Reel 1207

The documentary opens with footage (circa 1919) of Henry Ford and Thomas A. Edison, quintessential entrepreneurs who popularized the view that "there's no substitute for hard work" and "no such thing as no chance." Yet for millions of their fellow citizens who found themselves on bread lines in the 1930s, those maxims were suddenly meaningless. In their place, according to this film, arose a whole new set of ideals, conveyed—and reinforced—by newsreels and other media. FDR's "fireside chats" on radio and flag-waving musicals like "Stand Up and Cheer" (1934) fostered a sense of national unity. Walker Evans' photographs and "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940) idealized the poor. And the Futurama exhibit at the 1939 World's Fair envisioned a utopian America.

The documentary opens with footage (circa 1919) of Henry Ford and Thomas A. Edison...

The documentary opens with footage (circa 1919) of Henry Ford and Thomas A. Edison, quintessential entrepreneurs who popularized the view that "there's no substitute for hard work" and "no such thing as no chance." Yet for millions of their fellow citizens who found themselves on bread lines in the 1930s, those maxims were suddenly meaningless. In their place, according to this film, arose a whole new set of ideals, conveyed—and reinforced—by newsreels and other media. FDR's "fireside chats" on radio and flag-waving musicals like "Stand Up and Cheer" (1934) fostered a sense of national unity. Walker Evans' photographs and "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940) idealized the poor. And the Futurama exhibit at the 1939 World's Fair envisioned a utopian America.