The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 8, Number 2, Winter 2019 | Page 83

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matinees on Saturdays in specific theaters.
These local clubs promoted Disney
characters and films with tie-ins for
merchandise while Disney himself tried
to link local communities to the Mickey
Mouse Club. 6 Movie studios and theaters
knew that during the Depression,
being poor and working-class was often
the dominant local culture in big and
small cities and in suburban and rural
areas, and studios aimed to cater to that
culture. These efforts worked, because
from the 1930s and through the end of
World War II, Americans spent more
on going to the movies than on any
other recreation. 7 Going to the movies
became a way for suffering Americans
to find a little respite from their worries
that was convenient, comfortable, and
often reflected their feelings about the
national crisis affecting their families
and communities.
Conversely, the staggering
amount of unemployment during the
Depression of the 1930s brought about
“a disturbing twist to old worries about
the ‘problem of leisure.’” 8 The economic
crisis renewed moralists’ and social
scientists’ calls for “the right use of leisure.”
9 These calls also helped launch
campaign for censorship against “commercial
amusements, which elites still
judged as low-class diversions.” 10 One
such example came from Walt Disney
in his first feature-length cartoon movie,
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
The film garnered praise when it was released
in 1937 for “affirming traditional
moral values.” 11 However, a woman who
worked with slum children believed
her charges missed “the beauty of this
extraordinary film and its lesson.” 12 In-