Prohibition, flappers, and jazz music may come to the minds of many when they hear the words “the Roaring ‘20s” and this is expected as this decade was full of drinking, partying, and entertainment for people of the United States. Others, though may think of Hollywood when discussing one of the most infamous eras of the nation. At a time when the economy of the United States was at a perhaps all time high, people had more money and more free time to spend on doing things they enjoyed. This growth in the popularity of leisure activities as entertainment thrived led to the rise of Hollywood in the ‘20s. Movies may have just been another means of enjoying oneself, but Hollywood played a role in the views of society as its popularity grew and the
The 1920’s, also called the “Roaring Twenties,” was a decade of change throughout the entire country. Although cultures among the United States vary, the wide spread of technology is something all regions of America can relate to. From East to West, changes in entertainment, sports, and radio were major contributions to the change of pop culture. The 1920’s was the beginning of a new era that shaped the way the United States forever viewed the media. A chain reaction was built throughout the twenties, making the country closer from coast to coast.
All through United States history our country has encountered numerous prosperous time periods where our general public as a whole has changed in a positive way. One particular decade that gainfully effected our nation was the nineteen twenties, which can likewise be alluded to as the Roaring Twenties or Jazz Age. The Jazz Age Positively affected American life and society because people were into this new style of music, jazz. Numerous other innovations during this period also changed the minds of the U.S. individuals, which basically modified the nations norms and ethics. It will become obvious how jazz music impacted life during the economically bloated roaring twenties. This paper will also talk about how music, movies, literature, vehicles, fashion, crime and new ethics brought about the Jazz Age, which basically could be named the most prominent, socially successful decade in United States history.
In the 1920’s, America went through a series of political, social, and economic changes. This was the decade known as the Roaring Twenties, where most Americans lived in cities and lived a consumer lifestyle, while the total wealth of the nation doubled. The name “Roaring Twenties” also held several other different meanings, including a reference to jazz and the rebellious nature of the younger generation. The Roaring Twenties not only was a decade of boom and determination for America, but it additionally represented the biggest shift from a traditional culture to a modern one.
Lawrence Levine’s “The Folklore of Industrial Society: Popular Culture and it Audience,” examines what popular culture is and how it relates, specifically, to the 1930s. He notes that popular culture is perceived as trash, something for a passive, mindless listener, but rejects this idea completely. Instead, Levine shows how radio, movies, plays, and television unite people, allowing them to feel certain things and relate to the characters. Communities were built around different forms of popular culture, giving individuals the chance to discuss what they heard or saw, take some ideas and reject others, mold the programs into their own lives, and form their own opinions about them. There was nothing passive about these forms popular culture
The 1920’s brought change for Americans. New ways of communicating, telegraph and radio, allowed fellow Americans to come closer together despite proximity to one another. Celebrities began to emerge external to the political forums. Athletes and Socialites made an impact on knowledge, fashion, and ideas that were refined on perspective. American Citizens were given a choice and therefore the consumer market expounded causing the fashion industry to become fluidic. Stronger lines of communication also allowed more organized crime functions. Particular links in such crimes would envision for further distribution in the black market with more accessible routes. Communities took hold on public interest rather than government sanctions. Demand
The 1920s was an age of drastic social and political changes. For the first time in history, more Americans started living in cities rather than on farms. Americans were wealthier than ever before. People from coast to coast bought similar goods, listened to the same music, did the same dances, and even used related slang. Numerous Americans were uncomfortable with this unfamiliar, urban, and occasionally racy “mass culture”. In fact, for a large number of people in the United States, the 1920s brought more conflict than celebration. However, for a minuscule handful of youth in the nation’s larger cities, the 1920s were roaring. Prohibition gave criminals a way to illegally make money; gangsters, young men who worked in criminal gangs, began selling on the black-market alcohol. Young woman emerged during the 1920s with different appearance, attitude, and behavior; with a bobbed haircut and short skirts.
Pop culture during the 1920’s The 1920’s were an exciting and fascinating time in American History. Pop culture transformed america into a more vibrant and a modernized country. Pop culture includes Flappers, jazz music, and marathon dancers. The 1920’s was considered the aftermath for the world war 1 because many found comfort knowing that the war was done and it was time to celebrate.
A ten year gap can really impact a society. This is evident in the times of the 1920s through the 1930s. These decades are very different from one another. This paper compares and contrasts the traits of these times in the world of pop culture. Pop culture is an accurate way to observe the past because it shows everything that was mainstream and a staple of the time.
The Roaring Twenties was a time of change and innovation with the rise in new technology. Even though electricity was available to Americans before the 1920s only a small percentage of American household had electricity. By the height of the Roaring Twenties about two thirds of American households had electricity. With the rise of electricity came the popular household items such as the electric vacuum cleaner and the automatic washing machine. As the twenties proceeded the automobile because extremely popular. The young generation used the automobile to escape from the watchful eye of the older generations. Often, the automobile was used for scandalous meetings between lovers. Another innovation of the Roaring Twenties is film. Film became one of the main sources of entertainment for Americans during the 1920s. “By the mid-1920s movie theatres were selling 50 million tickets each week, a sum equal to roughly half the US population” (Zeitz). The movies theatre not only served as a source of entertainment, but the theaters also served as a classroom for the young generation. The young adults learned about love and sex is scandalous movies such as Flaming Youth. Movie theatres also served as a source of news and a place for propaganda and advertisements. Radio also experienced a vast expansion during the 1920s. Radio sparked a radical change the country’s awareness. News such as election results could be broadcasted live across the nation so that citizens could be more aware of what was going on in the country. Radio also provided a source of entertainment by broadcasting sporting events like the World Series. Radio contributed to liberalism by broadcasting “‘race music’, ‘hillbilly’ sounds, and ethnic recordings” into
The 1920s was an age of drastic social and political changes. For the first time in history, more Americans started living in cities rather than on farms. Americans were wealthier than ever before. People from coast to coast bought similar goods, listened to the same music, did the same dances, and even used related slang. Numerous Americans were uncomfortable with this unfamiliar, urban, and occasionally racy “mass culture”. In fact, for a large number of people in the United States, the 1920s brought more conflict than celebration. However, for a minuscule handful of youth in the nation’s larger cities, the 1920s were roaring. Prohibition gave criminals a way to illegally make money; gangsters, young men who worked in criminal gangs, began selling on the black-market alcohol. Young woman emerged during the 1920s with different appearance, attitude, and behavior; with a bobbed haircut and short skirts.
The 1920’s was a time in history filled with extravagancy and entertainment. With the First World War ending and the United States’ returning home a great world power, the people of the era threw themselves into lavish life styles filled
The Jazz Age, otherwise known as the Roaring twenties marked a time period when the economy excelled. American society was experiencing a new extravagant routine and were feeling lightheatened and optimistic after WWI. Many people felt that it was a time to become rich, drink hard liquor and spend their time partying, although many burnt out early in their life. There was several new crazes that came with the lavish lifestyle including dance and flag pole sitting. The increased interest in party included the excessive ingestion of alcohol and soon led to a prohibition but people soon found loop holes. The 1920s was an exciting part of US history where national celebrities in sport, music and film emerged along with the introduction of Jazz
The 1920s was a decade filled with prosperity, chaos, and excitement. During the 1920s, many ground breaking inventions were introduced, such as the Model T Ford, the radio, and the television. The discoveries and cultural developments of the 1920s would go on to shape America for decades to come. The 1920s was arguably one of the most important decades in American history, in regards to the impact it had on American culture and way of life. Such an important decade should have a nickname, thus the 1920s were called the “Roaring 20s.” The decade of the 1920s is referred to as “roaring” because it was a time of dramatic social change, as demonstrated by the birth of a consumer society, the rise of a party culture, and the abandonment of long standing morals.
Hollywood has influenced American history since it began. It boosted and shaped the morale of a nation for almost a century. But Hollywood has not only been the influencing American society, it has been influenced by American society. In the 1920s, American society was booming; people were getting rich, spending and borrowing money, and they thought life was looking good. Then in October of 1929 the stock market crashed. Many people lost all they owned. People had invested all their money into the banks before the Crash. After the Crash, the banks had nothing. People were destitute. They had no money to pay for their houses, electrical bills, and food. It became the Great Depression. Likewise, Hollywood was impacted by the Great
Celebrities have been using their platform to advocate for the causes they agree with for years. Celebrities have been trying to make change in politics for 98 years, almost a hundred years. The celebrity who initiated this political movement within politics was Charlie Chaplin in the 1920's (Ross 6). Charlie used to use his silent movies to not only entertain but, to make a political stance and try to persuade others to take his stance as well. Chaplin was a socialist sympathizer who did not like authority figures because of this often in the movie Chaplin was in it varied from making fun of a simple cop all the way to making fun of Adolf Hitler.