Bonnie and Clyde: Products of the Great Depression - by Salvador Gonzalez

Salvador Gonzalez
English 110
Mr. Lewenstein
1 Feb. 2022

Bonnie and Clyde: Products of the Great Depression

 

    Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. They were mostly known for their bank robberies. However, they preferred to rob small stores or rural funeral homes. Their crime spree captured the attention of the American press and its audience during what is occasionally referred to as the "public enemy era" between 1931 and 1934. In 1934, Bonnie and Clyde were ambushed on a highway they were riddled with bullets and that was the end of their crime spree. The police used them as a way to show their authority and to set an example for anyone trying to follow their footsteps. The article "Shredding the Glamour from Bonnie and Clyde” states, "It turned Parker and Barrow into the iconic figures they had been more than 30 years earlier when their exploits captured the imagination of the public suffering during The Great Depression.” Bonnie and Clyde distracted people from their struggles of the Great Depression. Many people disliked the banks because they were robbing them. They were also idolized because they were lovers on the run. They were outcasts which really attracted the public.

 

    How did the Great Depression play a role in the criminal lives of Bonnie and Clyde? During the 1920’s, the United States economy grew rapidly, and many Americans became more prosperous. The stock market began to fluctuate and on July 8th, 1932, it reached its lowest value which caused the Great Depression. Banks and investors lost large sums of money, and this caused uncertainty about the future of the economy. Consequently, it led to consumers to cut back on purchasing goods and services. These factors contributed to making the Great Depression worse which lasted a total of eleven years from 1930 to 1941 and is now a big part of our history. Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow became criminals due to their upbringing. Both were poor, and to add to that the Country was heading into the Great Depression which caused uncertainty of the future of the country's economy. In "Stock Market Crash of 1929" We learn about the collapse of the United States stock market, which was one the biggest contributing factors that led to the Great Depression. In the article it talks about where it all started which is in the 1920's.

 

     During the 1920’s, the United States economy grew rapidly, and many Americans became more prosperous, the average price of stocks on the New York Stock Exchange increased about six times from 1921 to 1929. The increase in share prices caused many people to believe it would keep going up and many people begin to speculate, which means to invest in stocks, property, or other ventures in the hope of gain but with the risk of loss. The stock market closed on October 23rd, 1929, The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which tracks stock prices of 30 major firms, shows the price trends of stocks traded in the United States. The following day, October 24, known as “Black Thursday,” the stock market average dropped. On October 28, share prices fell again and the stock market lost nearly 13 percent of its value. On Tuesday, Oct. 29, 1929 known as "Black Tuesday "shareholders panicked. A massive sell-off of shares caused the stock market to fall almost 12 percent. By mid-November, stock prices had dropped about 48 percent. After the big drop in stock prices, the stock market began to fluctuate and on July 8th, 1932, it reached its lowest value which caused the Great Depression. Banks and investors lost large sums of money, and this caused uncertainty about the future of the economy, which led to consumers to cut back on purchasing goods and services. These factors contributed to making the Great Depression worse which lasted a total of eleven years from 1930 to 1941 and is now a big part of our history.

 

    Infamous is a person that is well known for a bad quality or action. This shouldn't be confused with being famous because famous means to be seen in a positive way for having a talent of some sort. Some people have different perspectives to someone who is infamous, for example Bonnie and Clyde were very infamous people who gained their reputation mainly from robbing banks. The police saw them as an enemy while the people of that time saw them like robin hood because they were taking on the government who they blamed for all the suffering and misery  that was going on. Very soon, Bonnie and Clyde began appearing on the FBI's most wanted list as public enemies.  Sadly when someone becomes infamous it is the responsibility ofthe government to take action against them in order to keep justice and order in the country. Bonnie and Clyde ended up being ambushed on a highway by police officers from Louisiana and Texas the officers ended up riddling them with bullets killing them instantly. This a great example of how being infamous can have negative outcomes if Bonnie and Clyde wouldn't have become infamous, they could have probably survived longer or just been arrested instead of

being killed. 

 

     Bonnie was full of life, she was uplifting, inspiring, charming, she was extroverted and optimistic. Bonnie's biggest strength was her courage. She did whatever it took in order to be successful in her life. She lived during the time of the Great Depression and served as a symbol of hope for men and women around the country. For a woman to have her name tied up as a major part of a crime spree and massive nationwide manhunt was unheard of at the time, without Bonnie, Clyde would have just been another outlaw that the police would catch up to soon. Bonnie's Major weakness was her interest in bad men, during her second year in high school Bonnie fell in love with classmate Roy Thornton. In September 1926, just days before Bonnie's
16th birthday they ended up getting married. Thornton ended up abusing her and in 1929 he was sent to prison for robbery.

 

    Bonnie then met Clyde through a mutual friend. Clyde, was a volatile ex-con and a wanted man who had vowed that he would never go back to prison. Her interest in bad men led to her becoming a criminal and going on a crime spree for 2 years. She ended up being murdered in an ambush in by police in 1934. Bonnie had complications with the Law due to her being a criminal. After becoming a criminal her life would never be the same, she dreamed of being a poet and had written some poetry, but her dream had to die when she became part of the FBI most wanted list. The FBI and local law enforcement authorities in Louisiana and Texas concentrated on apprehending Bonnie and Clyde. Bonnie told her story through her poetry and the pictures she would take pictures smoking cigars and holding machine guns. Bonnie and Clyde's lives seemed to be glamorous but in reality, they went through many hardships. Bonnie and Clyde were seen as heroes in the 1930s because the country was going through the Great Depression and newspapers were covering the misery the Great Depression was causing. As soon as newspapers started putting out images and information about Bonnie and Clyde, the people loved them, and they became very notorious. Soon after Bonnie and Clyde became notorious, they caught the eye of the authorities and that led to them being on the FBI most wanted list. They had to live life on the run. They went through sleep deprivation and spent most of their time in vehicles in order to avoid the authorities. The final showdown scene from

 

    The 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde captures when they were ambushed by Texas Ranger Frank Hamer and five other lawmen who were hiding in an ambush. Frank Hamer had received information that they would be traveling down Highway 154 in Louisiana and stopping at a large pine stump that was used by local criminals as a mailbox. In the scene it shows Clyde driving down the highway and getting off the vehicle he seems to be pretty calm and calling out to the man by the  stump. Shortly after he looks over to Bonnie with a face of panic and the lawmen open fire on them killing them instantly. Fifty rounds had shattered Bonnie's petite frame, forty had ripped through Clyde. The fingers of Bonnie's right hand had been blown away. A gun rested in her lap. She was twenty-three years old, and Clyde was twenty-five (DiNardo). The film glamorized Bonnie and Clyde but the real-life version of them had to experience many hardships. Bonnie and Clyde had no friends, and they couldn't spend much time with family or be around any other people because they could be at risk of danger. Even though they took all the precautions to remain safe their fate was death.

 

 

    Front and center of this image (above) you can see actors Warren Beatty who plays Clyde Barrow and Faye Dunaway who plays Bonnie Parker. They are both holding their own revolvers which lets us know they are people you don't want to mess around with or they need them in order to protect themselves. They are leaning on a car they use to travel around the United States. The car is a Ford Fordor Deluxe Sedan. The way they dress is from gangsters back in the day and the poster isn't very colorful because this a gangster movie the black and white colors in the poster lets the audience know the film is serious and historical. The first thing that caught my eye is how they are holding their guns out in the open and the clothes they are wearing. This lets me know that they are criminals who are open about what they do. It seems to me they take pride in their guns. The clothes they are wearing portrays that they are gangsters of some sort. Clearly this poster exudes an atmosphere of danger, romance, adventure, and crime. Bonnie is leaning back on the car which lets us know she doesn't care and isn't the typical woman she seems to like guns and looking like a criminal. Clyde on the right-hand side is sitting down and doesn't want topose for this picture which lets us know he doesn't like to show off, but he has a gun in his hand to portray he still isn't someone to mess with. Bonnie and Clyde were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression and were known for their bank robberies.

 

    Movie Critic Roger Ebert describes the film Bonnie and Clyde as a masterpiece. In the review he explains the background of the production of the movie and all the struggles the cast went through, he states "the legend of the film's production has become almost as famous as its heroes." He talks about how Warren Beatty, the actor who played Bonnie, had to beg on herknees to the owner of the studio for the right to make the film. He also mentions how the movie opened and then closed quickly, how all the critics were giving bad reviews of the movie, it was looking like the film would not be successful but turned out to be a masterpiece. He also mentions how the film had a huge impact on the American movie industry, it was one of a kind and inspired many more violent comedy films. I don't believe he is biased because he also provides information about how the movie was not successful right off the bat and explained the

series of events that led it to be successful.

 

    Roger Ebert is an outstanding movie critic and very knowledgeable about Bonnie and Clyde. I agree with the claims he made Bonnie and Clyde was a very good film and made the real-life Bonnie and Clyde into iconic figures. I chose this film because I found it to be very interesting. I had very little knowledge about Bonnie and Clyde, but I knew a good amount of the Great Depression. I learned a great amount about the film and its production. I never knew that Beatty  had to beg on her knees in order to be able to make the film. It shows how much this film meant for her and how determined she was. I would have never thought people from that time would idolize bank robbers at that time but the more I researched the topic it made much more sense to me. If I lived during the Great Depression, I also would have idolized Bonnie and Clyde becauseof the misery that was going on.

 

 

Works Cited

Bonnie and Clyde.Dir. Arthur Penn.Tatira-Hiller Productions.1967. Film “Shredding the Glamour from Bonnie and Clyde.”The Western Morning
News, 09 Mar 2009, https://www.proquest.com/docview/. Accessed Jan 11 2022.

DiNardo, Luciano. “The Massacre of Bonnie Clyde.”The Ottawa Citizen, 23 May 2004,https://www.proquest.com/docview/. Accessed Jan. 11
2022.

Hodde, Sam. “Bonnie and Clyde Final Showdown.” Youtube,Uploaded by Sam Hodde,7 Oct. 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch.
Seibel,Brendan. “These rare photos of Bonnie and Clyde reveal the dark reality of America’s iconic criminal couple.”Timeline,PDNB Gallery,
Dallas, TX, 20 Sep.2017, https://timeline.com/rare-photos.

Harrod, William M. "Stock market crash of 1929." World Book Advanced, World Book, 2022,https://www-worldbookonline-com.ezproxy.imperi.
Accessed 21 Jan. 2022.