Americans Smile in the face of Darkness: Entertainment of 1914 - 1945

Its only natural to look back at this time and wonder how any american could possibly keep a smile going with all that occurred during these four decades. Between racial injustices, the unpopular 18th amendment and the crime it created, the first world war which rocked the world, the stock market crash and it's great depression, then another world war. Thankfully though Americans found ways of living with these hanging over their heads, they adapted, found new forms of personal entertainment, and showed the world that americans can survive through these horrors and distressful times.

The 20s all together would come to be know, even still today, as the roaring twenties, as a new style and mindset for women emerged and people began to look at visual appeal and thier own conditions of living more than anything. A new form of music sprung from the African American culture called Jazz and brought many inspiring musicians into their time like Louis Armstrong and his Hot 5.
With prohibition in 1919 came the illegalization of alcohol, which of course came to a skyrocketed use of alcohol to both spite this unpopular lar and because many couldn't live without it, so this brought on speakeasies, which would be "underground" bars and clubs that served alcohol and entertained their customers with new or hit music and shows.

Radio had already made its move upon american lives in 1910, but it wasn't until 1922 that its mass use and production skyrocketed and lead to every american household having one. it provided not only news and information for consumers, but had stories, adventures, music, and even talk shows. You could listen to the local baseball game if you missed it or live to far to go, which alone was a fantastic reason for a radio for many homes. The main reason for its production as not sales of the radio, but for the ad-campaigns they can push into every home. The radio shows where what americans mostly wanted to listen to though, as every day a the same times, families would get together in front of the radio and listen to stories acted out by voice and sound effects alone. It was like having a story read out to you every day, with voices that you could actually place to the different characters. This device alone was a major distraction for americans to get away from their troubles, and it was the popularity of these shows that would one day lead to the development and popularity of television shows, which is obvious that even today, still affects our lives immensely.

Hollywood 1923

Cinema came to a whole new era as well in the 20s, as major film companies moved to hollywood for the cheap land and proceeded to push out over 700 films a year, though they began as silent films, in 1927 the first full length movie with speaking actors was released called "The Jazz Singer" which fit in well with the times and open the gateway and demand for more speaking films.
Broadway's plays was no different from cinema in it's popularity, pushing out entertaining plays written by talented playwrights all the time, and attracting the upper and middle class across states to see some of them. many plays were good enough to one day be remade into films.
These both still impact today's media as inventions for cinema eventually lead to the creation of home television in 1939 when Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first televised president. following this event small picture tubes began to sell out across america. though most of what appeared on the television was scenes captured by an early mobile motion picture camera and two 15 minute news shows a day broadcasted from new york.

(Click Here for the first Televised Broadcast)

These three inventions were the forefathers of modern day digital media, whether it be the music we listen to, the weekly shows that still bring families and friends together to watch, or the feature length movies on the big screen that we take our children, our parents, our friends, and our dates to see. these drove the masses, distracted them from their troubles, and affected how they think and dressed, just as today's media does.


Of course with these new media, came the growth of advertisement, though many could argue the need for companies to advertise their products created the mass production of these inventions, and what better way to sway people's decisions on products then using the heroes of their time. In most cases, these were the athletes. the sports stars who excited fans with their accomplishments, and who wouldn't want to use the same appliances and eat the same food as these famous athletes they looked up to so much! many athletes would be offered contracts, where they would help advertise products for pay, or sometimes, to join a team, they must sign one of these contracts, with the condition being that for playing and earning the pay they would advertise for the sponsors of that team. Baseball was of course the biggest one of these, and today is wildly know for it, though now you can see the same from auto racing and other sports.

Through the Depression. came inspiration, as artists expressed themselves and what the depression had done to them through their art. musicians played their hearts out at clubs and painters drew what they felt. families on the other hand found other ways to cope with the depression, even if they were not fortunate enough to own a radio, which had suddenly become a bit of a luxury for this time. home-made games were created, kid used what they had on hand to make their own sports as they always did, families and friends would get together for card games. High school sports like american football or baseball became a larger pastime for families, as towns rooted for their young aspiring athletes to beat the teams from other schools in other towns, and today that still stands, shaping the culture and social interactions of teens  and families.
Comics were cheap and sometimes came with the newspaper, which sparked a whole new genre for kids and later adults; superheroes! What would the action genre today be without superheroes. Superman was the first as kids read about a man from the stars who grew up with american values as a true boy-scout, was a professional reporter half the time and the other half a superhero who could withstand bullets, lift trains, and leap over buildings. his heroics and messages inspired the youth to be the best they could, inspired artists to create their own comic book superheroes, and ran the wheels of many young imaginations, rather than have them think of the hardships their families now dealt with.

The nation had hit dark times but with these inventions, ideas, and works of art, it wasn't hard for anyone to find the bright side of life, and life would be much different if these never came around. Our society is so driven by the search for a better quality of life and entertainment today its unbelievable and fascinating. if the ideals of americans is the heart of the nation, and the government structure the bones, entertainment and the happiness and quality of life it creates is the rest of the body and soul, and most importantly, the face, and is how our culture and ideals are influenced and set. the economy and government can go down the the deepest depths of the ocean and americans will still find ways to smile.