“American cinema of Great Depression p eriod - in search of national identity”

Abstract

The New Deal produced for liquidation of the Great Depression, whose main ideologist was American President, FDR, had a strong impact over economy of America as well as the determination o f national identity. The New Deal became the thesis statement for Hollywood in 1930es. The rhetoric of FDR’s radio public speeches used to determine the political and historical narrative of the American film-dramas.

When American values were undermined through economic catastrophe, the genre models of the western director - John Ford were changing radically - the epic type of social dramas and historical-patriotic thematic films appeared in the works that focused on the FDR’s forgotten man.

The article deals with the discourse of the Great Depression and evaluated Ford's films, which include the autobiographical passages of President Abraham Lincoln: The Prisoner of Shark Island, (1936) and Young Mr. Lincoln, (1939); While constructing President Lincoln's artistic look, Ford is in full unison with FDR‘s New Deal; There are clearly parallels between two well-known state and political leaders - Roosevelt's modern and Lincoln’s epoch America.