Mass Media and the Jazz Age 4.8

Hollywood!! Few people outside of Los Angeles had heard of the subdivision northwest of the city Early 1900s filmmakers began moving there Attracted by large work force in LA Variety of landscapes From deserts to snowy mountains Hollywood soon became the center of the entertainment film industry

Mass Media What is it? “The print and broadcast methods of communicating information to large numbers of people” Leads to a national culture Before this time the United States had been largely a collection of regional cultures

“The Jazz Singer” 1927 First Sound Film Huge success

Movies 125 million people in the US Sold roughly 80 million tickets a week! Moviemaking became a huge business!

Greta Garbo Born in Stockholm, Sweden Glamorous star from the silent screen Moved to speaking roles Began her career modeling for department stores

Charlie Chaplin Delighted Americans since 1914 Chaplin added music to his films and continued his soundless performances

Newspapers and Magazines Followed the off-screen lives of their favorite stars Newsprint doubles from Started publishing tabloids –compact newspaper – large headlines –few words –lots of pictures Huge rise in popularity in newspapers and magazines Helped make a common popular culture –Share the same information –Read about the same events and ideas –See the same fashions

Radio Barely existed until the 1920s Few Americans had radio sets –Homemade –Used to communicate with one another one-on-one 1920 Frank Conrad-worked for Westinghouse Electric Set up a radio transmitter in his garage –Began broadcasting programs regularly First commercial radio station Pittsburgh’s KDKA By 1922 more than 500 stations

Jazz Sweeps the Nation… Comes from Blues in New Orleans African American music of the south Arrives with black musicians in Northern Cities Radio listeners began hearing the new sound in the 1920s 2/3 of radio time is devoted to Jazz!! The 1920s came to be called the Jazz age

Duke Ellington Played in clubs at night and painted signs during the day Moved to New York with several other musicians Jazz band leader and composer Wrote at least 1,000 pieces in his long career Music for concerts Broadway shows Films Operas

Louis Armstrong Born and grew up in New Orleans Jazz trumpet player Performed improvised extended solos Made solos become key elements of jazz ensemble performances

“The Lost Generation” Rejected the quest for material possessions that many Americans were captivated with The Lost Generation-Intellectuals that felt disconnected from their country and its values Many moved to Europe (Paris)

Ernest Hemingway Gertrude Stein Both part of the Lost Generation Both moved to Paris Hemingway introduced Stein’s term the lost Generation to the public in his 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises

F. Scott Fitzgerald Part of the lost generation and Jazz age Some believed he helped create the flapper culture 1920 novel This Side of Paradise 1925 The Great Gatsby Concentrated on the sophisticated/wealthy Americans of the Jazz Age He found them to be self- centered and shallow

The Harlem Renaissance New York City’s Harlem Becomes the cultural center for African Americans Number of African Americans living in Harlem , about 200,000 Jazz, Poetry, Literature, and Activism Harlem Renaissance-African American literary awakening of the 1920s, centered in Harlem

James Weldon Johnson Early leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Writer Inspired younger members of the Harlem group Most famous work 1927 God’s Trombones Collection of sermons modeled after the style of traditional black preaching

Zora Neale Hurston Anthropologist and author of: “Of Mules and Men” “Their Eyes Were Watching God” –Expressed the longing for independence felt by many women black and white

Langston Hughes Poet, short story writer, journalist and playwright One of the most famous and influential members of the Harlem Renaissance Wrote about the joys and difficulties of being human, being American, and being African American I, Too by Langston Hughes - Poetry ArchiveI, Too by Langston Hughes - Poetry Archive The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes - Poetry ArchiveThe Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes - Poetry Archive