The Panic Is On: The Great American Depression as Seen by the Common Man
- 2009
- 1h 58m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
12
YOUR RATING
The Panic Is On looks at vintage films, documentaries, and newsreels made during the depression about the depression.The Panic Is On looks at vintage films, documentaries, and newsreels made during the depression about the depression.The Panic Is On looks at vintage films, documentaries, and newsreels made during the depression about the depression.
Photos
Pablo Abeita
- Self - Zuni Indian (segment "Pablo Abeita")
- (archive footage)
Frankie Wagner
- Self - Dancer (segment "Dance Marathons")
- (archive footage)
Storyline
Did you know
- ConnectionsFeatures National Recovery Administration (NRA) Promo (1933)
Featured review
Well Worth Watching
Unfortunately, I can't rate the 2-hour production since I've seen little comparable to compare it with. Nonetheless, all three segments are well worth watching.
The total time divides into three film components. The first and longest consists of documentary footage of Depression Era ravages. It's something of an overview concentrating on the generally impoverished conditions of a broad segment of the American people. Those long lines of bedraggled, unemployed men summarize the harsh state of the economy and leave a lasting impression. The second segment, about a half-hour, are excerpts from the 1934 film, Our Daily Bread, and dramatize how unemployed drifters can pool their talents to form a working farm and a harmonious way of life. I take it as an ode to a cooperative type alternative economy, an idea popular at the time. The third segment, also about a half-hour, shows how electrification of rural farms, thanks to the government sponsored ERA, greatly improved farm life over the older, more laborious, daily tasks, especially for women's work which was rather neglected by the first two segments. (Also, I now have a new appreciation of the convenient electric lamp next to me.)
Together these three segments make up the overall production. At first I thought the second and third segments were unnecessary since they were more or less staged unlike the real life documentary part. But, on second thought, they do personalize the economic ravages that the documentary overview of the first part cannot. And in that sense, they help establish a more complete illustration of the time.
Several highlights to watch for. Note the documentary comments from the Zuni Indian chieftain, who notes that the economic collapse was ironically brought on by the norms of those who now suffer its consequences. At the same time he implies that less competitive, more harmonious, societal norms would avoid the problem. Note too, in the Our Daily Bread segment how the newly formed cooperative members unanimously acclaim one man as "Boss" of the outfit, an odd delegation of power among presumed equals. Also, rather surprisingly, none of the acrimonious politics of the era appears anywhere among the two hours. Given the churning politics of the time, that omission appears intentional. And how about those loony dance marathons that could go on in unfeeling fashion for hours, days, weeks, and maybe even months, the zombified couples barely moving with only stage-side cots to rest on. I guess it was something for the idled masses to do; I just hope there was big prize money in the offing.
All in all, the unfortunately obscure production is well worth watching, not only for historical value, but for its lessons for today. So give it a try.
The total time divides into three film components. The first and longest consists of documentary footage of Depression Era ravages. It's something of an overview concentrating on the generally impoverished conditions of a broad segment of the American people. Those long lines of bedraggled, unemployed men summarize the harsh state of the economy and leave a lasting impression. The second segment, about a half-hour, are excerpts from the 1934 film, Our Daily Bread, and dramatize how unemployed drifters can pool their talents to form a working farm and a harmonious way of life. I take it as an ode to a cooperative type alternative economy, an idea popular at the time. The third segment, also about a half-hour, shows how electrification of rural farms, thanks to the government sponsored ERA, greatly improved farm life over the older, more laborious, daily tasks, especially for women's work which was rather neglected by the first two segments. (Also, I now have a new appreciation of the convenient electric lamp next to me.)
Together these three segments make up the overall production. At first I thought the second and third segments were unnecessary since they were more or less staged unlike the real life documentary part. But, on second thought, they do personalize the economic ravages that the documentary overview of the first part cannot. And in that sense, they help establish a more complete illustration of the time.
Several highlights to watch for. Note the documentary comments from the Zuni Indian chieftain, who notes that the economic collapse was ironically brought on by the norms of those who now suffer its consequences. At the same time he implies that less competitive, more harmonious, societal norms would avoid the problem. Note too, in the Our Daily Bread segment how the newly formed cooperative members unanimously acclaim one man as "Boss" of the outfit, an odd delegation of power among presumed equals. Also, rather surprisingly, none of the acrimonious politics of the era appears anywhere among the two hours. Given the churning politics of the time, that omission appears intentional. And how about those loony dance marathons that could go on in unfeeling fashion for hours, days, weeks, and maybe even months, the zombified couples barely moving with only stage-side cots to rest on. I guess it was something for the idled masses to do; I just hope there was big prize money in the offing.
All in all, the unfortunately obscure production is well worth watching, not only for historical value, but for its lessons for today. So give it a try.
helpful•10
- dougdoepke
- May 24, 2021
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- Runtime1 hour 58 minutes
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By what name was The Panic Is On: The Great American Depression as Seen by the Common Man (2009) officially released in Canada in English?
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