Asian American Relations

**U.S.-Asian Relations 1882-1908**

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•     Anti-immigrant feelings on the West Coast caused the U.S. to formally bar Chinese immigration in 1882, but to keep decent relations with Japan the two countries settled on "the Gentleman's Agreement" in 1908.

○  Although no formal barrier was enacted, Japan made an effort to strongly discourage immigration to the U.S. and Hawaii.

○  This ended in 1924 when Japanese citizens were formally prohibited from immigrating

•     The Root-Takahira Agreement in 1908 committed both Japan and the U.S. to maintaining the "status quo" in the Pacific, saw both accept the other's interests in China, and gave Japan the U.S.' support to take over Korea.

**U.S.-Asian Relations 1915-1922**

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•     Japan took over part of China (Manchuria) during its participation in WW!.

○  Manchuria had been a part of German-controlled territory but had been seized in 1915 by Japan

•     China also took a limited part in WWI on the Allies' side. After the war they hoped to have territory controlled by Germany returned them but Versailles negotiations gave them to Japan, including Shantung(山东）.

•     In 1922, as part of the Washington Conference, the U.S. forced Japan to give Shantung （山东) back, albeit without economic control over the province and a railway built by Japan

Photography in the 1930s

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•     Photography in the 1930s followed a few distinctive themes

•     WPA photographers were paid by the government to document life in the Great Depression

○  Dorothea Lange is the best-known of these.

•     Ansel Adams also experienced commercial success in the 1930s, using powerful black and white photography of naturalistic settings

•     His work greatly aided the growing US conservationist movement

Films in the 1930s:Overview

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•     Despite it being the Great Depression, the 1930s are often referred to as the beginning of Hollywood's "Golden Age"

•     Although studios reduced budgets, the movies offered escapism from everyday problems

Movie Culture in the 1930s

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•     Drive-ins saw their first use in the 30s

•     Audiences were sometimes attracted by having double features, or by offering gifts, such as "dishes, glassware, and cutlery."

•     By the end of the decade, 65% of Americans attended movies each week

Popular Films-Musicals

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•     One of the most popular genres was the musical, often combined with music

•     While Fred Astaire sang and danced, Shirley Temple did, too…

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Popular Films-Adventures

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•     *King Kong* (1933) thrilled audiences with an exotic tale and cutting edge special effects

•     Olympic Gold medalist Johnny Weissmuller *played Tarzan the Ape* Man in several movies, beginning in 1932

Popular Films-Gangsters

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•     Borrowing from current events and recent history, audiences were captivated by gangsters, usually in a Prohibition-era setting

Gangsters: Example 2

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•     Two actors became famous for their gangster roles: Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney.

Depression Escapism or a Mantra?

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•     The first full-length animated feature film was brought out by Walt Disney in 1938

•     He could also entertain audiences with Mickey Mouse, who debuted in 1928

"Message" Films

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•     *Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)* directed by Frank Capra, is one of the best known films of this genre.

1939:Somewhere Over the Rainbow

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•     Appearing in 1939, *The Wizard of Oz* blended a popular story with songs, black and white AND color

*Wizard of Oz (cont'd.)*

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•     *Wizard* barely made a profit when originally released in 1939; real success came later after appealing on TV

Prestige Films

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•     Typically adapted from literary classics

•     *Gone With the Wind* also opened in 1939

•     It featured a high-powered, all-star cast and won 10 Academy Awards.

The Arts During the Great Depression: Music

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•     As part of the Second New Deal, "the government began the Federal Music Project, which supported the American musical arts such as classical and pop, Woodie Guthrie's folk songs, and Aaron Copland."

•     It also taught about music itself and how to play it.

The FMP at its Height

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•     The FMP employed 16,000 musicians nationally

•     5,000 performances before 3 million people took place each week under the FMP

•     132,000 children in 27 states received music instruction each week

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Musical Styles

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•     The four popular styles were blues, jazz, musicals and theater, and big band/swing

•     Jazz was the root of 20th century music. It originated out of 1900s era New Orleans. Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington were notable in this genre.

•     Musicals and theater became infamous with the 1935 Gershwin-inspired folk opera, *Porgy and Bass*

•     Big bands and swing music used jazz in its formation. Glen Miller and Benny Goodman were two famous performers

Literary Currents

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•     Many popular literary works appearing in the Depression years reflected the Depression itself

John Steinbeck

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•     Achieved great success in the 1930s, writing *Of Mice and Men* and *The Grapes of Wrath*

○  *Mice* (1937) centered on two migrant laborers in CA and their hopes for the future.

William Faulkner

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•     A native of Oxford, MS, Faulkner was popular during the Depression era. His works include:

○  *The Sound of Fury (1929)* about the withering of a once historically-powerful family 1928

○  *As I Lay Dying* (1930) which continued Faulkner's use of stream of consciousness writing

○  *Absalom,* Absalom (1936) is about the rise and fall of a poor white in antebellum/Civil War era MS

Ernest Hemingway

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•     *To Have and Have Not* (1937) was Hemingway's only novel written during the 1930s.

•     It centers on a Key West boat captain who turns to smuggling due to economic hard times.

Thorton Wilder

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•     Wilder wrote the drama *Our Town*, receiving a Pulitzer Prize in 1938.

•     The play centered on the normal life of two families in a fictional American town in the years before World War I.

Clifford Odets

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•     Odets' work showed an obvious propensity for social criticism.

•     His 1935 play *Waiting for Lefty* about a New York City taxi drivers' strike which reflected working class concerns.