The Great Depression, 1929-1940

This course examines the United States in a decade of crisis through the lens of documentary and feature films of the period. It probes the causes and consequences of the Great Depression, paying particular attention to the ways in which filmmakers mirrored and influenced the social, political, and economic tensions of the time. Topics to be covered include the stock market crash, the dust bowl, the New Deal, race relations, organized labor, and the global rise of fascism. The Hollywood movie industry will serve as a case study of American business in transition. Participants will analyze Hollywood's products? Gangster films, musicals, screwball comedies, Westerns, newsreels, and other popular genres to illuminate the interactions of culture and power in modern America.