Class Struggle

Depiction in Post-
Depression Cinema
Amber Hoggan, Caleb Woolston, Emily Jessop
WWII Era (1940-
1950s)
The era shortly before WWII saw the end of the Great Depression with FDR implementing
several laws and government programs to reverse its effects
With the dawn of WWII, men left their peacetime jobs and entered the war effort. The
need for industrial workers expanded so much that women were encouraged to join the
industry. By the early 1940s nonemployment was almost nonexistent and many unions
agreed to hold off strikes
The government and many film companies produced strong propaganda films portraying
triumph in the American Way and war effort
While these years seemed to signal an end to worries about the viability of capitalism,
some signs of doubt in the system still appeared. Many workers performed independent
strikes called Wildcat strikes and pulp novels (equivalent to dime novels of the 1900s)
painted a grubby, dark picture on American life and accused big businesses as war
profiteering
Films such as The Maltese Falcon (1941), Double Indemnity (1944), The Postman Always
Rings Twice (1946), and Out of the Past (1947), expressed doubts as to what America
had fought for. This dark approach to cinema became known as film noir (French for dark
film)
The main characters in film noir are often found leading lives of quiet desperation and
feeling trapped in their economic situation. Film noir led to a postwar trend of pessimistic
films about American culture known as social problem films
Post War and Red Scare era
(1950-1960s)
With the Cold War against the Soviet Union on the rise, paranoia against
Communism became commonplace in American society. This became known
as the Red Scare.
Movie attendance plummeted in the 1950s and on largely due to television
being a rival to theater films. Film workers lost the security of employment and
no guarantee of maximum hours and major strikes erupted
During the Cold War Era, Hollywood filmmakers made films that played it safe
in fear of being blacklisted. They also were unlikely to be funded when making
a movie that challenged anything against the US government or that raised
any suspicion of being a potential Communist. For example the Hollywood
Ten*.
This fear of being branded a Communist substantially affected the subject
matter in film. Detectives portrayed in film noir began hunting Soviets and
labor unions began being portrayed as run by mobs.
More common however, films ignored politics and celebrated materialism and
the glory of capitalist excess, often through lighthearted film styles like
comedies or musicals. Singin in the Rain (1952) for example.
Counterculture Era (1960-
1970s)
American life after the Red Scare became increasingly conformist, with both white and
blue collar men feeling trapped in their work routines, while wives and mothers began
feeling bored with the stay at home lifestyle
People of color were often placed in lower paying jobs, though in the sixties they began
fighting for rights to the American Dream.le as in Picnic (1955), Rebel Without a Cause
(1955), and The Apartment (1960)
This conformity saw the rise of films critiquing middle class repression, such as
Magnificent Obsession (1954), All that Heaven Allows (1955), and Written in the Wind
(1956).
Other melodramas offered subtle critiques against corporate lifesty
Several filmmakers, known as the Beats, began vocally disdaining the materialism of
the 1950s. They portrayed characters often escaping the conformity of middle-class
suburban lifestyle. These filmmakers critique was joined by other voices of descent
such as women, minorities, and homosexuals. With the Vietnam War, many young
people (the largest demographic watching film) rejected American capitalism and
found new ways of living. This movement became known as the counter culture
Hollywood did not always respond to the counter culture and still produced films
promoting capitalism such as The Happiest Millionaire (1967) and Doctor Doolittle
(1967).
The counterculture movement soon abandoned big business Hollywood films in favor of
low budget independent films. These independent films were often pessimistic towards
the American culture. Such as Easy Rider (1977) and The Graduate (1967).
Counterculture youth also turned to Newsreel for information. Documentaries became
increasingly popular
Rebel Without a Cause - 1955
- An example of film showing subtle
critiques of class and corporate
lifestyle.
- A time when America was
becoming very conformist.
- Younger generations were rebelling
against confining structures of the
1950s.
 Both Films from 1967
Doctor Doolittle The Graduate
Status Quo Counterculture
New Hollywood Era
(1970-1980s)
By the mid 1970s most of the dreams of the counterculture had essentially
faded away. There began to be a growing acceptance of racial diversity and the
US left Vietnam. The growing culture of the 1980s celebrated personal success
via acquired wealth. Films in America became gung-ho celebrations of American
capitalism.
This gung-ho method of film became known as the nostalgic Hollywood
blockbuster. The huge successes of these films pulled Hollywood out of its
financial slump. Examples include huge hits like The Godfather (1972), Jaws
(1975), Star Wars (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and Predator (1987).
The huge success of these films encouraged Hollywood to make more like them.
This movement eventually saw the resurrection of the Horatio Alger myth in
films such as Rocky (1976) and Saturday Night Fever (1977). These films
attempted to promote that the Horatio Alger myth can and does work.
Films also began portraying minorities as living the American Dream. Some,
especially the Blaxploitation era films like Superfly (1972), pointed out the
economic discrimination faced by minorities.
Films also began to show economic hardships suffered by poor rural whites. This
demographic was called the New South. These films often showed white working
class men battling the establishment, represented by bosses, politicians, and
the police in order to maintain their lively hood and masculinity. These films
include Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Norma Rae (1979), and Take this Job and
Shove It (1981)
Modern Hollywood
(1980s-Pres.)
With the cultural shift of the 1980s, America once again began chasing the
American Dream. The implication of anyone finding problems with the country
were deemed as unpatriotic (an idea still held today by many)
President Reagan's economic strategy to cope with the recession basically
revolved around the idea that spending lots of money would stimulate the
economy. This idea can be seen in the film Footloose (1984)
This time period resparked the Horatio Alger Myth and it became popular
again. (You can make yourself successful by putting in the work).
This approach encouraged individuals to indulge in extreme consumption; a
number of catchphrases from the era include greed is good and the one
who dies with the most toys wins
Films portrayed working class teenagers lifting themselves out of their
situation and finding acceptance, usually because of spending money on
toys, as seen in the Ferrari joy-ride shown in Ferris Buller's Day Off (1986)
Soon films began portraying class struggle in other eras or countries, like in
Titanic (1997, the highest grossing film of all time thus far), a film which uses
acquiring a diamond necklace as part of its plot. Further insisting
consumerism.
Other films like this seem to further the Horatio Alger myth and consumerism.
These include Pursuit of Happyness (2007), The National Treasure films(2004,
2007), and the Pirates of the Caribbean films (2003, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2017)
Ferris Buellers Day Off - 1986

Ferris was a middle class teenager,

but had parents who loved and cared
for him.
Cameron was a wealthy teenager, but
had a rocky relationship with his
parents.
The Ferrari owned by Camerons dad
was still shown as an object of desire,
despite their difficult relationship. This
promotes the idea of consumerism.
Pursuit of Happyness - 2006

Horatio Alger myth works for

all Americans despite their
class or ethnicity