美国大萧条时期的文艺

90年前，也就是1929年，是美国历史上一个重要的转折点。美国人民从纸醉金迷的美梦中惊醒，愕然发现股市居然不是只涨不跌的，房价居然不是只升不降的。接下来的事情众所周知，股市崩盘、商品滞销、失业弥漫，这些都是经济危机的标配。大萧条一直到1934年才算触底，但各项经济指标直到“二战”期间才恢复到1929年初的水平，痛苦持续了十年之久。与此同时，1929年也是另一个重要的时间节点，美国的文艺界在伤痛和重压下反思并转向，庸俗浮躁的创作风格被抛弃，新艺术形式层出不穷，富有生机和活力的作品不断涌现，一个生机勃勃的文艺发展期就在经济崩溃的废墟上生长起来。

各种艺术形式中，音乐最能直接反映人类情绪。对生活状况的不满和震惊往往会直接体现在音乐作品中，并随着事态的恶化进入不同阶段。1931年虽然艰难，但公众仍然保持着乐观，那首脍炙人口的《生活就是一碗樱桃》，写得还是相当含蓄，用的是春秋笔法：“你工作、省钱、担忧未来，但是还是留不住钱。生命中美好的事物只是暂时的借贷，你从未拥有又何必担心失去。”危机初期大家刚刚失业，手里多少还有些存款，呆在家里还不至于为吃喝发愁，每天大量的闲暇虽然无聊，但也能催生“生活就是一碗樱桃，不要太认真，现实太迷幻，笑着活下去”的哲理思考。有的人还能幽默一把，比如《眼下正当恋爱时》，浪漫的标题下面，歌词让我瞠目结舌，继而捧腹：“土豆便宜了，西红柿便宜了，是时候坠入爱河了，俩人一起更省钱”。然而到了1932年，积蓄差不多用完的时候，大家终于认识到，这次灾难不是原来预想的小打小闹，寻找工作的过程令人绝望，饿肚子并非历史传说。相应的，歌词也直白了许多：“他们曾说我在铸造一个梦，前方是和平与荣耀，现在铁路和桥梁都已建好，为什么我却排着长队等一个面包？”在这首《兄弟，你能节省一毛钱吗》中，作者已经没有心情再迂回转折，直接用辛辣的讽刺抒发了不满和愤怒，离当街叫骂就差一步。倒霉的总统胡佛黯然离去后，罗斯福新政闪亮登场。新政的重要内容是“以工代赈”，这个政策听起来温情美好，但是对于昔日的白领、中产们来说，换上工装没日没夜地种树、建水坝、修铁路，并不是一件轻松愉快的事，况且收入也仅能糊口而已。萨克拉门托河上，修建沙斯塔水坝的三兄弟创作了《不可爱的CCC》(CCC是罗斯福新政中针对年轻未婚无业男性的重要就业项目)，“我浪费生命每天工作，每月只能挣5块钱，他们待我如同猪狗，为什么我会加入CCC”。这首歌其实有不实之处，因为CCC项目给了他们住所、衣服和食物，而且每月还有工资30美元，只是其中的25美元必须寄回家中。不过对于满手水泡的愤青作者来说，在痛苦和绝望中的小小不严谨不应该被苛责。绝望的巅峰于1936年到来，匈牙利作曲家谢赖什三年前的作品《忧郁的星期天》被翻译成英文并广泛传唱，自此这首“匈牙利自杀歌”阴郁灰暗的旋律响彻全美。虽然不清楚究竟有多少人真的是听了这首歌曲后走上自杀的道路，但作者本人的确在1968年跳楼自杀，据说是因为创作出这首歌而感到忏悔。不过与激烈的歌词不同，这段时期的音乐旋律和节奏都比较舒缓，上面那几首歌曲，即使宣泄愤怒，也是浅吟低唱。

俗话说，福无双至，祸不单行。历史上的经济萧条，往往伴随着严重的天灾，这一次也不例外。由于多年来的乱砍滥伐和农业无序扩张，1930年开始，美国的水土严重流失，植被和土壤被严重破坏，随之而来的就是著名的“黑色风暴”。整个上世纪30年代，尘暴肆虐北美，无数人流离失所。痛苦和绝望随着尘暴飘散传播，也给艺术作品带来了新的题材。约翰·史坦贝克的纪实小说《人鼠之间》和《愤怒的葡萄》，一度因为描绘生活过于真实和悲惨，以及作者注入其中的强烈愤怒和攻击倾向，而被列为禁书，直到1962年获得“诺贝尔文学奖”才算最终平反。绘画方面，亚历山大·霍格于1936年创作了《赤裸的大地之母》：在废弃的农庄前，大地被风吹日晒褪去了防护，暴露出贫瘠赤裸的内在。人们用农业机械毁去了地上的植被，也给自己带来了厄运。灾难面前，艺术的主要受众，也就是普通民众在痛苦中挣扎，生活水准一落千丈，但是审美水平反而有了提高，不再像经济腾飞时期那样，每天攀比穿貂。苦难教会了人们停下来思考，并审视自己的内心世界，也教会了他们欣赏痛苦而深刻的作品。

大萧条塑造的不仅仅是艺术的受众，普通民众和艺术家总是互相成就。对艺术家——不论作家、画家、雕塑家还是音乐家而言，志得意满日进斗金从来不是灵感的源泉，饥寒交迫痛苦不堪才是。春风得意马蹄疾的时候，想的都是一日看尽长安花，满脑子都是功名利禄、感官享乐，哪有闲暇体会真实的残酷、审视内心的孤独。只有悲从中来心若死灰之时，才会厌弃华丽的辞藻和繁复的缀饰，转而揭开内心伤疤寻找痛楚的源头。当然，这一切必须是自然过程，绝不是提倡把艺术家们抓起来严刑拷打，或是让他们饿肚子。只要是头脑清醒的政府，一般都不会做这种选择，因为开罪艺术家是有可能被写入小说或戏剧传世的。

罗斯福显然不是愚蠢的总统，相反他非常了解舆论的力量，否则也不会有“围炉谈话”了。1935年，“以工代赈”如火如荼，数以百万计的民众通过务工养活了家庭，也找回了尊严，但文艺工作者走上了街头，游行的标语之一是“作家必须吃饭”。联邦政府意识到不能袖手旁观，6000多名职业或业余作家迅速加入了“联邦作家计划”，为政府收集民间传说，整理旅行指南，编纂地方历史等，同时领取较为丰厚稳定的报酬。5年间，共出版了378本读物，很多本会湮没无闻的传说、历史、民俗乃至吹牛故事由于这一项目得以保存，各地的旅行指南也变得生动翔实、图文并茂。与之类似的还有“联邦艺术计划”，一年700万美元的财政支出资助了一万多名演员，他们走遍乡村、厂矿、军营、监狱进行免费表演，打造了美国的“心连心艺术团”。近4000名饥寒交迫的画家和雕塑家也没有被放弃，他们被“公共艺术品计划”雇佣，走上街头为公共建筑创作壁画。因为收效良好，后来项目逐步扩大，雕塑、海报、摄影都进入了这一计划。这些政府资助项目不仅养活了艺术家，也产生了一些经典作品，如拉什莫尔山的《总统巨像》。当然，能留下传世之作的艺术家不可能成千上万，但联邦计划选择的切入点十分妥当，大部分平庸之辈只要有一定艺术基础也能胜任，而且产出虽没有经济上的回报，多年后看来也十分有价值。最重要的是，艺术家们没有为生活所迫去沿街卖艺或乞讨，而是带着完整的自尊专心从事艺术创作，这为文艺的复兴和发展留下了火种。

技术发展和危机发生的时间巧合，也给艺术注入了新的血液。大萧条中成千上万的美国人失业在家，急需娱乐休闲消磨时间，恰好在这段时间，无线电广播技术逐渐成熟，收音机得到了普及。1929年，1200万个美国家庭拥有了昂贵的收音机——每台均价100美元以上，大约相当于今天的2000美元。广播节目迅速走进了千家万户，影响力与日俱增，地位如同现在的互联网。到1940年，83%的美国家庭都拥有了收音机，听众们每天平均花4个多小时收听节目，与今天我们盯着手机的时间大致相当。对于在困苦窘迫中挣扎的人们来说，勒紧裤腰带买回的不是一个简单的新潮玩意儿，这是源源不断的娱乐、享受和希望来源。广播催生了一些新的文艺形式，也促使一些传统艺术进行改革，同时还给人们的生活带来了变化。传统戏剧并不完全适合广播的特征，广播剧应运而生，很快成为美国家庭的每日新宠。尤其是白天播出的连续剧，由于深受家庭主妇拥戴，中间插播的广告大多是洗涤用品，这便是“肥皂剧”的起源。音乐节目永远是广播的主角，这也给美国音乐界带来了深刻变化——高水准的音乐唾手可得，喜爱音乐的人们不再需要亲自演奏自娱自乐，学习乐器的人数急剧下降。另一方面，一首歌曲同时唱响全国，这也是过去不可想象的事情，暴得大名的歌星激励着无数音乐人夜以继日，创新形式创新旋律取悦听众。当然，创新绝非毫无风险，1938年10月30日的一个广播节目中，主持人中断正在播放的交响乐，宣称火星人入侵，并在接下来的几个小时里，不断报道最新的战况。这一改编于韦尔斯《世界大战》的新型情景广播剧，成为了史上最著名的广播节目，因为500万听众中有100万人信以为真。节目最后以细菌战结束，人类用地球原生态病菌解决了火星人，因为他们对此毫无免疫能力。但是为时已晚，那100万人已经彻底陷入恐慌，早就关了收音机，有的收拾细软出门逃命，有的心脏病发作被送医抢救，有的进入教堂在祈祷中等待最后时刻，最极端的是有人四处找枪，要在火星人俘虏自己之前有尊严地自尽。艺术与科技的结合产生了最早的电信诈骗。

电影技术似乎是为这场大萧条而生的，从上世纪30年代初有声电影普及开始，它陪伴灾难中的人们度过了最艰难的岁月。1927年5月4日，在美国电影艺术与科学学院成立的宴会上，与会大佬提出要设立一个电影奖项。1929年5月16日，首届颁奖典礼在好莱坞顺利举行。这一奖项见证了好莱坞的崛起，多年之后当它正式更名为奥斯卡的时候，很少有人会记得，从时间上来说，首次颁奖典礼几乎是拉开了大萧条的序幕。1929年10月，美国股市崩盘，灾难已然降临。十年间有5000万人失去工作，股市跌去近90%，生产和消费数据一泻千里，无数商品积压在仓库，最终只能批量销毁。电影行业当然也受到了巨大冲击，1933年下半年，全美三分之一的电影院已经倒闭。但是奇迹般的，到了1939年，虽然美国股市全部市值还剩200亿美元，但电影票房居然增长到了7亿美元，平均每个家庭每年花25美元看电影。要知道当年的电影成人票价二毛五，儿童票价一毛，这7亿美元票房是六七千万人每周去一次电影院、一毛钱一毛钱堆出来的！危机中的好莱坞表现出了很强的求生欲，为了吸引观众殚精竭虑，现场抽奖等各种促销方式大行其道，并不丰厚的奖金对饥寒交迫的观众有着不小的吸引力。当然，更具吸引力的还是影片本身。整个上世纪30年代，音乐剧风靡一时，载歌载舞的美丽女孩很容易就能带着人们进入世外桃源，《绿野仙踪》是其中巅峰之作。接下来脱颖而出的是黑帮电影，街头混混总能白手起家成功逆袭，实现总统胡佛许诺的美国梦，《小凯撒》《国民公敌》都票房火爆。取代黑帮地位的是西部牛仔，在《乱世英杰》《荡寇志》等数不胜数的西部片中，他们如同中国武侠一般横行北美不可一世，而且兜里永远有银子。疲惫不堪的观众宁愿勒紧裤腰带，也要掏出皱巴巴的一两毛钱，换取一两个小时的精神麻醉剂，在电影院中短暂逃避苦难的现实。

疲软的经济提高了影片的整体质量和水平。电影同绘画、音乐这类个人创作不一样，梵高、阿炳在穷困潦倒中也能留下传世之作，但没有足够的资金和资源投入，别说拍电影，连摄像机都买不起。经济泡沫期，“热钱”“傻钱”到处乱窜，再垃圾的剧本也能揽到投资。但是泡沫破碎的时候，好剧本也有可能因为缺钱而烂尾。因此经济危机实际上是电影作品的过滤器，投资人十分慎重地评估剧本质量，收不回投资的烂片出现在银幕上的几率远远低于正常年景。大萧条还促使电影行业自律。为了让穷得叮当响的观众掏钱买票，上世纪30年代开始美国电影情节越来越低俗露骨，人民群众喜闻乐见的同时，也引发了政府和宗教团体的反弹。面对不断收紧的政府审查，以及刺耳的道德谴责，电影工作者们明智地开始制定行为准则，进行自我约束。1930年问世的《海斯法典》，旨在禁止非必要的“激情场面”和鼓励犯罪的价值观念，虽然观众强烈不满，但好莱坞顶住压力，确保了银幕上的匪徒在电影结束前会被警方击毙或逮捕。虽然此时的法典还只是建议和提醒版本，是“无牙的老虎”，但从开始着手行业自律那一刻起，电影行业奠定了自己接下来几十年健康发展的基石。

行文至此，笔者忆起曾去过北京二龙路医院（北京肛肠医院）探望朋友，发现那里的医生、患者和别处都不太一样。医生个个幽默风趣，擅长单口相声，患者好似小品演员，虽然疼得死去活来，但随时自嘲以娱乐观众。极端的苦难，以及难以启齿的尴尬有时候反而会激发人类的幽默和艺术细胞。这种时候，不投入文艺的世界，还能去向哪里呢？经济波动是基本的经济规律，潮汐涨退交替发生，不足为奇，奢靡与困苦也不过是暂时的体验，唯有艺术永恒不朽，虽诸神之震怒亦不能消弭其于无形。回头看这段大萧条的历史，人民与政府虽筚路蓝缕、历尽艰辛，但也迎来了一个蓬勃的艺术盛世，可谓有得有失、不负苦难。

1929,90 years ago,was an important turning point in American history. The Americans were awakened from the dream of voluptuous life,and unexpectedly found that the stock market and house prices kept falling.The cosequence is known to all: crashed stock market,unsalable goods and severe unemployment,these are the standard conditions of the economic crisis. The Great Depressions did not bottom out until 1934,but the economic indicators did not return to the level of early 1929 until World War II,and the pain lasted for ten years.Meanwhile,the year of 1929 was another important time node. The American art circles reflected and changed under the heavy pain. The vulgar and impetuous style of creation was abandoned,and new art forms emerged in an endless stream. The works with vitality and strength continued to appear. A vibrant period of art development grew on the ruins of the economic collapse.

Among various art forms,music directly reflects human emotions most. Dissatisfaction and shock to the state of life are often directly echoed in the music works,which enter into different stages as the situation deteriorates.Although the situation was hard in 1931,the public still maintained optimism,like the popular but implicit songLife Is Just a Bowl of Cherries: "You work,save money,worry about the future,but still cannot save much money. The good things in life are only temporary loans. If you have never owned,why bother to lose." At the beginning of the crisis,everyone was just unemployed,and there were still some deposits in their hands. They stayed at home and didn't worry about eating and drinking,with much leisure time every day,it also gave birth to the philosophical thinking of "Life is just a bowl of cherries,not too serious,the reality is too psychedelic,and live on with laughter".Some people still held the humorous attitude,such asRighTime fo Fallt in Love,under the romantic title,the lyrics make people stunned: "Potato is cheaper,tomatoes are cheaper,it is time to fall in love,and the two people staying together save more money." However,in 1932,when the savings were almost exhausted,everyone finally realized that the disaster was not a small accident that was originally conceived. The process of finding a job was desperate,and hunger was not just a historical legend.Correspondingly,the lyrics were also much straightforward: "They once said that I was casting a dream. The future is of peace and glory. Now that the railways and bridges have been built,why do I have a long line waiting for a loaf?" InBrother,Can You Spare a Dime?,the author has no mood to turn around again,directly using the irony to express dissatisfaction and anger.After the unfortunate President Hoover’s departure,the Roosevelt New Deal debuted. The important content of the New Deal as "work-for-relief". This policy sounds warm and beautiful,but for the white-collar workers and middleclass workers in the past,it was not a pleasant day to put on working suit to plant trees,build dams,and repair railways,as the harsh situation was that the income could only support basic life requirement. On the Sacramento River,the three brothers who built the Shasta Dam createdUnlovable CCC(CCC is an important employment project for young unmarried men in the Roosevelt New Deal). "I waste my life working every day,I can only earn 5 dollars a month.They treat me like a pig,why should I join the CCC?" The song was actually untrue because the CCC program gave US people shelter,clothes and food,and there was a monthly salary of $30,among which $25 must be sent home.However,for the angry young authors who were full of blisters,their little pain and despair should not be blamed. The peak of despair fell in 1936,and the work of the Hungarian composer SeressGloomy Sundaycreated three years ago was translated into English and widely sung by the public. Since then,the gloomy melody of this "Hungarian suicide song" has resounded throughout the United States. Although it is not clear how many people committed suicide due to the song,the author himself did commit suicide in 1968,which was allegedly due to his regret in creating this song. However,unlike the fierce lyrics,the music melody and rhythm of this period were relatively soothing. The songs abovementioned,even if for venting anger,were suitable for slowly singing.

As the saying goes,when it rains,it always pours. The economic depression in history is often accompanied by severe natural disasters,and this time is no exception. Due to years of deforestation and disorderly expansion of agriculture,the water and soil in the United States was seriously lost in 1930,vegetation and soil were severely damaged,followed by the famous "black storm." Throughout the 1930s,dust storms ravaged North America and countless people were displaced. Pain and despair spread with dust storms,bringing new themes to art. John Steinbeck's documentary novel "Of Mice And Men" and "The Grapes of Wrath" were once banned until 1962,when the author won the Nobel Prize in Literature as the ultimate redress,because it portrayed life as too real and tragic,together with the author’s strong anger and aggressiveness. In the perspective of painting,Alexander Hogue created Mother Earth Laid Bare in 1936: the earth of the abandoned farms was eroded by the wind and sun,exposing the impoverished and naked inside. People used agricultural machinery to destroy the vegetation on the ground and brought misfortune to themselves. In face of disasters,the living standard of the main audience of art—that was,the ordinary people,who were sfruggling in pain,plummeted,but their aesthetic level improved,unlike the economic boom when people showed off by wearing mink coats. The suffering has taught people to pause for thinking,examining their inner world and teaching them to appreciate works which were profound but painful.

The Great Depression not only shaped the audience of art,but also the accomplishment between the ordinary people and artists. For artists---writers,painters,sculptors and musicians,it's never a source of inspiration to live a satisfactory life with much wealth,but a life with hunger and coldness. When people are in their prime time,their brains are full of fame,fortune and enjoyable senses.How can they feel the true cruelty and examine the inner loneliness? Only when sorrow comes from the heart will it end up with abandoning gorgeous rhetoric and complicated embellishments,unfolding the heart of the scars to discover the source of pain. Of course,all this must be a natural process,and it is by no means advocating that the artists should be caught and tortured,or suffer starvation.As long as it is a clear-headed government,this choice is generally unacceptable,as blaming the artists is likely to be recorded into novel or drama for later generations.

Roosevelt was obviously not that foolish. On the contrary,he fully acknowledged the power of public opinion.Otherwise,there would be no "Furnace Conversation". In 1935,"work-for-relief" was in full swing. Millions of people supported their families through work and recovered their dignity,but literary and art workers took to the streets. One of the slogans of the parade was "Writers Need to Eat".The federal government realized that it could not stand by and more than 6,000 professional or amateur writers joined the "Federal Writers Program" in a rapid manner to collect folklore,organize travel guides and compile local history,receiving more generous and stable rewards from the government. In the period of five years,a total of 378 books have been published. Many of the legends,history,folklore and even bragging stories that had been lost in this period were preserved. The travel guides around the country became vivid and informative. Similar to it was the"Federal Art Project",the annual expenditure of 7 million U.S. dollars funded more than 10,000 performers,who went to the countryside,factories,mines,military camps and prisons for free performances,creating "Heart-toheart Art Troupe" in the US. Nearly 4,000 hunger-stricken painters and sculptors had not been abandoned either.They were hired by the "Public Art Project" and took to the streets to create murals for public buildings. Due to the favorable results,the project gradually expanded,attracting sculptures,posters and photographers. These government-funded projects not only supported the artists,but also produced some classic works,such as the great statues of Presidents at Mount Rushmore. Of course,it was impossible for not thousands of artists to leave their works with great influence to the future generations,but the entry point for the federal plan was very appropriate.Most mediocre people could be competent as long as they possessed a certain artistic foundation,and the output had no economic return,but it seemed to be very valuable after many years. The most important was that artists were not forced to go to the streets to sell art or begging,but to concentrate on artistic creation with complete self-esteem,leaving the fire seed for the revival and development of literature and art.

The coincidence of technological development and crisis has also injected new blood into art. Thousands of Americans in the Great Depression were unemployed at home,creating an urgent need for entertainment and leisure time. It was precisely during this time that radio broadcasting technology matured and radios became most popular. In 1929,some 12 million American families owned expensive radios - each with an average price of more than$100,an equivalent of about $2,000 today! Radio programs quickly entered thousands of households with increasing influence; its status is like the Internet at present. By 1940,about 83% of American families owned radios,and listeners spent an average of more than four hours a day listening to the show,roughly the same time we use the smart phone today. For those struggling in hardship and distress,the equipment purchased after tightening their belts was not a simple new thing,but a source of entertainment,enjoyment and expectation.

The broadcast spawned some new forms of literature and art,also leading to the reform of some traditional art,while bringing changes to people's lives. Traditional drama was not entirely suitable for the characteristics of broadcasting.Radio dramas came into being accordingly and soon became the daily favorite of American families. Especially the serial dramas broadcast during the day,because of the support of housewives,the advertisements put in were mostly washing supplies,it is the origin of the "soap opera". Music shows are always the protagonist of the broadcast,which has brought profound changes to the American music industry - high-quality music is at your fingertips,people who love music no longer need to play by themselves for entertainment,and the number of people learning the instrument has dropped dramatically.On the other hand,a single song broadcast and sang by people at the same time across the country was also the phenomena unimaginable in the past. The singers who became famous have inspired countless musicians to innovate forms and melody to please the audiences.

Of course,innovation is by no means risk-free. On a radio show on October 30th,1938,the host interrupted the symphony being played,claiming that the Martians had invaded the Earth,and continued to report the latest situation of battles over the next few hours. This new type of scenario radio drama,adapted from Wells'War of the Worlds,became the most famous radio show in history,because 1 million of the 5 million US listeners believed it! At the end of the program,it drew a close due to the bacteriological war,humans defeated the Martians with the Earth's original pathogens,because they had no immunity. But it was too late,and that 1 million people had completely fallen into panic. They had already turned off the radio,some packed up and fled to escape,some suffering heart attacks were sent to hospital for rescue,and some entered the church to wait for the last moment in prayer. The extreme situation was that some people looked for guns,claiming to be committing suicide before the Martians captured them. The combination of art and technology has produced the earliest telecom fraud.

Film technology seems to have been born for this Great Depression. Since its initiation with the popularity of sound movies in the early 1930s,it had accompanied the people in the disaster through the toughest years.On May 4th,1927,the participating tycoons proposed to set up a film award at the establishment banquet by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. On May 16th,1929,the first awards ceremony was successfully held in Hollywood. This award witnessed the rise of Hollywood.When it was officially renamed Oscar many years since then,few people would remember that,in terms of time,the first award ceremony was almost marking the beginning of the Great Depression. In October 1929,the US stock market crashed amid the arrival of the disaster. For ten years since then,50 million people had lost their jobs,the stock market had fallen by nearly 90%,and production and consumption data had plunged away. Countless commodities had been stuck in warehouses,resulting in being destroyed in batches. Of course,the film industry had also been hit hard accordingly. In the second half of 1933,one-third of the cinemas in the United States were closed down. But miraculously,although the total market value of the US stock market was 20 billion US dollars by 1939,the box office of the movie actually increased to 700 million US dollars,and the average family spent 25 dollars a year watching movies. You must know that the adult ticket price for the movie was 0.25 dollars,and the fare for child was 0.1 dollars. And the 700 million dollar box office was piled up by dimes by 60,000,000 to 70,000,000 people who went to the cinema once a week! In the midst of the crisis,Hollywood had shown a dynamic desire for survival.In order to attract the audiences,various promotional methods,such as on-site lottery,were most popular,and the bonuses,not large enough,were attractive to the hungry and eager people. Of course,what attracted people more was the film itself. Throughout the 1930s,musicals were all the rage,and beautiful girls singing and dancing could easily bring people into the paradise. TheWizard of Ozwas the pinnacle of the game. The next that stood out was the gangster film. The street gangsters could always succeed in realizing the American dream promised by President Hoover.Little CaesarandNational Enemyhave earned great box office. What in place of the gangster's status was the western cowboy. For the numerous films concerning US west region,such asThe PlainsmanandStanley and Livingstone,they were as ruined as the Chinese martial arts striding across North America,and there was always money in their pockets. The exhausted audience would rather tighten their belts and take out a wrinkled one or two cents notes in exchange for an hour or two of mental anesthesia to escape the reality of suffering in the cinema.

The weak economy improved the overall quality and film level. The film is different from the individual creations,such as painting and music. Van Gogh and A Bing could create great works of time out of poverty,but cameras could not be afforded,not to mention movies,if there were not enough funds and resources. During the period of economic bubble,hot and dumb money were everywhere,and the garbage scripts could also attract investment.But when the bubble broke,good scripts may also be ending badly because of lack of money. Hence,the economic crisis was actually a filter for film works. Investors were very cautious in assessing the quality of the scripts,as the chances for lowlevel films incapable of collecting investment on the screen were much less than that of the normal years. The Great Depression has also promoted self-discipline in the film industry. In order to let the poor clinking audience pay for the tickets,the plots of US film began to become more and more vulgar in the 1930s. When it met the demands of the people,it also triggered a rebound from the government and religious groups. In the face of ever-tightening government censorship and harsh moral condemnation,filmmakers began to develop codes of conduct and selfdiscipline wisely.

I have been to Beijing ER LONG LU Hospital (Beijing Anorectal) to visit friends,finding that the doctors and patients are quite different from those in other places.The doctors are humorous and funny,and they are good at stand-up comics.The patient is like performer. Although in great pain,they could always laugh at themselves to entertain the audience. Extreme suffering and embarrassment sometimes inspire people's humor and artistic cells. In such unimaginable circumstances,where could people preserve if they don't dive in the world of literature and art? Economic fluctuations are the basic economic law. It is not surprising that tides rise and fall alternately. Extravagance and hardship are only temporary experiences. Only art is immortal,although the wrath of the gods cannot eliminate it. In retrospect of the history of the Great Depression,the people and the government suffered sorrows and hardships,but they also ushered in a flourishing era of art.