Butterfly In The Attic: Hollywood

Today's post doesn't exactly follow our normal Sunday's Inspiration but, for whatever reason this morning, I was thinking about the changing times and how our economic situation may seem very dismal to some it still really does not completely mirror the Great Depression.

People still spend $600 to go see Justin Beaver and by Coach bags so apparently we are not quite as poor as we think we are. But it has been very tight for our family (maybe we just have a more frugal personality) none the less it has changed our entertainment habits.

This of course led me to the look into the differences and similarities of this era to the Great Depression's era and (for my own curiosity's sake) I would like it if you would join me in answering my poll at the end of this post.

Movies from the Depression Era, 1929 – 1942 (roughly,) were attend at an astonishing rate of approximately 60 – 80 million people each week according to www.digitalhistory.uh.edu. This is an astounding rate considering that at the peak unemployment was at 25% and the average income of most people was around $1,300.00 a year for the family. Comparing this to the average income in the USA currently of approximately $30,000 – $40,000.00 annually makes me wonder about our movie going habits during this generation’s economic downturn.

'Going To The Movies - Classic 1930s' by ButterflyInTheAttic

Vintage Maine Postcard ... VintagePlum $5.00	Gambling Ship Cary Gran... nukes $1.00	The Invisible Man H. G.... nukes $1.00	Esther Williams Classic... iowajewel $19.99
Vintage Sepiatone Print... leewidener $6.00	REDUCED PRICE - Custom ... ARTbyDKS $200.00	Classic Movie Stars - C... GhostsofGrandm... $7.00	Old Movies Gone With Th... OldPaperAndPag... $18.55
Classic Movie Monster K... ihazabag $50.00	Vintage Sepiatone Print... leewidener $6.00	Halloween Retro Movie M... HopePhotoArt $2.98	R53 "Red River Ran... MontanaMoviePo... $40.00
Karloff in The Mummy - ... StephenBurger $15.00	Gone With the Wind with... aBeesCreations $7.50	Original Pastel Pencil ... HollywoodPaste... $25.00	CALIFORNIA photo art BR... VintageBeach $44.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

At that time the movies were .15 (nothing to sneeze at) but people were willing to pay this to escape the real world and to forget about how scary the future seemed at the time.
During that time movies would often show dramatizations of the little guy coming out on top, heroes saving the nation, and the theatrical antics of comics like the Marx Brothers. It was the great escape of The Great Depression and people were willing to pay for it.

The difference today is that we have so many different ways of “going to” the movies: we can actually go to the theater, stay at home with a rented video, pick one from the on-demand system or just watch a free one.
So the question of the day for me is do we, as a society, still physically go to the theater to escape into another world? Do we stay in our homes and find our own private little escapes? or do we not rely on those wonderful heroes and comedians on the screen at all anymore?

'Movies - Recent Releases ' by ButterflyInTheAttic

Hollywood Sign Matted P... WesVanDykeART $35.00	Steampunk Optimus Prime... kyoob $25.00	Black Swan Natalie Port... nukes $1.00	Limited Edition Signed ... Bogies $50.00
The Princess and the Fr... nukes $1.00	Twilight New Moon - Bel... anna6454 $14.99	BOGO SALE - One Free Pr... TheRekindledPa... $8.98	Alvin and the Chipmunks... MyGlitterShop $6.00
Journey to the Center o... outwardbound $9.00	Madagascar 3 Birthday I... PortlyBallerin... $10.00	Men in Black magnet-mov... PopCultureChar... $5.25	Battleship movie keycha... StylishEncount... $5.99
NEW RELEASE MOVIE Chimp... AardvarksInPet... $1.50	Titanic Movie Notebook ... Momsmedia $22.00	Printable THE SMURFS Bi... therandompanda $20.00	Rise of the Planet of t... nukes $1.00