Question about life in America during World War II...?

I know the War was terrible, and there was rations and women had to work; but alot of people act like the 40's was a horrid decade and the War forshadowed everything; but my Grandmother who was in college in Chicago during the war said there were alot of great movies, celebrities and singers during this time, and everyday family life usually went about its own buisness. Was this true? Or did the War really overshadow everything, and there was alot of civilian fear?