Heroes and Happy Endings : Class, Gender, and Nation in Popular Film and Fiction in Interwar Britain

This is a highly anticipated examination of the popular film and fiction consumed by Britons in the 1920s and 1930s. Departing from a prevailing emphasis on popular culture as escapist, Christine Grandy offers a fresh perspective by noting the enduring importance of class and gender divisions in the narratives read and watched by the working and middle classes between the wars. This compelling study ties contemporary concerns about ex-soldiers, profiteers, and working and voting women to the heroes, villains and love-interests that dominated a range of films and novels. Heroes and happy endings further considers the state's role in shaping the content of popular narratives through censorship. An important and highly readable work for scholars and students interested in cultural and social history, as well as media and film studies, this book is sure to shift our understanding of the role of mass culture in the 1920s and 1930s. "This is a highly anticipated examination of the popular film and fiction consumed by Britons in the 1920s and 1930s. Departing from a prevailing emphasis on popular culture as escapist, Christine Grandy offers a fresh perspective by noting the enduring importance of class and gender divisions in the narratives read and watched by the working and middle classes between the wars. This compelling study ties contemporary concerns about ex-soldiers, profiteers, and working and voting women to the heroes, villains and love-interests that dominated a range of films and novels. This book further considers the state's role in shaping the content of popular narratives through censorship. An important and highly readable work for scholars and students interested in cultural and social history, as well as media and film studies, this book is sure to shift our understanding of the role of mass culture in the 1920s and 1930s"--Publisher's website Front matter Series introduction Dedication Contents List of figures General editor’s introduction Acknowledgements Introduction: the role of popular culture between the wars A man imagined: heroes, work, and nation The shape of villainy: profiteering and money-men That magic moment: the female love-interestand the villainess Building character: censorship, the Home Office, and the BBFC Conclusion: thoughts on heroes, villains, and love-interests beyond 1939 Appendix: Censorable items compiled in 1917 from the BBFC’s Annual Reports of 1913–15 Bibliography Index