In literature, social conscience and social realism prevailed, culminating in John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath (1939). In cinema these were the years of Frank Capra’s celebration of community spirit in films like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and It’s a Wonderful Life (1946). As Capra said, “My films must let every man, woman, and child know that… peace and salvation will become a reality only when they all learn to love each other.”
