Popular Culture and Working–class Taste in Britain, 1930–39 : A Round of Cheap Diversions?

This book examines the relationship between class and culture in 1930s Britain. Focusing on the reading and cinema-going tastes of the working classes, it combines historical analysis with a close textual reading of visual and written sources to appraise the role of popular leisure in this decade. Drawing on original research, the book adds to our knowledge of working-class leisure pursuits in this contentious period. Front matter Series introduction Dedication Contents General editor’s introduction Acknowledgements Introduction ‘The people’s amusement’: the growth in cinema-going and reading habits ‘Fouling civilisation’?: official attitudes towards popular film and literature Trade attitudes towards audience taste ‘What made you put that rubbish on?’: national trends in film popularity ‘The appearance is an added incentive’: national trends in literature popularity ‘A very profitable enterprise’: South Wales Miners’ Institutes ‘Gunmen, rustlers and a damsel in distress’: working-class tastes in Derby The home of the brave’?: working-class tastes in Portsmouth Popular film and literature: textual analyses Conclusion: ‘giving the public what it wants’ Appendix I: Broader patterns of film popularity Appendix II: Sidney Bernstein questionnaires, 1932 and 1934 Appendix III: Patterns of literature popularity Select bibliography Index This book examines the relationship between class and culture in 1930s Britain. Focusing on the reading and cinema-going tastes of the working classes, Robert James'landmark study combines rigorous historical analysis with a close textual reading of visual and written sources to appraise the role of popular leisure in this fascinating decade.Drawing on a wealth of original research, this lively and accessible book adds immeasurably to our knowledge of working-class leisure pursuits in this contentious period. It is a key intervention in the field, providing both an imaginative approach to the subject and an abundance of new material to analyse, thus making it an undergraduate and postgraduate ‘must-have'. It will be a particularly welcome addition for anyone interested in the fields of cultural and social history, as well as film, cultural and literary studies. This book examines the relationship between class & culture in 1930s Britain. focusing on the reading & cinema-going tastes of the working classes, Robert James' landmark study combines rigorous historical analysis with a close textual reading of visual & written sources to appraise the role of popular leisure in this decade This is a landmark study which examines the film and reading tastes of working-class consumers in 1930s Britain. Drawing on a wealth of original research, Robert James argues that working-class consumers used popular film and fiction to answer a range of cultural and social needs in this tumultuous decade. -- .