The era in which Rodgers, Hart, and Hammerstein were active coincided with racial segregation, the revival of the Ku Klux Klan, and open anti-Semitism. Richard Rodgers and his co-workers used their music and art to combat prejudice in the USA. Examples can be found in all of the films in this year's program and in this year's featured musicals, Babes In Arms (1937) and South Pacific (1949). It is difficult to say how much Hart and Hammerstein influenced Rodgers or vice versa. Certainly agreements had to be reached on words, music, and dialog and approval given by their producers and financial backers. How effective were these efforts is impossible to measure, but the popularity of their works indicates their ideas had wide exposure.