Exploring Injustices in 18th Century America Through the Lens of Popular Culture

Abstract

Course name Instructor’s name Assignment due date 18th Century History Attention to Injustice Part a) The Great Depression The Great Depression had significant social and economic implications on the lives of Americans living in different parts of the country. While there was significant focus on the impact the period had on the city dwellers, there is little attention to the impact it had on the people living in rural America. The drought in the 1930s forced many people to leave their homes in search of jobs and majority became homeless amidst the Great Depression. Popular culture played a major role in describing the inequalities between the people in the urban areas and rural dwellers escaping the drought period. Born in Oklahoma in 1912, Woody Guthrie was a songwriter and musician who used his work to describe the injustices that previous farmers faced as they experienced homelessness in cities (ID Power point #17). One of his songs, “This world is not my home” demonstrates the despair the artist experienced in the new life in the city. Alongside other farming communities living in the cities, Guthrie worked low-income jobs to survive and his music shows their experience in the new life. While it has religious interpretations demonstrating the life of a Christian, Guthrie uses the art to show the experiences of the poor during the Great Depression. Moreover, popular culture played a major role in diverting the attention of the audience from the challenges of the Great Depression to alternative issues facing the society. In particular, the film industry emphasized on advocating for moral lessons as opposed to the reality of the suffering of Americans during the period. The Hays Code (1934-1967) played a major role in enforcing this goal as a means to take people’s attention from the economic and social challenges of the Great Depression. The code spelled the need for moral and uplifting messages such as the punishment of evil and reward for good actions. Films began focusing on moral behavior and justice such as respect for authority, religion, and the government (ID Power point #18). The code required that films could not use profanity and bad language as a means of attracting their audience. The need to divert people’s attention from the real economic issues of the Great Depression demonstrate the depth of the issues the Americans faced during the period. There were significant levels of inequalities that had major implications on the people’s lives and the film industry responded by focusing on issues of morality and behavior. Part b) The Baby Boom Era from 1945 to 1970 After the end of the Second World War, the United States experienced major changes as a result of economic and social forces affecting people’s lives. An example of the transformations is the housing industry in Levittown where there was a significant rise in the construction of people’s homes. The period marked a significant rise in the birth rates and the demand for housing facilities. Companies in the housing sector responded by developing affordable homes for the mullions of families in the country that significant changed the country’s landscape. The popular culture played a major role in highlighting the changes occurring in the country and the effect they had on the Americans. Television was significant in broadcasting the rise in birth rates and the impact it had on the lives of the people (ID Power point #20). Majority of the people focused on their new families as young couples bought houses to raise their children while the critics viewed the homes as voluntary prison. There was major criticism on the uniformity of the construction approaches since the owners did not participate in determining how their homes were built. Television showed the criticism against the industry as well as the families that were just happy to own their own homes. Construction changed to accommodate the growing demand for housing and popular culture showed how the...