Final answer:
Andrew Bergman perceives 1930s gangster films as an act of faith, serving as a hopeful escape during the Great Depression, rather than glorifying crime. These films and Fitzgerald's memoirs reflect the broader cultural shift towards community and interdependence evident in that era's societal struggles and adaptations.
Step-by-step explanation:
Andrew Bergman suggests that the gangster films of the early 1930s represented not so much an endorsement of criminality but rather an expression of hope during the Great Depression. This idea counters the view that the films glorified a criminal lifestyle and were subversive. Instead, Bergman believes these films reflected an act of faith, suggesting that audiences were drawn to the resilience and resourcefulness depicted in gangster films as a form of escapism and inspiration during the hardship of the Depression. The films enabled viewers to envisage overcoming their own struggles, thus serving as a cultural medium that rallied the public spirit against adversity.
In the 1930s, society faced significant cultural shifts, moving away from the self-reliance and individualism of the 1920s to a culture more accepting of credit and material successes. During this time, literature and film began to reflect a greater emphasis on the community and the common welfare. F. Scott Fitzgerald, in his work "The Crack-Up," illustrates the transition of the twenties into the thirties, acknowledging both his own life's progression and the broader cultural changes unfolding around him. Fitzgerald describes a past filled with youthful dreams and ambitions, poignant against the backdrop of the collective enduring of the Depression's realities.