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Consumerism, Concoctions, Communication… Oh My!
Optimism is a difficult trait to obtain. It can be hard to find the strength to look at the
glass half full, especially when living during one of the most depressing economic times. It was
challenging to separate reality from fantasy, the optimistic being the only people to be able to
handle reality. Furthermore, people’s needs and wants, the government’s methods, and business
practices differ with different time periods. While these influence consumerism, in hand
consumerism influences everyone nationwide. Consumerism influenced the 1930s by creating
an escape, during a time of economic despair through advertising and entertainment, yet also
demonstrating the harsh reality of the Great Depression.
In the beginning, consumerism is a “movement that promotes the interests of buyers of
goods and services”, including how advertisements affects buyers and the health of the economy
(Time-Life Books 1017). After the stock market crash of October 1929, the Great Depression era
started, a time where the unemployed earned little money, while goods and services inflated, or
rose. This meant that goods cost more, while the value of money decreased. Consequently,
people got less per dollar, which “shifted the American economy from one of plenty to one of
scarcity once again” (“Consumerism” Par. 1). At the beginning of the Great Depression the
unemployment rate was “more than 30 percent”, making it more challenging for families and
individuals to live, not knowing if they were economically stable (“Consumerism” Par. 1).
People indulged in entertainment and rich lifestyle making it so “necessities in the 1920s became
luxury in the 1930s”, nonetheless people consumed entertainment on a smaller scale
(“Consumerism” Par. 2). Consumerism also means the practice of advertising. In the 1930s an ad
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stated “Romance comes to the girl who guards against cosmetic skin”, showing how producers
used propaganda such as glittering generalizations (Stillman 282). Using a certain product does
not guarantee romance, but this idea increases customer demand. In all, the 1930s took an
unexpected turn for the worse.
In fact, the background of 1930s consumerism actually started in the late 1920s.
Consumers’ clubs “attempted to educate consumers on how to make better purchasing
decisions”, trying to make consumers understand the value of the dollar (“Consumerism” Par. 1).
With little effect nationwide, once the Great Depression started, many consumers did not shop
educated, plus they needed to escape the harsh the reality. Therefore, a main good “in the 1930s
was entertainment”; people often spent money on reading and viewing materials
(“Consumerism” Par. 3). When deciding how to spend, sacrificing few pennies “bought a ticket
into a theater where people could watch newsreels, cartoons, a serial, teasers, and a feature”
(“Consumerism” Par. 3). Also, in terms of advertising practices, agencies took advantage of the
fact that “the most menacing threats to the national well-being were bad breath, unpleasant body
odors, Pyorrhea, and poor complexions”, being a benefit to such companies (Stillman 283). This
shows that advertisements benefited from people’s worries, while people tried to escape worries
through entertainment.
In addition, at a time of economic despair everyone craved entertainment. Thus the “two
classic American superheroes-superman and batman- who fight crime and injustice” were born,
facing hardships parallel to the ones of the time, but with successful endings (“Consumerism”
Par. 4). Also, “unlike the serious programming of the 1920s, Lewis explains, popular comedies
like Amos ‘n’ Andy offered release” demonstrating that the comedy industry and overall
entertainment through radio prospered (Gerdes 159). The common term “Soap Opera” also
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originated from the 1930s when “soap manufactures sponsored” dramas, an example of how
advertising affects our lifestyle (“Consumerism” Par. 4). Also, radios were a household item
because they connected people to knowledge about the world and the country’s policies, where
“Franklin D. Roosevelt explained his administration’s policies and gained citizen support during
his radio ‘fireside chats’” (Gerdes 159). Because radio programs and comic books were so main
stream, many people were entertained yet informed about society, showing that in people’s
escapes, reality shone through, but with a successful result.
Another significant factor of 1930s consumerism is the change in American diet, starting
when Clarence Birdseye “observed the practices of the Native Inuit people, seeing the
preservative effects of extremely cold temperatures” (“Who Made America” Par. 3). He
discovered that when food was “frozen fast enough, its cellular structure was minimally affected,
and its appearance, taste, and texture were not changed”(“Who Made America” Par. 3). The
depression changed the diet of Americans when “lower food prices and an increasing number of
women working outside the home shifted many eating habits to canned and processed food”
(“The 1930s: Business and the Economy: overview” Par.3). The new frozen packaged processed
foods “were test marketed in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1930”, being a successful product
and has continued ever since (“Who mad America” Par. 4). “The food went to retailers in
refrigerated box cars, and Birdseye leased retailers specially designed freezer display cases” in
order to continue keeping frozen food frozen until consumed (“Who made America” Par. 4).
Canned foods and frozen products “save space and operating expenses”, making this a continued
and profitable business practice (“The 1930s: Business and the Economy: Overview” Par. 3). In
terms of propaganda usage, a popular patriotic consumer method was popular once “Hearst Jr.
used the front pages of his 27 daily newspapers to promote a buy American campaign in the
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1930s” (Klein Par. 3). This is still relevant today, where people want to buy products
manufactured or produced in America rather than foreign countries. “Buying American became
so popular that president Hoover signed it into law as the Buy American Act of 1933”, showing
how much interest in this idea arose from consumers, and more significantly that consumers
shaped a part of the government (Klein Par. 3). So out of this time of hardship, society made
changes that are still visible today.
During the 1930s, decisions were based off of the health of the economy. With inflation
came over priced items with appliances such as an “electric washing machine [costing] 47.95
dollars”, being more expensive than an “8 MM Movie Camera, costing 29.50 dollars” (TimeLife 27). Because of these prices consumers had to choose how to make the most informed
purchase possible. Also, “growing demands for domestic apparel and a 25 percent drop in
imports” was a result of the Buy American campaign started by Hearst Jr. and his newspaper
company, showing that consumers started to care how and where products were produced (Klein
3). Advertisements made it more patriotic sounding like one was less American if they did not
buy more or exclusively American based products. Consumerism also impacted literal health. In
1938, legislation was passed increasing the “oversight power of the Food and Drug
Administration” as well as the Federal Trade Commission, which watches over advertising clams
and techniques (“Consumerism” Par. 5). This was in response to consumers expressing the value
of consumer safety. This represents that government accurately reflected Americans when they
wanted a change in how safe what they were buying was. However, people chose to believe in
certain things such as in “vitamin D and in irradiated foods and face creams”, showing how
consumerism often influences believes and opinions of individuals (“Big business Creed for its
many loyal believers” Par. 4).
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In conclusion, during the worst stock market crash in American history consumerism
acted as a distraction from hardships, while also a reminder when making purchasing decisions.
Consumerism practices differ with each decade. When the economy is prospering, consumerism
is. When the economy is sinking, what happens to consumerism? No matter the decade,
individuals are influenced by consumerism. At the same time, consumerism also influences
individuals. So, crawl around the skin of a 1930s consumer and see how your purchases would
be different. How would your character change?