The Great Escape

This project takes a close look at the film industry’s influence on American culture in the 1930’s. My research for this project included viewing and researching nine Great-Depression-era films. The project consists of a combination of historical background and analysis of the social and philosophical elements introduced. The films were analyzed to determine connections between the film industry and the political and economic state of the United States at this time. There were three different genres examined, including screwball comedies, musicals, and melodramas. These genres utilize different narrative strategies and film techniques to explore topics like class, gender, and corruption, and promote family ideals and sentiments of hope. These films provided American audiences with an escape from the realities they faced at the time. The films analyzed were, It Happened One Night (1934), My Man Godfrey (1936), His Girl Friday (1940), Duck Soup (1933), Golddiggers of 1933 (1933), Babes in Arms (1939), Strange Interlude (1932), Make Way for Tomorrow (1937), and Grapes of Wrath (1940). This paper outlines the strategies that films utilized when constructing a narrative that resonated with American audiences, how they adapted to the economic recession caused by the Great Depression, and a reflection on their commentary of social habits specifically as they relate to escapism. This project includes a significant number of descriptions and reflections on the films, including my own thoughts and feelings about the films’ messages.