In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, going to the movies served as a form of escapism for people. For just a few hours, people could forget about the troubled the state of the United States was in and submerge themselves into the magical world of movies. To quote “The Wizard of Oz,” people “let their troubles melt like lemon drops.” During this time, movie studios didn’t create films that dealt with people who were living in the midst of a financial depression or whose farms were destroyed by a Dust Bowl. Most of the movies made during the Great Depression dealt with magical worlds and far off places. The good guys would always win and the princesses would always be rescued by a knight in shining armor.

Film productions knew that the last thing Americans needed during these hard times was to watch a film that reminded them of the difficult situation they were in. Every high school history teacher will tell their students that one of the reasons that history classes are so important is so people can learn what worked in the past and what didn’t work. While this thinking can mostly be applied to big events and concepts in history, it can also be applied to smaller ideas and events in history. In this case, the idea of creating entertainment to distract people from their current situation and not remind them of it worked very well for both the consumer and film companies during the Great Depression and it can work now. 

Over the past year and a half, Americans have been dealing with a pandemic, political and social unrest and now supply chain demand issues. People see these issues clearly throughout each day. So when a person turns on the television, go to the movie theatre, or pick up a new work of fiction, the last thing they want to see on the screen or in the pages is a fictional account of the current state of America. However, the creators of shows like “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Brooklyn 99,” and “Superstore” have decided to incorporate the ongoing COVID- 19 pandemic into plot points in their show. 

Now, it would be dismissive to say that show creators didn’t put a lot of thought into whether or not they should include the COVID- 19 pandemic into their series. For example, show creators of the medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy” felt that including the COVID-19 pandemic into the series was essential, since the medical field was drastically changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, just because that makes it more realistic, doesn’t mean that it needs to be included in the show. What people need right now isn’t for their entertainment to be as realistic as possible, they need it to be a distraction. Even if the show isn’t necessarily known to be a feel-good show, being able to immerse themselves into a fictional character’s drama that does not have to do with the pandemic is important for people’s mind. Also, when people go to watch a movie or television show, they are usually not looking for commentary on the current state of the world or for the entertainment source to get super topical or political.

While it’s important to be aware of everything going on in the world and stay up to date on what health officials are advising people to do in response to COVID-19, most people aren’t going to take to heart what a fictional character says about the racial disparities with the COVID-19 vaccine. Some might say that the aforementioned statement is cruel, but think about it: if someone really cares about issues such as that, they aren’t going to be enlightened by a discussion between characters on television. And for people that choose not to be informed about pressing issues, seeing it discussed on a television show is not going to lead to a drastic change of heart. It might even cause people to care less about the issue. 

During the Great Depression, some of the most iconic films were produced and distributed. Some of these films include “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “A Star is Born,” “42nd Street,” and “Gone with the Wind”. The writers and producers of these films didn’t focus on creating relatable content that reminded people of their unfortunate current situation; they created content that they knew would make people smile, sing a song, become obsessed with the actors and actresses on the screen. For half an hour or so, they forgot about their struggles and for the movie companies, this paid off. So why have producers decided to change gears on what to create during difficult times when what they did during the Great Depression worked so well for both the consumer and the producers? To quote a common saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”