90年前，也就是1929年，是美國歷史上一個(gè)重要的轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)。美國人民從紙醉金迷的美夢(mèng)中驚醒，愕然發(fā)現(xiàn)股市居然不是只漲不跌的，房價(jià)居然不是只升不降的。接下來的事情眾所周知，股市崩盤、商品滯銷、失業(yè)彌漫，這些都是經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)的標(biāo)配。大蕭條一直到1934年才算觸底，但各項(xiàng)經(jīng)濟(jì)指標(biāo)直到“二戰(zhàn)”期間才恢復(fù)到1929年初的水平，痛苦持續(xù)了十年之久。與此同時(shí)，1929年也是另一個(gè)重要的時(shí)間節(jié)點(diǎn)，美國的文藝界在傷痛和重壓下反思并轉(zhuǎn)向，庸俗浮躁的創(chuàng)作風(fēng)格被拋棄，新藝術(shù)形式層出不窮，富有生機(jī)和活力的作品不斷涌現(xiàn)，一個(gè)生機(jī)勃勃的文藝發(fā)展期就在經(jīng)濟(jì)崩潰的廢墟上生長起來。

各種藝術(shù)形式中，音樂最能直接反映人類情緒。對(duì)生活狀況的不滿和震驚往往會(huì)直接體現(xiàn)在音樂作品中，并隨著事態(tài)的惡化進(jìn)入不同階段。1931年雖然艱難，但公眾仍然保持著樂觀，那首膾炙人口的《生活就是一碗櫻桃》，寫得還是相當(dāng)含蓄，用的是春秋筆法：“你工作、省錢、擔(dān)憂未來，但是還是留不住錢。生命中美好的事物只是暫時(shí)的借貸，你從未擁有又何必?fù)?dān)心失去?！蔽C(jī)初期大家剛剛失業(yè)，手里多少還有些存款，呆在家里還不至于為吃喝發(fā)愁，每天大量的閑暇雖然無聊，但也能催生“生活就是一碗櫻桃，不要太認(rèn)真，現(xiàn)實(shí)太迷幻，笑著活下去”的哲理思考。有的人還能幽默一把，比如《眼下正當(dāng)戀愛時(shí)》，浪漫的標(biāo)題下面，歌詞讓我瞠目結(jié)舌，繼而捧腹：“土豆便宜了，西紅柿便宜了，是時(shí)候墜入愛河了，倆人一起更省錢”。然而到了1932年，積蓄差不多用完的時(shí)候，大家終于認(rèn)識(shí)到，這次災(zāi)難不是原來預(yù)想的小打小鬧，尋找工作的過程令人絕望，餓肚子并非歷史傳說。相應(yīng)的，歌詞也直白了許多：“他們?cè)f我在鑄造一個(gè)夢(mèng)，前方是和平與榮耀，現(xiàn)在鐵路和橋梁都已建好，為什么我卻排著長隊(duì)等一個(gè)面包？”在這首《兄弟，你能節(jié)省一毛錢嗎》中，作者已經(jīng)沒有心情再迂回轉(zhuǎn)折，直接用辛辣的諷刺抒發(fā)了不滿和憤怒，離當(dāng)街叫罵就差一步。倒霉的總統(tǒng)胡佛黯然離去后，羅斯福新政閃亮登場。新政的重要內(nèi)容是“以工代賑”，這個(gè)政策聽起來溫情美好，但是對(duì)于昔日的白領(lǐng)、中產(chǎn)們來說，換上工裝沒日沒夜地種樹、建水壩、修鐵路，并不是一件輕松愉快的事，況且收入也僅能糊口而已。薩克拉門托河上，修建沙斯塔水壩的三兄弟創(chuàng)作了《不可愛的CCC》(CCC是羅斯福新政中針對(duì)年輕未婚無業(yè)男性的重要就業(yè)項(xiàng)目)，“我浪費(fèi)生命每天工作，每月只能掙5塊錢，他們待我如同豬狗，為什么我會(huì)加入CCC”。這首歌其實(shí)有不實(shí)之處，因?yàn)镃CC項(xiàng)目給了他們住所、衣服和食物，而且每月還有工資30美元，只是其中的25美元必須寄回家中。不過對(duì)于滿手水泡的憤青作者來說，在痛苦和絕望中的小小不嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)不應(yīng)該被苛責(zé)。絕望的巔峰于1936年到來，匈牙利作曲家謝賴什三年前的作品《憂郁的星期天》被翻譯成英文并廣泛傳唱，自此這首“匈牙利自殺歌”陰郁灰暗的旋律響徹全美。雖然不清楚究竟有多少人真的是聽了這首歌曲后走上自殺的道路，但作者本人的確在1968年跳樓自殺，據(jù)說是因?yàn)閯?chuàng)作出這首歌而感到懺悔。不過與激烈的歌詞不同，這段時(shí)期的音樂旋律和節(jié)奏都比較舒緩，上面那幾首歌曲，即使宣泄憤怒，也是淺吟低唱。

俗話說，福無雙至，禍不單行。歷史上的經(jīng)濟(jì)蕭條，往往伴隨著嚴(yán)重的天災(zāi)，這一次也不例外。由于多年來的亂砍濫伐和農(nóng)業(yè)無序擴(kuò)張，1930年開始，美國的水土嚴(yán)重流失，植被和土壤被嚴(yán)重破壞，隨之而來的就是著名的“黑色風(fēng)暴”。整個(gè)上世紀(jì)30年代，塵暴肆虐北美，無數(shù)人流離失所。痛苦和絕望隨著塵暴飄散傳播，也給藝術(shù)作品帶來了新的題材。約翰·史坦貝克的紀(jì)實(shí)小說《人鼠之間》和《憤怒的葡萄》，一度因?yàn)槊枥L生活過于真實(shí)和悲慘，以及作者注入其中的強(qiáng)烈憤怒和攻擊傾向，而被列為禁書，直到1962年獲得“諾貝爾文學(xué)獎(jiǎng)”才算最終平反。繪畫方面，亞歷山大·霍格于1936年創(chuàng)作了《赤裸的大地之母》：在廢棄的農(nóng)莊前，大地被風(fēng)吹日曬褪去了防護(hù)，暴露出貧瘠赤裸的內(nèi)在。人們用農(nóng)業(yè)機(jī)械毀去了地上的植被，也給自己帶來了厄運(yùn)。災(zāi)難面前，藝術(shù)的主要受眾，也就是普通民眾在痛苦中掙扎，生活水準(zhǔn)一落千丈，但是審美水平反而有了提高，不再像經(jīng)濟(jì)騰飛時(shí)期那樣，每天攀比穿貂?？嚯y教會(huì)了人們停下來思考，并審視自己的內(nèi)心世界，也教會(huì)了他們欣賞痛苦而深刻的作品。

大蕭條塑造的不僅僅是藝術(shù)的受眾，普通民眾和藝術(shù)家總是互相成就。對(duì)藝術(shù)家——不論作家、畫家、雕塑家還是音樂家而言，志得意滿日進(jìn)斗金從來不是靈感的源泉，饑寒交迫痛苦不堪才是。春風(fēng)得意馬蹄疾的時(shí)候，想的都是一日看盡長安花，滿腦子都是功名利祿、感官享樂，哪有閑暇體會(huì)真實(shí)的殘酷、審視內(nèi)心的孤獨(dú)。只有悲從中來心若死灰之時(shí)，才會(huì)厭棄華麗的辭藻和繁復(fù)的綴飾，轉(zhuǎn)而揭開內(nèi)心傷疤尋找痛楚的源頭。當(dāng)然，這一切必須是自然過程，絕不是提倡把藝術(shù)家們抓起來嚴(yán)刑拷打，或是讓他們餓肚子。只要是頭腦清醒的政府，一般都不會(huì)做這種選擇，因?yàn)殚_罪藝術(shù)家是有可能被寫入小說或戲劇傳世的。

羅斯福顯然不是愚蠢的總統(tǒng)，相反他非常了解輿論的力量，否則也不會(huì)有“圍爐談話”了。1935年，“以工代賑”如火如荼，數(shù)以百萬計(jì)的民眾通過務(wù)工養(yǎng)活了家庭，也找回了尊嚴(yán)，但文藝工作者走上了街頭，游行的標(biāo)語之一是“作家必須吃飯”。聯(lián)邦政府意識(shí)到不能袖手旁觀，6000多名職業(yè)或業(yè)余作家迅速加入了“聯(lián)邦作家計(jì)劃”，為政府收集民間傳說，整理旅行指南，編纂地方歷史等，同時(shí)領(lǐng)取較為豐厚穩(wěn)定的報(bào)酬。5年間，共出版了378本讀物，很多本會(huì)湮沒無聞的傳說、歷史、民俗乃至吹牛故事由于這一項(xiàng)目得以保存，各地的旅行指南也變得生動(dòng)翔實(shí)、圖文并茂。與之類似的還有“聯(lián)邦藝術(shù)計(jì)劃”，一年700萬美元的財(cái)政支出資助了一萬多名演員，他們走遍鄉(xiāng)村、廠礦、軍營、監(jiān)獄進(jìn)行免費(fèi)表演，打造了美國的“心連心藝術(shù)團(tuán)”。近4000名饑寒交迫的畫家和雕塑家也沒有被放棄，他們被“公共藝術(shù)品計(jì)劃”雇傭，走上街頭為公共建筑創(chuàng)作壁畫。因?yàn)槭招Я己茫髞眄?xiàng)目逐步擴(kuò)大，雕塑、海報(bào)、攝影都進(jìn)入了這一計(jì)劃。這些政府資助項(xiàng)目不僅養(yǎng)活了藝術(shù)家，也產(chǎn)生了一些經(jīng)典作品，如拉什莫爾山的《總統(tǒng)巨像》。當(dāng)然，能留下傳世之作的藝術(shù)家不可能成千上萬，但聯(lián)邦計(jì)劃選擇的切入點(diǎn)十分妥當(dāng)，大部分平庸之輩只要有一定藝術(shù)基礎(chǔ)也能勝任，而且產(chǎn)出雖沒有經(jīng)濟(jì)上的回報(bào)，多年后看來也十分有價(jià)值。最重要的是，藝術(shù)家們沒有為生活所迫去沿街賣藝或乞討，而是帶著完整的自尊專心從事藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作，這為文藝的復(fù)興和發(fā)展留下了火種。

技術(shù)發(fā)展和危機(jī)發(fā)生的時(shí)間巧合，也給藝術(shù)注入了新的血液。大蕭條中成千上萬的美國人失業(yè)在家，急需娛樂休閑消磨時(shí)間，恰好在這段時(shí)間，無線電廣播技術(shù)逐漸成熟，收音機(jī)得到了普及。1929年，1200萬個(gè)美國家庭擁有了昂貴的收音機(jī)——每臺(tái)均價(jià)100美元以上，大約相當(dāng)于今天的2000美元。廣播節(jié)目迅速走進(jìn)了千家萬戶，影響力與日俱增，地位如同現(xiàn)在的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)。到1940年，83%的美國家庭都擁有了收音機(jī)，聽眾們每天平均花4個(gè)多小時(shí)收聽節(jié)目，與今天我們盯著手機(jī)的時(shí)間大致相當(dāng)。對(duì)于在困苦窘迫中掙扎的人們來說，勒緊褲腰帶買回的不是一個(gè)簡單的新潮玩意兒，這是源源不斷的娛樂、享受和希望來源。廣播催生了一些新的文藝形式，也促使一些傳統(tǒng)藝術(shù)進(jìn)行改革，同時(shí)還給人們的生活帶來了變化。傳統(tǒng)戲劇并不完全適合廣播的特征，廣播劇應(yīng)運(yùn)而生，很快成為美國家庭的每日新寵。尤其是白天播出的連續(xù)劇，由于深受家庭主婦擁戴，中間插播的廣告大多是洗滌用品，這便是“肥皂劇”的起源。音樂節(jié)目永遠(yuǎn)是廣播的主角，這也給美國音樂界帶來了深刻變化——高水準(zhǔn)的音樂唾手可得，喜愛音樂的人們不再需要親自演奏自娛自樂，學(xué)習(xí)樂器的人數(shù)急劇下降。另一方面，一首歌曲同時(shí)唱響全國，這也是過去不可想象的事情，暴得大名的歌星激勵(lì)著無數(shù)音樂人夜以繼日，創(chuàng)新形式創(chuàng)新旋律取悅聽眾。當(dāng)然，創(chuàng)新絕非毫無風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，1938年10月30日的一個(gè)廣播節(jié)目中，主持人中斷正在播放的交響樂，宣稱火星人入侵，并在接下來的幾個(gè)小時(shí)里，不斷報(bào)道最新的戰(zhàn)況。這一改編于韋爾斯《世界大戰(zhàn)》的新型情景廣播劇，成為了史上最著名的廣播節(jié)目，因?yàn)?00萬聽眾中有100萬人信以為真。節(jié)目最后以細(xì)菌戰(zhàn)結(jié)束，人類用地球原生態(tài)病菌解決了火星人，因?yàn)樗麄儗?duì)此毫無免疫能力。但是為時(shí)已晚，那100萬人已經(jīng)徹底陷入恐慌，早就關(guān)了收音機(jī)，有的收拾細(xì)軟出門逃命，有的心臟病發(fā)作被送醫(yī)搶救，有的進(jìn)入教堂在祈禱中等待最后時(shí)刻，最極端的是有人四處找槍，要在火星人俘虜自己之前有尊嚴(yán)地自盡。藝術(shù)與科技的結(jié)合產(chǎn)生了最早的電信詐騙。

電影技術(shù)似乎是為這場大蕭條而生的，從上世紀(jì)30年代初有聲電影普及開始，它陪伴災(zāi)難中的人們度過了最艱難的歲月。1927年5月4日，在美國電影藝術(shù)與科學(xué)學(xué)院成立的宴會(huì)上，與會(huì)大佬提出要設(shè)立一個(gè)電影獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)。1929年5月16日，首屆頒獎(jiǎng)典禮在好萊塢順利舉行。這一獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)見證了好萊塢的崛起，多年之后當(dāng)它正式更名為奧斯卡的時(shí)候，很少有人會(huì)記得，從時(shí)間上來說，首次頒獎(jiǎng)典禮幾乎是拉開了大蕭條的序幕。1929年10月，美國股市崩盤，災(zāi)難已然降臨。十年間有5000萬人失去工作，股市跌去近90%，生產(chǎn)和消費(fèi)數(shù)據(jù)一瀉千里，無數(shù)商品積壓在倉庫，最終只能批量銷毀。電影行業(yè)當(dāng)然也受到了巨大沖擊，1933年下半年，全美三分之一的電影院已經(jīng)倒閉。但是奇跡般的，到了1939年，雖然美國股市全部市值還剩200億美元，但電影票房居然增長到了7億美元，平均每個(gè)家庭每年花25美元看電影。要知道當(dāng)年的電影成人票價(jià)二毛五，兒童票價(jià)一毛，這7億美元票房是六七千萬人每周去一次電影院、一毛錢一毛錢堆出來的！危機(jī)中的好萊塢表現(xiàn)出了很強(qiáng)的求生欲，為了吸引觀眾殫精竭慮，現(xiàn)場抽獎(jiǎng)等各種促銷方式大行其道，并不豐厚的獎(jiǎng)金對(duì)饑寒交迫的觀眾有著不小的吸引力。當(dāng)然，更具吸引力的還是影片本身。整個(gè)上世紀(jì)30年代，音樂劇風(fēng)靡一時(shí)，載歌載舞的美麗女孩很容易就能帶著人們進(jìn)入世外桃源，《綠野仙蹤》是其中巔峰之作。接下來脫穎而出的是黑幫電影，街頭混混總能白手起家成功逆襲，實(shí)現(xiàn)總統(tǒng)胡佛許諾的美國夢(mèng)，《小凱撒》《國民公敵》都票房火爆。取代黑幫地位的是西部牛仔，在《亂世英杰》《蕩寇志》等數(shù)不勝數(shù)的西部片中，他們?nèi)缤袊鋫b一般橫行北美不可一世，而且兜里永遠(yuǎn)有銀子。疲憊不堪的觀眾寧愿勒緊褲腰帶，也要掏出皺巴巴的一兩毛錢，換取一兩個(gè)小時(shí)的精神麻醉劑，在電影院中短暫逃避苦難的現(xiàn)實(shí)。

疲軟的經(jīng)濟(jì)提高了影片的整體質(zhì)量和水平。電影同繪畫、音樂這類個(gè)人創(chuàng)作不一樣，梵高、阿炳在窮困潦倒中也能留下傳世之作，但沒有足夠的資金和資源投入，別說拍電影，連攝像機(jī)都買不起。經(jīng)濟(jì)泡沫期，“熱錢”“傻錢”到處亂竄，再垃圾的劇本也能攬到投資。但是泡沫破碎的時(shí)候，好劇本也有可能因?yàn)槿卞X而爛尾。因此經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)實(shí)際上是電影作品的過濾器，投資人十分慎重地評(píng)估劇本質(zhì)量，收不回投資的爛片出現(xiàn)在銀幕上的幾率遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)低于正常年景。大蕭條還促使電影行業(yè)自律。為了讓窮得叮當(dāng)響的觀眾掏錢買票，上世紀(jì)30年代開始美國電影情節(jié)越來越低俗露骨，人民群眾喜聞樂見的同時(shí)，也引發(fā)了政府和宗教團(tuán)體的反彈。面對(duì)不斷收緊的政府審查，以及刺耳的道德譴責(zé)，電影工作者們明智地開始制定行為準(zhǔn)則，進(jìn)行自我約束。1930年問世的《海斯法典》，旨在禁止非必要的“激情場面”和鼓勵(lì)犯罪的價(jià)值觀念，雖然觀眾強(qiáng)烈不滿，但好萊塢頂住壓力，確保了銀幕上的匪徒在電影結(jié)束前會(huì)被警方擊斃或逮捕。雖然此時(shí)的法典還只是建議和提醒版本，是“無牙的老虎”，但從開始著手行業(yè)自律那一刻起，電影行業(yè)奠定了自己接下來幾十年健康發(fā)展的基石。

行文至此，筆者憶起曾去過北京二龍路醫(yī)院（北京肛腸醫(yī)院）探望朋友，發(fā)現(xiàn)那里的醫(yī)生、患者和別處都不太一樣。醫(yī)生個(gè)個(gè)幽默風(fēng)趣，擅長單口相聲，患者好似小品演員，雖然疼得死去活來，但隨時(shí)自嘲以娛樂觀眾。極端的苦難，以及難以啟齒的尷尬有時(shí)候反而會(huì)激發(fā)人類的幽默和藝術(shù)細(xì)胞。這種時(shí)候，不投入文藝的世界，還能去向哪里呢？經(jīng)濟(jì)波動(dòng)是基本的經(jīng)濟(jì)規(guī)律，潮汐漲退交替發(fā)生，不足為奇，奢靡與困苦也不過是暫時(shí)的體驗(yàn)，唯有藝術(shù)永恒不朽，雖諸神之震怒亦不能消弭其于無形?；仡^看這段大蕭條的歷史，人民與政府雖篳路藍(lán)縷、歷盡艱辛，但也迎來了一個(gè)蓬勃的藝術(shù)盛世，可謂有得有失、不負(fù)苦難。

1929,90 years ago,was an important turning point in American history. The Americans were awakened from the dream of voluptuous life,and unexpectedly found that the stock market and house prices kept falling.The cosequence is known to all: crashed stock market,unsalable goods and severe unemployment,these are the standard conditions of the economic crisis. The Great Depressions did not bottom out until 1934,but the economic indicators did not return to the level of early 1929 until World War II,and the pain lasted for ten years.Meanwhile,the year of 1929 was another important time node. The American art circles reflected and changed under the heavy pain. The vulgar and impetuous style of creation was abandoned,and new art forms emerged in an endless stream. The works with vitality and strength continued to appear. A vibrant period of art development grew on the ruins of the economic collapse.

Among various art forms,music directly reflects human emotions most. Dissatisfaction and shock to the state of life are often directly echoed in the music works,which enter into different stages as the situation deteriorates.Although the situation was hard in 1931,the public still maintained optimism,like the popular but implicit songLife Is Just a Bowl of Cherries: "You work,save money,worry about the future,but still cannot save much money. The good things in life are only temporary loans. If you have never owned,why bother to lose." At the beginning of the crisis,everyone was just unemployed,and there were still some deposits in their hands. They stayed at home and didn't worry about eating and drinking,with much leisure time every day,it also gave birth to the philosophical thinking of "Life is just a bowl of cherries,not too serious,the reality is too psychedelic,and live on with laughter".Some people still held the humorous attitude,such asRighTime fo Fallt in Love,under the romantic title,the lyrics make people stunned: "Potato is cheaper,tomatoes are cheaper,it is time to fall in love,and the two people staying together save more money." However,in 1932,when the savings were almost exhausted,everyone finally realized that the disaster was not a small accident that was originally conceived. The process of finding a job was desperate,and hunger was not just a historical legend.Correspondingly,the lyrics were also much straightforward: "They once said that I was casting a dream. The future is of peace and glory. Now that the railways and bridges have been built,why do I have a long line waiting for a loaf?" InBrother,Can You Spare a Dime?,the author has no mood to turn around again,directly using the irony to express dissatisfaction and anger.After the unfortunate President Hoover’s departure,the Roosevelt New Deal debuted. The important content of the New Deal as "work-for-relief". This policy sounds warm and beautiful,but for the white-collar workers and middleclass workers in the past,it was not a pleasant day to put on working suit to plant trees,build dams,and repair railways,as the harsh situation was that the income could only support basic life requirement. On the Sacramento River,the three brothers who built the Shasta Dam createdUnlovable CCC(CCC is an important employment project for young unmarried men in the Roosevelt New Deal). "I waste my life working every day,I can only earn 5 dollars a month.They treat me like a pig,why should I join the CCC?" The song was actually untrue because the CCC program gave US people shelter,clothes and food,and there was a monthly salary of $30,among which $25 must be sent home.However,for the angry young authors who were full of blisters,their little pain and despair should not be blamed. The peak of despair fell in 1936,and the work of the Hungarian composer SeressGloomy Sundaycreated three years ago was translated into English and widely sung by the public. Since then,the gloomy melody of this "Hungarian suicide song" has resounded throughout the United States. Although it is not clear how many people committed suicide due to the song,the author himself did commit suicide in 1968,which was allegedly due to his regret in creating this song. However,unlike the fierce lyrics,the music melody and rhythm of this period were relatively soothing. The songs abovementioned,even if for venting anger,were suitable for slowly singing.

As the saying goes,when it rains,it always pours. The economic depression in history is often accompanied by severe natural disasters,and this time is no exception. Due to years of deforestation and disorderly expansion of agriculture,the water and soil in the United States was seriously lost in 1930,vegetation and soil were severely damaged,followed by the famous "black storm." Throughout the 1930s,dust storms ravaged North America and countless people were displaced. Pain and despair spread with dust storms,bringing new themes to art. John Steinbeck's documentary novel "Of Mice And Men" and "The Grapes of Wrath" were once banned until 1962,when the author won the Nobel Prize in Literature as the ultimate redress,because it portrayed life as too real and tragic,together with the author’s strong anger and aggressiveness. In the perspective of painting,Alexander Hogue created Mother Earth Laid Bare in 1936: the earth of the abandoned farms was eroded by the wind and sun,exposing the impoverished and naked inside. People used agricultural machinery to destroy the vegetation on the ground and brought misfortune to themselves. In face of disasters,the living standard of the main audience of art—that was,the ordinary people,who were sfruggling in pain,plummeted,but their aesthetic level improved,unlike the economic boom when people showed off by wearing mink coats. The suffering has taught people to pause for thinking,examining their inner world and teaching them to appreciate works which were profound but painful.

The Great Depression not only shaped the audience of art,but also the accomplishment between the ordinary people and artists. For artists---writers,painters,sculptors and musicians,it's never a source of inspiration to live a satisfactory life with much wealth,but a life with hunger and coldness. When people are in their prime time,their brains are full of fame,fortune and enjoyable senses.How can they feel the true cruelty and examine the inner loneliness? Only when sorrow comes from the heart will it end up with abandoning gorgeous rhetoric and complicated embellishments,unfolding the heart of the scars to discover the source of pain. Of course,all this must be a natural process,and it is by no means advocating that the artists should be caught and tortured,or suffer starvation.As long as it is a clear-headed government,this choice is generally unacceptable,as blaming the artists is likely to be recorded into novel or drama for later generations.

Roosevelt was obviously not that foolish. On the contrary,he fully acknowledged the power of public opinion.Otherwise,there would be no "Furnace Conversation". In 1935,"work-for-relief" was in full swing. Millions of people supported their families through work and recovered their dignity,but literary and art workers took to the streets. One of the slogans of the parade was "Writers Need to Eat".The federal government realized that it could not stand by and more than 6,000 professional or amateur writers joined the "Federal Writers Program" in a rapid manner to collect folklore,organize travel guides and compile local history,receiving more generous and stable rewards from the government. In the period of five years,a total of 378 books have been published. Many of the legends,history,folklore and even bragging stories that had been lost in this period were preserved. The travel guides around the country became vivid and informative. Similar to it was the"Federal Art Project",the annual expenditure of 7 million U.S. dollars funded more than 10,000 performers,who went to the countryside,factories,mines,military camps and prisons for free performances,creating "Heart-toheart Art Troupe" in the US. Nearly 4,000 hunger-stricken painters and sculptors had not been abandoned either.They were hired by the "Public Art Project" and took to the streets to create murals for public buildings. Due to the favorable results,the project gradually expanded,attracting sculptures,posters and photographers. These government-funded projects not only supported the artists,but also produced some classic works,such as the great statues of Presidents at Mount Rushmore. Of course,it was impossible for not thousands of artists to leave their works with great influence to the future generations,but the entry point for the federal plan was very appropriate.Most mediocre people could be competent as long as they possessed a certain artistic foundation,and the output had no economic return,but it seemed to be very valuable after many years. The most important was that artists were not forced to go to the streets to sell art or begging,but to concentrate on artistic creation with complete self-esteem,leaving the fire seed for the revival and development of literature and art.

The coincidence of technological development and crisis has also injected new blood into art. Thousands of Americans in the Great Depression were unemployed at home,creating an urgent need for entertainment and leisure time. It was precisely during this time that radio broadcasting technology matured and radios became most popular. In 1929,some 12 million American families owned expensive radios - each with an average price of more than$100,an equivalent of about $2,000 today! Radio programs quickly entered thousands of households with increasing influence; its status is like the Internet at present. By 1940,about 83% of American families owned radios,and listeners spent an average of more than four hours a day listening to the show,roughly the same time we use the smart phone today. For those struggling in hardship and distress,the equipment purchased after tightening their belts was not a simple new thing,but a source of entertainment,enjoyment and expectation.

The broadcast spawned some new forms of literature and art,also leading to the reform of some traditional art,while bringing changes to people's lives. Traditional drama was not entirely suitable for the characteristics of broadcasting.Radio dramas came into being accordingly and soon became the daily favorite of American families. Especially the serial dramas broadcast during the day,because of the support of housewives,the advertisements put in were mostly washing supplies,it is the origin of the "soap opera". Music shows are always the protagonist of the broadcast,which has brought profound changes to the American music industry - high-quality music is at your fingertips,people who love music no longer need to play by themselves for entertainment,and the number of people learning the instrument has dropped dramatically.On the other hand,a single song broadcast and sang by people at the same time across the country was also the phenomena unimaginable in the past. The singers who became famous have inspired countless musicians to innovate forms and melody to please the audiences.

Of course,innovation is by no means risk-free. On a radio show on October 30th,1938,the host interrupted the symphony being played,claiming that the Martians had invaded the Earth,and continued to report the latest situation of battles over the next few hours. This new type of scenario radio drama,adapted from Wells'War of the Worlds,became the most famous radio show in history,because 1 million of the 5 million US listeners believed it! At the end of the program,it drew a close due to the bacteriological war,humans defeated the Martians with the Earth's original pathogens,because they had no immunity. But it was too late,and that 1 million people had completely fallen into panic. They had already turned off the radio,some packed up and fled to escape,some suffering heart attacks were sent to hospital for rescue,and some entered the church to wait for the last moment in prayer. The extreme situation was that some people looked for guns,claiming to be committing suicide before the Martians captured them. The combination of art and technology has produced the earliest telecom fraud.

Film technology seems to have been born for this Great Depression. Since its initiation with the popularity of sound movies in the early 1930s,it had accompanied the people in the disaster through the toughest years.On May 4th,1927,the participating tycoons proposed to set up a film award at the establishment banquet by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. On May 16th,1929,the first awards ceremony was successfully held in Hollywood. This award witnessed the rise of Hollywood.When it was officially renamed Oscar many years since then,few people would remember that,in terms of time,the first award ceremony was almost marking the beginning of the Great Depression. In October 1929,the US stock market crashed amid the arrival of the disaster. For ten years since then,50 million people had lost their jobs,the stock market had fallen by nearly 90%,and production and consumption data had plunged away. Countless commodities had been stuck in warehouses,resulting in being destroyed in batches. Of course,the film industry had also been hit hard accordingly. In the second half of 1933,one-third of the cinemas in the United States were closed down. But miraculously,although the total market value of the US stock market was 20 billion US dollars by 1939,the box office of the movie actually increased to 700 million US dollars,and the average family spent 25 dollars a year watching movies. You must know that the adult ticket price for the movie was 0.25 dollars,and the fare for child was 0.1 dollars. And the 700 million dollar box office was piled up by dimes by 60,000,000 to 70,000,000 people who went to the cinema once a week! In the midst of the crisis,Hollywood had shown a dynamic desire for survival.In order to attract the audiences,various promotional methods,such as on-site lottery,were most popular,and the bonuses,not large enough,were attractive to the hungry and eager people. Of course,what attracted people more was the film itself. Throughout the 1930s,musicals were all the rage,and beautiful girls singing and dancing could easily bring people into the paradise. TheWizard of Ozwas the pinnacle of the game. The next that stood out was the gangster film. The street gangsters could always succeed in realizing the American dream promised by President Hoover.Little CaesarandNational Enemyhave earned great box office. What in place of the gangster's status was the western cowboy. For the numerous films concerning US west region,such asThe PlainsmanandStanley and Livingstone,they were as ruined as the Chinese martial arts striding across North America,and there was always money in their pockets. The exhausted audience would rather tighten their belts and take out a wrinkled one or two cents notes in exchange for an hour or two of mental anesthesia to escape the reality of suffering in the cinema.

The weak economy improved the overall quality and film level. The film is different from the individual creations,such as painting and music. Van Gogh and A Bing could create great works of time out of poverty,but cameras could not be afforded,not to mention movies,if there were not enough funds and resources. During the period of economic bubble,hot and dumb money were everywhere,and the garbage scripts could also attract investment.But when the bubble broke,good scripts may also be ending badly because of lack of money. Hence,the economic crisis was actually a filter for film works. Investors were very cautious in assessing the quality of the scripts,as the chances for lowlevel films incapable of collecting investment on the screen were much less than that of the normal years. The Great Depression has also promoted self-discipline in the film industry. In order to let the poor clinking audience pay for the tickets,the plots of US film began to become more and more vulgar in the 1930s. When it met the demands of the people,it also triggered a rebound from the government and religious groups. In the face of ever-tightening government censorship and harsh moral condemnation,filmmakers began to develop codes of conduct and selfdiscipline wisely.

I have been to Beijing ER LONG LU Hospital (Beijing Anorectal) to visit friends,finding that the doctors and patients are quite different from those in other places.The doctors are humorous and funny,and they are good at stand-up comics.The patient is like performer. Although in great pain,they could always laugh at themselves to entertain the audience. Extreme suffering and embarrassment sometimes inspire people's humor and artistic cells. In such unimaginable circumstances,where could people preserve if they don't dive in the world of literature and art? Economic fluctuations are the basic economic law. It is not surprising that tides rise and fall alternately. Extravagance and hardship are only temporary experiences. Only art is immortal,although the wrath of the gods cannot eliminate it. In retrospect of the history of the Great Depression,the people and the government suffered sorrows and hardships,but they also ushered in a flourishing era of art.