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33-06-15 Depression Dichotomy

Though Rush speaks of the Depression and how many of his friends are affected, some even having to drop out of school at the age of 10 or 11 to work, he somehow manages to buy $8.00 earrings for his mother.

Sade is taking a social climb and is visiting a wealthy acquaintance.  The earrings, Rush believes, will help his mother make an impression on the lady.
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Without seeing the script and hearing the audio, it's darn-near impossible to tell what message is trying to be sent here.  Is the message about Rush's almost-improbable sacrifice of $8.00 ("Can I have a dime? [...] Nickel?")  Is the message a showing of the dichotomy between the rich, the middle class and the poor?  Is the message about Sade (and Rush) being opulent in a time where it comes out looking like a waste of money?  Is the message about Sade being phony and wanting to make a needless false impression on high society?

One thing is for certain.  Just about two weeks prior to this episode, Sade joined the Thimble Club and was trying to make her way up in society.

The title is one I have given purely for identification purposes.

[The gist of this episode was revealed in the book, Vic and Sade on the Radio: A Cultural History of Paul Rhymer's Daytime Series]

1 comment:

  1. Very true about $8 being a lot. No knowing why that figure was chosen. Year later, when the economy was recovering Rush asks Vic for a total of $25 for all Xmas presents, present for Sade maybe $8 then. Clearly the early $8 figure is an oddity.

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