Working Boys and Girls:
Using Children in the 1930's
Introduction
Working boys and girls competed for employment in a tight
labor force during the 30's. Children provided both economical and
psychological benefits to adults during the difficulties of the Great
Depression.
Even with reform efforts to the contrary, child labor proliferated in the
1930's. Economically, children added to the work force as laborers, minors,
actors, agricultural workers, newsies and in any other field they
could get hired, legally or illegally. Psychologically, child actors provided
an escape with their uplifting portrayals in radio and film.
With the United States trying to win the game called "beat the depression,"
Child stars provided a needed outlet for society and achieved financial gain
for themselves and their handlers in the process.
What could lift a depressed soul more than the shiny happy face of a curly headed child
laughing and dancing while overcoming adversity and poverty? The message sent was that if these little tykes could
do it, then so could adults. Shirley Temple movies were not
made just for five-year-olds but for adults who wanted to fantasize
about a happy time - the idealized childhood. A wave of films starring
"cute" children appeared along with an aggressive attempt to maintain
this mythical fantasy and capitalize on it with a marketing
bonanza. The real winners were the film producers and toy makers. The reality of the
state of the child in the 30's went against this fantasy type. The depression was a
setback in the crusade against child labor and a few documentary photos and films tried
to counter the myth of the carefree child. But the majority of Americans
paid to see the myth perpetuated. Working boys and girls not only achieved financial gain for poverty stricken families but for fat cat studio owners who used child actors to "act" as mythical placebos for a decade full of despair.