Doherty: Chapter 2-4 Flashcards
Who was the preeminence dance choreographer in the 30s? What was he known for?
Busby Berkeley – musicals celebrating a communal harmony. Deemphasizing the individual
What does the mob in Gabriel over the White House reflect in real life? - historical event.
The bonus army: May 1932 some 15,000 hungry and ragged veterans of the great war to send it on Washington to demand from Congress on early payment on a promise to cash bonus for their wartime Service
What was the bulk of Hollywood output between 1930 and 1934?
Escapist fair – tried to pretend the great depression did not exist
Which major studio was known for their propaganda pictures?/Preachment yards?
Warner Bros. – Americanism stories
In the stories of preachment yards, what tendency is there in the storytelling?… Context (2: past and current)
Those films that speak plainly about current events do so usually by dredging up the 20s as deep backstory as if to say look at the mess we’re in because of what our past was.
Express the anguish of the dispossessed and fearful… No idea how to alleviate the symptoms of what seems a terminal case. Disparaging. They do not so much administer a cure as watched helplessly while the patient howels in pain.
Which two studios came to symbolize the opposite ends of depression era experience? Who ran these companies?
MGM (Louis B Mayer) - hi gloss topcoat of Hollywood studios
Warner Bros. (Jack Warner) - scrappy upstart with bare-bones decor
What was MGM’s transcendental claim? Trademark: as opposed to Warner Bros
Bragged about having “more stars than there were in heaven”
What are some of the big themes/motives/symbolisms in precode Hollywood?
Hunger/food
Women bought for the price of the meal
Professional malfeasance
What was the dictator craze?
A series of films with strong to radical personalities who whatever their flaws as human beings and citizens at least knew how to take strong action: warren Williams in skyscraper souls or president Hammond in Gabriel over the White House
What ended the dictator craze?
The impact of FDR on American popular culture – on screen and off his good-humored manner and steady hand broke the fever and satisfy the rage for order… Plus his providence as a cinematic personality!
