1930s Depression-Era: Dance Marathons
Depression-Era Entertainment: The Dance Marathon
Kamarie Fernandes With the recent development of reality television providing the viewer-ship of contests across the globe, people are able to watch others suffer intense physical and mental games in order to be considered the best, the smartest, the strongest, the most talented, and so forth, in order to win a large cash prize along with short-lived international fame. Today’s “me-era” entertainment is known as reality television. In contrast with today’s entertainment, in the 1930s it was known as depression-era entertainment. Depression-era entertainment was known as the dance marathon; however, dance marathons began years before the depression. By the early 1930s, dance marathons had evolved into a perverted human effort of survival of the fittest--Darwinism at its best. Although dance marathons were originally an innocent and harmless form of amusement and achievement, they had become the most widely attended and controversial forms of entertainment, driven by greed, desperation and foolishness. The marathon idea dates back to classical Greek civilization with the first long footrace from Marathon to Athens. Centuries later, modern day Olympics debuted in 1896 to grab public attention and audiences and engage them in a variety of sports and games. Striving to set world records, people around the world recreated the Olympics of Olympia in ancient Greece. By the 1920s, Americans were itching for new ways to become the best; therefore, post-war America was all about endurance tests, such as flagpole sitting, mountain climbing, long distance airplane flights, and so forth (Martin 4). The spark in America for dance marathons did not actually originate in America, it originated in England. The first dance marathon record holders were partners Olie Finnerty and Edgar Van Ollefin of Sunderland, England. On February 18, 1923, the partnership had danced for seven hours non-stop. The next record holder was again
Kamarie Fernandes With the recent development of reality television providing the viewer-ship of contests across the globe, people are able to watch others suffer intense physical and mental games in order to be considered the best, the smartest, the strongest, the most talented, and so forth, in order to win a large cash prize along with short-lived international fame. Today’s “me-era” entertainment is known as reality television. In contrast with today’s entertainment, in the 1930s it was known as depression-era entertainment. Depression-era entertainment was known as the dance marathon; however, dance marathons began years before the depression. By the early 1930s, dance marathons had evolved into a perverted human effort of survival of the fittest--Darwinism at its best. Although dance marathons were originally an innocent and harmless form of amusement and achievement, they had become the most widely attended and controversial forms of entertainment, driven by greed, desperation and foolishness. The marathon idea dates back to classical Greek civilization with the first long footrace from Marathon to Athens. Centuries later, modern day Olympics debuted in 1896 to grab public attention and audiences and engage them in a variety of sports and games. Striving to set world records, people around the world recreated the Olympics of Olympia in ancient Greece. By the 1920s, Americans were itching for new ways to become the best; therefore, post-war America was all about endurance tests, such as flagpole sitting, mountain climbing, long distance airplane flights, and so forth (Martin 4). The spark in America for dance marathons did not actually originate in America, it originated in England. The first dance marathon record holders were partners Olie Finnerty and Edgar Van Ollefin of Sunderland, England. On February 18, 1923, the partnership had danced for seven hours non-stop. The next record holder was again
Cited: Farrell, James T. “The Dance Marathons.” Vol. 18. Pg. 133-144. MELUS. 1993. Pg. 48-63. 1987. Print. University Press of Mississippi. 1994. Print. Simson, Maria. “Forecasts: Paperbacks.” Publishers Weekly. Issue 27. July. 1994. Print.