How was the cultural life of America in the period known as Great Depression?

Culture in America was profoundly impacted by the poverty
and lack of power caused by the economic crises of the time.  There was greater impact
found in documentaries that depicted reality as it was.  Even fiction moved towards this
realm such as in the works of John Steinbeck, who articulated the condition of the
dispossessed.  The films of the time period were vastly different from the ornate and
wealthy extravagance of the previous decade.  The films of the 1930s focused on the
"common man," and sought to bring the message that individuals can do great things. 
This message might have been advocated because it was believed that individuals had to
become the miracle they sought for government was not in the position to help anyone at
the time.  The time for governmental miracles was supplanted by heroines like Scarlett,
who vowed "to never go hungry again," in Gone with the Wind or
Dorothy who had to go to the ends of the earth to understand that "There's no place like
home" in The Wizard of Oz. Poets like Langston Hughes in works such
as "Waitin' on Roosevelt" gave voice to the idea that the time
period brought unique challenges for people of color who were feeling pressure on both
economic and racial fronts.  In the end, culture of the 1930s profoundly mirrored
Shahn's murals where the different faces of pain, hunger, want, and barrenness were
evident.