1920s Popular Culture There are several key elements in the 1920s culture. – Questioning authority – Fascination with new things – Consumerism – Leisure.

1920s Popular Culture

• There are several key elements in the 1920s culture.– Questioning authority– Fascination with new things– Consumerism– Leisure time– Mass communication– Contradictions

Questioning authority• The horrors of World War I

scarred people• People felt disillusioned with

government and no longer felt a need to be obedient.

• Young people felt that the older generation had mislead them. Writers like Fitzgerald and Hemingway captured these feelings.

• Young women get more bold and sexy in their fashion and habits.

Fascination with new things

• New inventions like radio and movies were instantly popular.

• Newer inventions like planes and cars became more common.

• People liked breaking with tradition and being modern.

• Jazz music captured this sense of freedom and breaking the rules.

Consumerism• Mass production of goods and

the improving economy helped Americans to afford lots of new goods.

• Advertisements became more slick and were used in magazines, on the radio or made into billboards to encourage people to buy stuff.

• Investing in stocks seemed like a surefire way to make money and became common among middle class people instead of just the wealthy.

Leisure Time• The improved economy gave

more free time to people living in cities than they had had before.

• Sports, movies, beach trips, amusement parks and nightclubs became popular outings for the increasing middle class.

• People also enjoyed “taboo” activities like hearing jazz in Harlem nightclubs or going to illegal bars known as speakeasies.

Mass Communication

• Movies and radio shows were enjoyed by people throughout the country.

• For the first time, people were all experiencing the same entertainment.

• Created a common mass culture .

Prohibition• The 18th Amendment

outlawed alcohol in 1919. • At first it was believed that

alcohol would just be illegal in saloons but still legal for people to consume at home.

• When all alcohol was banned, many people felt they were justified in bending or breaking this laws.

• Organized crime grew in cities to supply the people with alcohol.

Project Menu• Use the themes of the 1920s in completing one

of the following creative writing assignments:– Write a short story in which a young man or woman

questions authority– Write the radio broadcast of a sports announcer

commenting on Babe Ruth winning a game for the Yankees.

– Write an advice column to a couple who have gotten caught up in comsumerism and are now in debt.

– Write a news report on a speakeasy raid or a street fight between the cops and bootleggers.