The Influences Of Mass Media On Society

The 1920’s and 1930’s were a time of distress. After the significant stock market crash in 1929, America began to collapse, causing the nation to suffer greatly. Allowing people to escape from the harsh, real world, movies and films gained popularity. One of the most notable aspects of the television was the transformation from black and white to colored television, which was iconic for people living in America. THESIS

After the First World War, many people were looking forward to good times. The 1920’s presented people with this time of fast-paced fun and adventure. Entertainment was the foremost part of everyday life during the 1920’s. Radio introduced a whole new practice of entertainment to people’s everyday lives. Likewise, through the utilization of the radio, people were able to experience a new medium to entertain themselves. Furthermore, the radio changed the face of society’s culture through its widespread use. In addition, radios provided people with a new, effective and efficient means of communication. Radio was a fundamental aspect in people’s lives during the 1920’s as it provided many people with news and entertainment in their

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 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.

When World War II ended most countries began to progress and prosper. Of these many countries, the United States was ready to take on new challenges that lied ahead and eventually become one of the most powerful countries on Earth. Popular Culture and Mass Media had a tremendous impact on people’s lives during the 1950’s which shaped the way that the United States is today. Popular culture and mass media affected the television, the average American family, teenagers, and people involved in the red scare.

The 1920s is remembered as one of the most culturally significant decades of our culture, and our research project is focused on examining the reasons this decade was important for entertainment. Many new mediums of entertainment arose in the form of movies, radios, and sports. Nearly four billion dollars a year was spent on entertainment between 1919 and 1929. Movies became integrated into everyday American society, and radio became a popular platform for voices and music. Spectator sports also gained popularity. These breakthroughs in entertainment coincided with the social changes swept the nation, such as the rise of consumerism. These mediums grew to define the American culture of the 1920s.

Similarly, a new type of journalism was established that focused on the gossip and the culture more than the daily news. People were now more aware of certain trends; therefore, they were focused on entertainment like comic books and listening to the radio. The “roaring twenties” defined the norms of the American society and successfully reinforced the

With the rise of one mass media culture there must always be another. The 1930's marked a new system of mass communication, and the evolution of mass culture. In order to revolutionize the industry one must have ingenious ideas, that push society to reevaluate what they know. Orson Welles did this in his radio broadcast War of The Worlds. Welles forced the viewer to stop seeing the radio as the voice of war.

More forms of popular culture and entertainment began shifting to radio. This would include comedies, dramas, detective shows and music programs. Lacey (2002) calls the crisis of the Great Depression “the key transformational moment in [broadcasting history when] . . . broadcasting became entrenched in response to the crisis.” It was a time when radio was quickly developing into an important medium of communication and had to respond to “profound economic and social upheaval, which demanded political as well as social and cultural responses.” Throughout the 1930s, the radio had captured a special place in American homes. By 1930 more than 40 percent of American households had at least one radio. By 1940, the estimates more than doubled: 83 percent of the households had access to the broadcasts within the comfort of their homes. Despite their problems and concerns, listeners were not dissuaded from tuning into their favorite programs. Radio comedy shows were a much-needed escape for the masses. Listening to the humorous adventures of characters such as Amos ‘n’ Andy allowed Americans to escape the realities of their deplorable situation. Character and comedic situations soon became popular on radio comedy shows as listeners enjoyed the weekly humorous adventures of their favorite, often wacky characters embroiled in complicated entanglements that often produced

In the 1920's, many Americans, who had previously lived quiet lives, suddenly found themselves bombarded by the presence of others. The radio kept a lively, running narrative of the entire country, encouraging its listeners to picture themselves in the midst of current events. This caused the imagination of the public to migrate towards the bigger and better things they had heard mentioned on the radio. With the newly founded connection provided by the radio, Americans re-envisioned their potential, thus distorting the American Dream

In detail this paper will show how the media played an important role in the culture today. It will answer the questions What were the major developments in the evolution of mass media in the last century? It will also ask How did each development influence American culture? And What is ment by the term media convergence and how it affected everyday life?

In the 1920s there was no ABC news. No sports announcements. No CD players. No television. Before the 1920s they only had newspapers and live sports. Then, the radio came. In the 1920s and 30s the radio impacted culture by informing the public of news, bringing together America’s music and sports, and even uniting America to stop the Great Depression and restore faith in government.

Entertainment changed life for every American in the 1920s, whether they liked it or not. An increase in leisure time meant that many Americans now had time to indulge in the various types of entertainment that had previously been ignored. Thus, the industry boomed and became more powerful than ever. However, new entertainment came with new ideas for young American minds, and society changed drastically during this period. During the 1920s, the entertainment industry was significant in the changes to American society. Spectator sports, cinema, and the radio were essential in the “Roaring Twenties”.

I often wonder about our humanity given the current state of affairs in our nation and abroad. America has been a powerful and abundant nation through a lifetime of wars and financial crisis but today is a different time for many of us. What is the media producer’s role in our very own implosion? What is our, the “media user” role in it?

In the early 1900’s, scholars discounted the influence media had on an individual’s political choices as being minimal (Entman, 1989). The primary method for media contact during this time was newspapers and magazines, and the presentation of news was primarily confined to clearly-defined presentation of fact or opinion. Technology was minimal, so the time between an event’s occurrence and the media’s coverage reaching an individual could range from days to months, depending on distance and available delivery methods.