The 1930s vs. the 1950s

This is a quasi-related topic, since both periods are covered in the Indy films....But I'm talking about in general: Which do you feel was the better time in general in terms of pop culture, society, etc? Basically which period do you find more interesting and like overall--Not just for Indy?

The 1930s in all cases. I've always found this to be a fascinating period. Travel and communication were becoming easier, yet the world still had it's mysterious and wild places. It's a time where we still might believe there's a Skull Island somewhere full of creatures that ought to be extinct.

Despite the depression the 1930s were forward looking and pregnant with hope. 1939 brought that crashing down. The end of a Golden Age that never existed in reality.

Then the end of the Second World War signals another change. Post-war economic gloom, and the beginning of the Cold War. If this was the brave new world then I would rather go back to the 1930s when anything seemed possible once more.

The world seemed smaller in the 1930s. Fast travel was much more rare, and it took a great while to get from point A to point B. There were still unknown parts of the world where superstitions and myths abounded.
When I think of the 30s it just seems more exotic, and better suited for an adventure than the 40s or 50s.

So, despite the Great Depression, I enjoy reading and watching movies set in the 30s. It's just an era in which I love. Even if the subject matter is within America, I like the time period. How America was struggling but trying to pull itself from the mire. How there were thousands of 'Drifters' roaming the country. So many stories to be told, and so many adventures.

To what degree are we perhaps idealizing (or romanticizing) these decades? In other words, those decades look cool when we consider the impressions of them left by novels, television, film, radio, and merchandise, but do these things leave out so much that we don't really get to form a very well-rounded picture of what life was like then? It's hard to get a real sense of a decade when one can only look back at it through a modern lens, without the direct experience of having lived it. Social and civil rights issues aside, I'm not sure yours is a very simple question to answer. Just something to think about. Personally, I'd prefer the 30's as well.