Pop Culture In 1930s

Question 1

What music was popular in 1930s America?

Answer 1

• jazz reminded popular
• most people listened to music through the radio, but gramophone sales increased as vinyl records became more widely available
• radios broadcast poetry, plays, news reports, live sport and variety shows

Question 2

What were the arts like in 1930s America?

Answer 2

• the Works Progress Administration (WPA) had provided work for unemployed artists
• artists put on free shows, painted pictures and writers produced guidebooks on US states
• the WPA was criticised for wasted taxpayer’s money

Question 3

What kinds of literature were popular?

Answer 3

Authors such as Erskine Caldwell, John Steinbeck and James T Farrell wrote about the depression and the poverty, racism and social problems they witnessed.

Question 4

Why were comic books popular?

Answer 4

• first appeared in early 1930s, but popularity soared after the publication of Action Comics (1938), which included the debut of Superman
• comics were bright, cheap, easy to read and provided an escape into a world of adventure

Question 5

What kinds of films were popular?

Answer 5

• one of the most popular leisure activities of the 1930s was the cinema - over 100 million people a week went to the cinema
• musicals (such as 42nd Street), comedies starring Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy, Walt Disney cartoons, historical dramas (such as Gone with the Wind) and horror films (such as Frankenstein and Dracula) were incredibly popular