‘The Roaring Twenties’ The image 1920s America – “One long, crazy party, with jazz music playing on the radio, young fashionable women known as flappers wildly dancing the Charleston, large quantities of illegal alcohol being consumed, and everyone behaving in a scandalous manner.” Nigel Kelly

‘The Roaring Twenties’ The reality In the aftermath of the war people were determined to have fun. They had more money and more leisure time. Women were freer than ever The entertainment industry boomed. The 1920s were the golden age for Hollywood films. It was also the Jazz Age with its crazes for new music and dances.

Prohibition Temperance Movement – wanted to ban alcohol By 1917, 75% of Americans lived in “dry” counties WWI made it unpatriotic to use corn, wheat, and barely to make alcohol

Eighteenth Amendment In 1919 the States ratified the amendment outlawing alcohol Period from 1919-1933 was known as Prohibition “Drys” argued that it improved individuals, and strengthened families. (Alcoholism and liver disease did go down “Wets” argued that it didn’t stop drinking and created more organized crime

Breaking the Law Bootleggers – sold illegal alcohol to consumers Speakeasies – secret drinking establishments in cities

Breaking the Law Al Capone – most famous bootlegger “I make my money from supplying public demand. If I break the law, my customers, who number hundreds of the best people in Chicaco, are as guilty as I am. The only difference between us is that I sell and they buy. Everybody calls me a racketeer. I call myself a business man.”

Divides the nation Traditional Rural areas want to keep it Modern Urban areas want to get rid of it In 1933, the Twenty-First Amendment did away with Prohibition.

Mass Culture Definition - A set of values and ideas that come from common exposure of a population to the same cultural activities, media, music etc. Pop Culture – the most modern of mass culture Why was it on the rise? More mass advertisements and the rise of radio City dwellers have more time as the work week went from 70 hours in 1850 to 45 hours in 1910. Salaries were also on the rise

Radios

Music ‘The Jazz-Age’

Sports

Movies

Charlie Chaplin

Greta Garbo

What’s a Flapper? Rejected old ways Bobbed Hair Wore short skirts Went on unchaperoned dates Danced the Charleston Drank and smoked at clubs

Flappers

Art in the 1920s Realism Surrealism “Life without discipline or morality and we spit on humanity.”

Realism

Edward Hopper “Hotel Room”

Nighthawks

Surrealism Paintings show Chaos Uncertainty Revolt against civilization

Examples of Surrealism

Persistence of Memory Salvador Dali

Cannibalism in Autumn Salvador Dali

Remorse by Salvador Dali

The Eye of Silence Max Ernst