New Orleans is fortunate to the be the home of the National World War II Museum. If you haven’t visited the museum lately (or ever), you should definitely take an hour or two to check it out. It will help to bring to life the information you’ll be reading about over the next week.

When you return, write a brief paragraph about one or two exhibits and/or items that captured your attention. You can post them on our wiki page.

Visit the museum’s web site here: http://www.ddaymuseum.org/ .

Overview: One of the industries that continue to thrive during the Great Depression was the film industry. Americans didn’t stop going to the movies just because they were out of work. The first sound film, The Jazz Singer, appeared in 1927. By the late 1930s, Americans were watching such beloved classics as The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind (1939).

The movie industry reflected the effects of the Depression like other aspects of American culture. In fact, Historian Arthur Schlesinger wrote that depression era movies were “near the operative center of the nation’s consciousness.” (McElvaine)

Your task: Choose one of the following films and watch it (preferably with a friend or two!). Write a response commenting on the way that you think the film reflects the impact of the Depression on American values, society and/or culture. By all means, ask Mr. Waddington for help . He’s our resident film expert on campus and loves to talk as you well know! Post your response to our wiki page! If you want to post a clip from the movie you reviewed to the wiki, login as me: ccsark and mcgehee (password).

1930s Films

• · Dracula (1931)
• · Gabriel Over the White House (1933)
• · Bullets or Ballots (1936)
• · Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
• · The Wizard of oz (1939)
• · The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Works Cited

McElvaine, Robert S. The Depression and the New Deal: A History in Documents. Oxford University Press: New York, 1999.