Facing the Music: What 1930s pop culture can teach us about our own hard times.

Popular culture & literature; Popular culture; Great Depression, 1929-1939; Global Financial Crisis, 2008-2009; Tender Is the Night (Book : Fitzgerald); Miss Lonelyhearts (Book : West); Fitzgerald, F. Scott (Francis Scott), 1896-1940; West, Nathanael, 1903-1940; As I Lay Dying (Book : Faulkner); Fields, W. C. (William Claude), 1880-1946; Faulkner, William, 1897-1962

This article compares U.S. popular culture of the 1930s to that of 2008-2009. The Great Depression of 1929-1932 is compared to the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. The importance of the arts as a morale-building social function is reviewed. Other aspects of popular culture discussed include choreography, music, and motion pictures. The works of comedians W. C. Fields, the Marx Brothers, and Mae West are mentioned. Novels of importance during the 1930s are also discussed, including F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Tender is the Night," Nathanael West's "Miss Lonelyhearts," and William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying."