redwagon ; the mod journal (![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} redwagon) wrote,@ 2011-10-17 10:46:00 |
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the setting 1933.
| what year is the game set? the year is 1933 and america, like most of the western world, is currently in the midst of a great depression. this was a time of incredible economic hardship across the country which began with the crash of the stock market in 1929. by 1933 the unemployment rate in the US had risen to a record 25%. large cities were hit hard, especially those dependent on heavy industry as all construction work was virtually halted. farming and rural areas suffered as droughts persisted and crop prices fell by as much as 60%. hundreds of thousands of americans found themselves homeless, and began congregating in shanty towns -dubbed "hoovervilles" after the president- which began to appear across the country. the worse was still to come. shortly after president roosevelt was inaugurated in 1933, drought and erosion combined to cause the dust bowl, an event which shifted hundreds of thousands of displaced persons off their farms in the midwest. in short, life in 1933 is incredibly tough. so what's the cost of things in 1933? good question! people didn't have much money at all during the depression and it wasn't unusual for bartering to take place. the following can be used as a rough guide but try not to get too bogged down it. remember that food and board is all paid for if you're with the circus and the infamous monday man can get you cheap second hand clothing. prohibition? 1933 was the last year of prohibition in america. it officially ended in december and since our game begins in april, it's still in full swing. fortunately the circus has found ways of getting around the alcohol ban. right before the season starts they divert to canada and stock up on booze, which they then hide in the cages of the exotic animals. very few cops are going to be willing to put their hands in with a lion. how do the non-powered and powered humans interact? this will partly be up to the individual character, depending on their personality. the circus still has a small collection of troupers from seasons past, those who can remember what life was like before the powered humans came along. a few are resentful of the turn of events, irked at losing their place as a headlining act and finding themselves further down the ladder than they like. for that reason, and others they're keeping to themselves, the birlings disapprove of contact beyond what is necessary between the two groups. what once existed as a barrier between performers and roustabouts has now morphed into one between powered and non powered. so while a trick rider might make passing small talk with the non powered ringstock roustabout, they won't be sitting at a table together for lunch. the non powered seamstress might chat pleasantly with the bally broad whose outfit she's fixing, but they won't be hanging out at the movies anytime soon. no one's going to get thrown out of the circus for befriending a powered/non powered character but the birlings are certainly trying to curtail any friendships of this nature. what were women's rights in the 1930s? after their courageous efforts in world war i women were finally granted the right to vote. however this privilege didn't automatically make them equal to their male counterparts -something that would in actuality take another fifty years to happen. women of this era were still expected to settle down, marry, have children and look after the home and their husband. it was almost unheard of for a married women to seek employment and only the very poor did so. of course with the unemployment rate as high as it is in 1933, there are even less jobs for able women than before the war. so should my female character be bowing and scraping at the feet of the male characters? yes and no. bear in the mind that the type of people living in a circus aren't exactly conforming to society norms as it is. almost all the women in this community have jobs and no one bats an eyelid at them for it. however in most cases the married women are going to follow their husband's lead -or at least not argue with him until they're behind a closed door. domestic violence is, unfortunately, nothing shocking to the people of the 1930s either. if you're a wife then you're still regarded as being your husband's property it's also worth remembering that there was no such thing as birth control in the 1930s. there were 'family limitation' methods and a primitive form of condoms but the latter wasn't exactly one hundred per cent effective. a woman with a reputation for sleeping around during this era certainly wouldn't have been looked on favourably by her peers. again though, this is a circus and not everyone is going to care that jessica's been having it off under a train with jimmy. another plus point to being with the circus? if you're one of the main acts then you automatically earn more money than a man in the sideshow. a woman earning more than a man was virtually unheard of in most places of employment in the 30s. please note though that the mod is not encouraging sexism as such in the game. the historical setting is outlined so that you, the player, can adjust your character as need be. naturally not every male character will look down on women, not every female character (if many at all, given the circus setting!) will be thrilled about her lack of rights or accept sexism directed at her. the circus community is clearly close knit and unconventional and as such, you won't find many 1930s versions of betty draper in this game. what about racism in this era? unfortunately racism was rife in america during the 1930s and many minority groups were very much treated as third class citizens. rosa parks had yet to make her stand on a bus and martin luther king jr wouldn't be around for another twenty years. as a result african americans were often kept in separate living spaces and called all number of horrific names both in public and private. again, this is where the circus differs. this is a community which has been brought together because everyone, in some way or another, feels like an outsider. as a result the birling brothers frown on racism and expect the bosses in each department to keep a close eye on this. they don't want one of their star performers walking out on them because of some ignorant asshole after all. should i be researching 1930s slang, fashion and historical events? in a word? no. there's really no need because this is a) a psl and b) we're not rping a domesticated 1930s family. the game is taking place on a circus and so a lot of things simply aren't going to be relevant -you'll simply end up wasting your time. i've also made an effort to pick out the major things you need to be concerned about; all of which are above. so my character really doesn't need to speak in 1930s slang? nope, your characters can talk as they would now. just bear in mind that swearing in front of a lady would rarely be done and it's an easy way to get your ass kicked. what about pbs? do i need to trawl icon communities for costume actors? again, nope! lets keep it simple. most icons are made from the shoulders up anyway, so clothing simply isn't relevant. and even if we can see your female pb wearing a halterneck, we have this thing called imagination. so essentially there's really no need to make life harder for yourself. if you want to use someone from a film set in the 30s or 40s, then great! but most people probably aren't. what did people do for fun in the 1930s? lots of things! parlor games and board games became very popular. spectator sports, especially baseball, were suddenly everywhere. stars like lou gehrig and joe dimaggio drew fans into the stadium. those who couldn't attend the games listened to the play-by-play on their radios. gambling also increased as people sought any means to add to their income. between 1930 and 1939 horse racing became legal in 15 more states bringing the total to 21. and, of course, there was the circus if you were lucky. would my character be educated? what about their kids if they have any? the 1930s weren't the best of times for public education. since money was in short supply, parents were unable to provide their children with the necessary clothes, supplies and textbooks (which were not furnished in some states) to attend school. taxes, especially in rural areas, went unpaid. with this loss of revenue school boards were forced to try other strategies to keep their districts operating. there were shortened school terms and teachers' salaries were cut. when one new teacher was paid $40 a month for a five month school year, she was very glad for the job. so why did you choose to set the game in the past? for a number of reasons actually. circuses and carnivals were at their height in the 1880s-1930s, before movies really took off and killed their trade. in general when you think of the circus no doubt your mind goes to this era, there's something romantic and mysterious about travelling the country by train. another reason is that restrictions on performing animal acts were much, much looser than they are now and this removes the headache of having to explain how the circus is getting away with (admittedly horrible things like) dancing bears and toothless lions. animals like tigers and elephants are still foreign to the majority of people too, since not everyone has access to or can afford a trip to the zoo, and their presence would really draw in the crowds. law enforcement is also much less organised and refined, with the majority of towns and cities policing themselves. this makes it easier for the circus to get away with its own brand of justice, beating up non-paying locals who sneak in and redlighting their own men. plenty of sheriffs will also be all too happy to accept a bribe in return for looking the other way. the game is focusing on individuals with super powers and it only makes sense that the modern government would want to investigate this. meanwhile the president in 1933 is far too concerned with his country's unemployment and homeless rates to bother much with a few stories here and there. then there's technology. if the game is set in 2011 then it makes it much harder to explain why hollywood isn't getting in on the act, why the circuses and their employees aren't being plagued by news reporters and camera phones. lastly, a screened vote organised by the mod found that the majority of potential players preferred the 1930s setting. are there any films, tv shows or novels that might help give me a frame of reference? in terms of what life was really like during the great depression, it goes without saying that john steinbeck's of mice and men is a fantastic source to look at. hbo's carnivale is another good one as it actually follows a carnival across america during the 1930s. for life in general on a circus, try reading or watching water for elephants -it's set during the prohibition era but still helps set the tone. i have a question about setting that you haven't answered. please feel free to drop a comment to this entry. |