fascist hell. As for the rest of the world, the communists seem to be the greater threat, until [[Those Wacky Nazis]] start getting greedy enough to betray their true ambitions (and for those already under communism, like say, some parts of the USSR, well, they're about to learn the wonders of cannibalism, or worse, end up in [[The Gulag]] for thinking unhappy thoughts about Stalin). At that the Western powers slowly begin to realize that appeasing them is making them worse and they have to stand up to them.
Period lasts from The Wall Street Crash of 1929 up until the beginning of [[World War Two]]. Note that in [[Real Life]] there were several sub-periods; the Hoover years, the New Deal years up to 1937, a second recession and a subsequent 1939-41 recovery that was just picking up steam when the war
It should also be noted that the mass suicides of financial professionals (jumping from office buildings or hanging) of 1929 are a long-standing [[Urban Legend]]—only about twenty people killed themselves immediately after the Crash and about one hundred in all. 23,000 people did kill themselves in the first year though.
Line 71:
* ''[[Road to Perdition]]''
* The story of ''[[Superman and Batman Generations]]'' begins in 1939, featuring the first meeting between Superman and Batman.
== Comic Strips ==
Line 103 ⟶ 102:
* [[Little Lulu]]. First appeared in February, 1935.
* [[The Phantom (comic strip)|The Phantom]]. First appeared in February, 1936.
== Fan Works ==
* [[Portal: The 4th Millennium Franchise|Caroline-]][[Astrid Lindgren|on-the]][http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7072282/1/Caroline_on_the_Roof -Roof:] If it weren't for the Great Depression, [[Portal (series)|Aperture Science]] would be nowhere to be found.
== Film ==
Line 144 ⟶ 141:
* ''[[The Untouchables]]'': Part of which took place during The Great Depression.
* ''[[The Children's Hour|These Three]]''. While never stated though, it's possibly [[The Fifties]] movie takes place in the original time period too.
== Literature ==
Line 170 ⟶ 166:
* The ''[[Young Bond]]'' series (2005- 2008/2009) covers the adventures of [[James Bond (novel)|James Bond]] in this era. Events start in 1933.
* ''[[In Dubious Battle]]''
== Live-Action TV ==
Line 179 ⟶ 174:
* Any episode of ''[[Mad Men]]'' in which Don Draper's childhood is important (there are a lot of them) will involve a flashback to the Thirties.
* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' two-parter, "Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks," took place in Depression-era New York.
== Machinima ==
* The final episode of [[The Strangerhood]] indicates Tovar was taken from Wall Street just around this time. His [[Evil Twin]], ignorant of the coming depression, ends up going back with plans to make millions on asbestos.
== Multiple ==
* ''[[Two-Fisted Tales]]'' in general.
== Music ==
Line 193 ⟶ 185:
* [[Robert Johnson]]. All of his known recordings took place in 1936 and 1937.
* [[Frank Sinatra]]. First commercial record in 1939.
== Radio ==
* ''[[The Green Hornet]]''. First appeared in January, 1936.
* Orson Welles' infamous broadcast of ''[[War of the Worlds]]'' took place on October 30, 1938, although the public hysteria often cited as a result of the broadcast [[wikipedia:War of the Worlds (radio)#Public reaction|is probably overstated]].
== Video Games ==
Line 205 ⟶ 195:
* ''[[Rule of Rose]]'' is set in 1930, just in time of the Crash, possibly explaining why the events in the story didn't get any outside attention; the authorities were stretched too thin to worry about a few alleged disappearances.
* Telltale's ''[[Back to the Future: The Game|Back to The Future]]'' game mostly takes place in the year 1931, with a few segments in 1986.
== Western Animation ==
Line 264 ⟶ 253:
== Comic Strips ==
* [[Prince Valiant (Comic Strip)|Prince Valiant]]. First appeared in February, 1937. Set in [[The Middle Ages]].
== Literature ==
Line 292 ⟶ 280:
* [[A Martian Odyssey]]. First published in July, 1934. the story is set in the 21st century.
* [[The African Queen]]. The novel was published in 1935. But the story is set in [[World War I]].
== Radio ==
* [[The Lone Ranger]]. First appeared in January, 1933.
== Film ==
Line 306 ⟶ 292:
* [[All Quiet on the Western Front]], the adaptation of the novel of the same name, is still noted even today for its gritty, realistic portrayal of the horror that was [[World War I]].
* ''[[The Roaring Twenties (film)|The Roaring Twenties]]''
== Western Animation ==
| |||