Professor Elam

Socionomics suggests that popular mood finds its mate in appropriate movies and song. Hence I have pointed out that darker movies like The Dark Knight (opver $300 MN so far) have found large audiences.  Several of you have countered that you have no negative mood. Indeed, the other side of that coin is the desire to see the lighter side of life. This emotion created lots of great movies in the uplifting vein. This gave birth to the wonderful musicals with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the screwball comedies of the Marx Brothers and Cary Grant.

A case in point is You CAn't Take it With You.  Frank Capra won his third Oscar for this 1938 classic. The story has been re made numerous times.  First a stage play, the story features a wacky family with no apparent means of support. But each does what they want and invites others to follow.  The story is the perfect setting for an America weary of the Depression. A family does what it wants without having to work, much less at a dreary job.  A greedy Wall Street type tries to buy their home for a development.  The kids of the two families fall in love. Sure all ends well but there are lots of observations about life along with way including, well, you can't take it with you, why worry so much about money. This theme of course resonated perfectly with Depression Era America, indeed the film debuted after a second severe recession in 1937.

By the way next Saturday Turner Classic Movies on Sat nite features Woman of the Year with Hepburn and Tracy. THose that believe women's issues just started with generation are advised to tune in!