Daily Photo — “Damaged Lives, 1941”
Use the photos posted in this feature for writing prompts, warm-up activities, drawing templates or as part of a photo analysis.
Some things never change, right?
Looking at this photo, one might make certain assumptions about the content of the film being shown in this theater. However, a little digging shows it might not be exactly what you think. In 1934, Hollywood implemented a series of production rules, also known as the “Hays Code” to bring decency into films. Before this, any films made (termed “pre-code” films), while not as risque as today’s movies, were able to push the boundaries in subject matter, sexuality, and the depiction of crime for example. The film being shown here, “Damaged Lives” was one of those. A quick search on IMDB shows that it’s something we wouldn’t think twice about in 2017, but in 1941 was a very taboo subject.
Sometimes things change quite a bit.
“Knoxville, Tenn., ca. 1941. Miscellaneous lot of photographs by Barbara Wright related to Tennessee Valley Authority projects and region.
Click image to enlarge