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Critical accommodations: Washington, Hollywood, and the World War II housing shortage

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 08:12 authored by Frank Krutnik
This article explores the extraordinary currency that the Washington housing crisis achieved during World War as a topic of popular joking. Looking at films, radio broadcasts, posters and other contemporary materials, I argue that the housing crisis provided a cultural scenario through which wartime audiences and the popular media could address (and express) ambivalent responses to the official paradigms of dutiful citizenship. In particular, I examine how a cycle of Hollywood films, mostly romantic comedies, make use of the housing crisis as a springboard for stories that examine the broader social and emotional accommodations required within the mobilized culture of wartime.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Journal of American Culture

ISSN

1542-7331

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell

Issue

4

Volume

30

Page range

417-433

Pages

17.0

Department affiliated with

  • Media and Film Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2012-02-06

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