ABSTRACT
As the Depression lingered and war broke out in Europe, a dark cloud hung over Americans. During these tense times, celebrity culture transi - tioned from promoting the fantasy of attaining massive wealth to one of shared sacrifice after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The American Dream briefly took a backseat to the emerging sense of collectivism and focus on the greater good during America’s involvement in the conflict. Patriotism became far more important than attaining individual wealth in fan magazine coverage; in fact, the fan magazines suggested that consuming more than one’s fair share would be unpatriotic. The war effort also meant that women who worked were no longer described as threatening, but patriotic. Their upward mobility would uplift the country, rather than wreck their chances of marriage. But anxieties about marriage lingered in fan magazines, particularly as the war drew millions of men overseas. For women, marriage had been the clearest path to upward mobility. The shifts during the war threatened to change that, and what would come next was not yet clear. Fan magazines along with films promoting the war effort clearly attempted to bolster a sense of solidarity and social cohesion. A national crisis such as war can serve to reinforce a sense of unity, further promoting cohesion in an otherwise diverse society.
