2015 Winner: Shifting American Ideologies from the 1930s through 1950s: John Garfield's Hollywood Persona As a Case Study

Project Information
Shifting American Ideologies from the 1930s through 1950s: John Garfield's Hollywood Persona As a Case Study
Arts
FILM 195
Through my research I aspired to point out the relevancy between dominant American ideologies in the 1930s-1950s and their effect on the American film industry. Using the career of actor John Garfield (1913-1952) as a case study, I was able to apply these shifting ideologies when tracking the evolution of his Hollywood persona from 1938 to 1952, and determine them as contributions to his evolution. Using The Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War and the Blacklisting era of the 1940s/1950s as cultural context, along with readings, film/fan magazines from those era, Garfield's filmography as well as other relevant films, I explain how John Garfield was a definitive "product of his time"--a star whose image on and off screen came to reflect and represent American ideals, hopes, and fears.
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Students
  • Krystal Catalina Cardenas Ledesma (Merrill)
Mentors