"It can't be anything like love, can it?"

English Professor David Shumway was featured on the Modern Language Association radio program “What’s the Word” to talk about screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. Shumway discussed “It Happened One Night” of 1934 and “The Philadelphia Story” of 1940, which he said explored issues such as social class, divorce and gender relations in ways previously unheard of in Hollywood films. Those movies also were notable at the time for featuring strong female characters and putting forth the idea that strong women are attractive, Shumway said. Shumway is the director of the Humanities Center and the author of “Modern Love: Romance, Intimacy and the Marriage Crisis.” The book examines how shifting attitudes toward love and relationships have been reflected in popular culture over the past 40 years.

To listen to "What's the Word", click here, and then scroll down until you come to "Screwball Comedies". 

Jonathan Potts