The “Roaring Twenties”
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- Chapter 2 - The U.S. Between World Wars: (1918-1941) The Roaring Twenties, Black Tuesday, and Beyond
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- Chapter 2 - The U.S. Between World Wars: (1918-1941) The Roaring Twenties, Black Tuesday, and Beyond. The “Roaring Twenties”. - A New Mass Culture -. Today’s Lecture Focus:. Understand the images of 1920s culture Main vocabulary : “roaring twenties” “mass culture” - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of The “Roaring Twenties”
- Chapter 2 -
The U.S. Between World Wars:(1918-1941)
The Roaring Twenties, Black Tuesday, and Beyond
The “Roaring Twenties”- A New Mass Culture -
Today’s Lecture Focus:Understand the images of 1920s culture
Main vocabulary:“roaring twenties”“mass culture”“celebrity”“economic boom”“economic crash”
Do NOT memorize names of people!
• to roar (v.) = to make a loud sound
• roaring (adj) = loud, fast, hot, exciting, wild, dangerous
“Roaring Twenties”
a roaring lion a roaring engine a roaring fire
The Roaring Twenties• Prosperous • Glamorous• Optimistic
a.k.a. “Prohibition Era”a.k.a. “The Jazz Age”
Beginning of modern American culture!
A New “Mass Culture”
mass (adj) = shared by many people, affecting many people,covering a large area
Usage Examples:– mass culture– mass media– mass transit– mass unemployment– weapons of mass destruction
Why did “Mass Culture” develop?• Urbanization / Industrialization
• leisure time – (for people in cities!)
• disposable income – (for people in cities!)
• Automobiles• travel• connected towns / cities
• New mass media technology reached more people• radios• phonographs• cinema
Media Technology: RadioHelped to “standardize” the culture.
1920: First radio station 1923: 600 stations!All Americans could listen to the same…• news• music• dramas• sports• speeches• commercials
Media Technology: Phonographs
– allowed people to listen to music at home
– Musical styles spread across the country
Mass Culture: Music
Dance Crazes!• The Charleston
Mass Culture: Music
Jazz• African American music• Began in New Orleans• Dance!
Media Technology: Cinema• Hollywood Studios• Silent Films– Good for immigrants!• (No English needed)
Media Technology: Cinema“Talkies”– First film with sound (1927) The Jazz Singer
Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer (A white man in blackface = controversial now)
Mass Culture: Cinema - Animation1928 – First Cartoon with Sound:
Disney’s Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie
1920s = Era of Heroes & Celebrities
Mass Culture: Sports Heroes
The “Golden Age of Baseball”• Babe Ruth “Home-Run King”
Boxing• Jack Dempsey
Cinema: Romantic Hero: Rudolph Valentino
The Sheik (1921)
Cinema: Action Hero: Douglas Fairbanks
1920s = Era of High Fashion
Mass Culture: “Flapper” Fashion
• Short Hair (“bobbed”)• Short Skirts• Straight lines• Glamour!
Mass Culture: Fashion
Coco Chanel designer (Paris)
Louise Brooks model & movie star
1920s = Era of Prosperity
Post WWI - Economic Boom!• Industrialization continues– wages increase– production increases
• U.S. Dollar is strong
• Stock market soars
• Easy Credit Consumerism
Imminent Crash!• Growing income gap
rich poor
• Rural / urban divide
• Overspending
• Risky investments
The Roaring Twenties end in 1929
America enters the Great Depression
Review of Today’s Lecture
1. What adjectives would you use to describe the lifestyle of the 1920s?
2. What is mass culture?3. How did technology help mass culture
develop in the 1920s?4. Describe the mass culture of the 1920s5. Contrast the economy of the 1920s with the
economy of the 1930s.
Review Vocabulary• roaring• prosperous / prosperity• optimism / optimistic• mass / mass culture• standard / standardize / standardization• phonograph• cinema• flapper• economic boom• economic crash
