POPULAR CULTURE IN INTERWAR YEARS + 45-67 Flashcards
stats about 1924 wembley exhibition
- cost 11 million to construct (LINK TO 1929 COLONIAL DEVELOP - ONLY WANT TO SPEND 1 MILL)
- 27 million people attend - over 50% of pop
- entrance was 4x that of the 1851 exhibitions in wembley
- 600,000 people want military and empire based tattoes
failed exhibition in 1933
nottingham
- attempted to construct a somalian town - failed
other imperial exhibitions in IW years
- 1927 Belfast Empire Week exhibition
- Glasgow 1938 Empire Exhibition – attracted over 12 million individuals
*14 years later + people are still receptive to empire
describe monarchy attitudes to empire
- paternalistic and interconnected view of empire
- surface level appreciation and gratitude, internal ungrateful attitudes, referring to empire as “rotten” and dismissive of culture, calling native people’s “the nearest thing to monkeys”
- felt that the monarchy should still be on a pedestal
- they realised the empire rested on the monarchy, so they were forced to adopt this stance
- diminishing attitude toward empire
evidence of monarchy attitudes to empire
- 1932 - king provides his first annual xmas day address
- 1930 - starting the empire games - initially in canada
- 1917 - creation of the OBE - idea of a meritocracy and establishing loyalty toward empire
- 1919 - tour of dominions by Prince of Wales to thank members of such dominions for their contributions (displays surface level engagement w empire + natives)
- 1931, the King has tea with Gandhi (willingness to connect w nationalists - build bonds of empire)
- prince of wales 1951 biography, describing natives as performing “stunts” with “weird noises”
- 1924 = king opening speech at wembley
what was the empire marketing board
- introduced in may 1926
- it was used to encourage people to invest into empire and promote consumption of demand of internal-empire products
- ottawa mirrors this - idea of self sufficiency and trade within emp
- spent a million pounds on publicity
- became more popular post WSC but was dissolved in 1933 due to ottowa
examples of empire marketing board working and not working
working:
- calendar of fruit and veg of empire - 180,000 copies sold (ie cloves from zanzibar)
- 1933 - 10 million copies of marketing board leaflets are produced
- xmas pudding recipe of goods from emp sold 15,000 copies, then 20,000 copies
not working:
- cost 35,000 pounds from 1929-1933
examples of media platforms during IW years
- 1923 = establishment of the BBC (colonial crisis, set up an empire department, would set up the Aus Broadcasting commission)
- talks by john coatman - “why we should buy empire”
- 1932 = empire service programme (promotes whites travelling to empire)
examples of literature attitudes to empire
- 1934 - Waugh = called A Handful of Dust
- overarching idea of British superiority, British being ‘too superior’ for the South African jungle, yet British troops lead native individuals - the British actively distance themselves from the idea of noble savages, and assert their superiority - 1924 - Forster publishes A Passage to India
- condemns the personal implications of imperialism - the book doesn’t show any objection to countries ruling one another
literature attitudes to empire
- overarching allusion to these ideas of british superiority and power over natives and indigenous peoples
- support for the idea of governance and civilising mission
- ‘duty’ to civilise
- however, there was more of an amplification of the hypocrisy of empire, and how it created relations which could not be repaired
education attitudes to empire
- vast enthusiasm and support for empire - ie ribbon wearing for empire day
- wide support among the young generation, a level of caution among older generations, but still widely supported
- people like Meath often supported the latter half of the day being used to educate individuals about their heritage and empire (pride and triumphant)
- empire day was often associated with paying respects for individuals in the war - ideas of patriotism and respect
- dislike among teachers of the glorification of empire - distracted from the quality of teaching etc
examples of education being patriotic to empire
- 1917 = SOAS is created for imperial subjects
- 1000 kids from Kirkdale primary schools launch remembrance initiatives for empire
- the british empire union in 1932 creates 30,000 bronze medals to give to children of empire - pride
- 1919 = Vere Harmsworth Chair at Cambridge, which were based around imperial history (esp of the British Empire)
what was empire day
- established on 24th may 1916 and was stopped in 1962
- empire day became an emblem which symbolised social cohesion and remembrance
- it was to remember and glorify empire and the aims it had
examples of education not being patriotic to empire
- in 1926, the teacher’s labour league march to margate to ask macdonald for the reduction in teaching empire in schools
artistic attitudes to empire + example
- 1924 = elizabeth butler’s paintings are rejected from the royal academy
- presence of media decreased need for artists to portray empire
- paintings about empire gained less traction - less enthusiasm
*this could be argued either way
1. could be used to show rejection and less demand for glorification of empire
2. her paintings mocked empire - wanted to limit the display of anti-empire messages
lower classes liking and not liking empire
liking:
- 1924 = wembley = accessible
- empire day - local schools promoting (ie kirkdale daisy schools)
not liking:
- 1920 = founding of the british communist party - condemned privilege in empire
- 1926 = strikes against working conditions and wages - empire was detracting from a domestic focus
middle classes liking and not liking empire
liking:
- consumption of empire marketing board products
- 1927 = tories win election - maj of people who vote are tory = don’t support anti-imperial stance
not liking:
- 1926 = teachers labour league in margate
- lady butler paintings
upper classes liking empire
liking:
- membership of the royal colonial institute peaked by 1930
- education initiatives (ie cambridge, SOAS)
examples of films about empire in IW years
1935 = sanders of the river
- presents empire as a place of adventure, exploration
1939 = stanley and livingstone film - idea that the ‘heroes’ of empire are still being thought about 60 years later
describe political attitudes to empire
- relatively split - labour and liberals believe that britain needs to be focused on at home (idea of WSC, WWI etc)
- conservatives still prioritise empire and international presence bc of its kudos, image and their ‘duty’ for civilising - felt they were obliged to stay
- conservatives used empire day to galvanise support + political gain
- in 1927, there are violent protests between labour and conservatives over empire to be co-operatives
- disparity over the maintenance of empire and the emphasis placed on it
examples of political attitudes to empire
supportive:
- 1925 = milner imperial crudo - baton of empire must be continued
not supportive:
- 1926 - teachers labour league marching to margate - macdonald supports them to reduce emp
- labour and liberals form coalition in 1924 to focus on ‘britain first’ - not empire
unemployment in britain post wall street crash
1931 = 2.6 million unemployed
imperial societies
- mainly promoted by upper class members
- by 1932 over 33 imperial societies exist
PMs during IW years 1919-1947
1908-1916 = asquith
lloyd george = 1916-1922
1922-1923 = bonar law
1924 = macdonald (lab, lib coalition)
1929-1931 = macdonald = labour minority
1931-1935 = macdonald (national gov w tory majority but a labour PM)
- labour needed backing of tories
1935-1937 = baldwin = tory
1937-1940 = neville chamberlain tory gov
1940-1945 = winston churchill
