The New Mass Culture Objectives… Summarize how movies & other vehicles of mass culture created a new national community. Describe how the new media of communication reshaped American culture in the 1920s.
Currently… What are the media sources influencing American culture? How does modern media influence American culture?
#7-11) Describe how each of the following elements of mass media redefines the norms of American
Social norms… A belief or value that is common to members of a particular culture. Social norms are often referred to as “the way we do things around here” and are the standards for appropriate social behaviors. The established norms within a society maybe reflected in dress, language and social habits culture.
The Roaring 20s Movies, radio, journalism, recordings, advertising & celebrities created a new national community.
The movie industry… Reorganizes in Hollywood… Large studios: -Paramount; Fox; MGM; Universal; Warner Brothers The three functions of the studio system… Production, distribution & exhibition Wall Street investment is required to fund big movie projects
The movie industry… New themes for movies… - Consumer culture, youthfulness, athleticism - Types… - Musicals; Gangster films; Westerns; Comedies; Travelogues
The “TALKIES” end the silent era in 1927 The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson
Greta Garbo – Flesh and the Devil (1927) Douglas Fairbanks The Mark of Zorro Mary Pickford “America’s Sweet Heart” tch?v=FtrUdqvOBVY tch?v=FtrUdqvOBVY Clara Bow ch?v=zAxLbXTZdnU ch?v=zAxLbXTZdnU
Charlie Chaplin “The Little Tramp” v=xoKbDNY0Zwg v=xoKbDNY0Zwg Rudolph Valentino The Sheik
Many Americans, particularly in rural areas and small towns, worried about Hollywood's impact on…. The sexual morality of our culture
7) Summarize how motion pictures redefined the norms of American society Influences dress, hair styles & language Liberal social themes in movies change traditional values Movies advocate “a consumption oriented society”
Radio Broadcasting In the early 1920s, radio was used to promote newspapers with news being read from the papers that sponsored time on the radio.
Radio Broadcasting Who paid for radio programs at first and how did it change?... What was America listening to on the radio?
Households with Radios s …. 20, …. 60, …. 1,250, …. 4,500, … 8,000, ….13,750, stations 40% of America with a radio KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA was the first radio station. “The wireless”
What conclusions can you draw about the radio?
The giants of radio broadcasting… General Electric (GE) Westinghouse Radio Corp of America (RCA) American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) National Broadcast Comp. (NBC) Columbia Broadcast Comp. (CBS) Radio’s first national hit…
8) Summarize how commercial radio broadcasting redefined the norms of American society Provides a link to the outside world Creates a national consumer culture Makes sports popular... Baseball & college football Popularizes...Country western, blues & jazz
New Forms of Journalism Tabloid Newspapers… New York Daily News LA Daily News Denver Rocky Mountain News The differences between tabloids & other newspapers?… -Tabloid topics… Sensationalized news... scandal, sports & sex -Tabloid readers…Poorly educated, working class, city dwellers, commuters & immigrants
Sensationalism in tabloid journalism: The Ruth Snyder execution in... A Long Island housewife, convinced her lover that her husband was abusing her. The pair murdered him and their trial was a media frenzy. They were quickly found guilty and executed. A photographer from the NY Daily News, had a camera strapped to his ankle, and took picture of her at the moment of death. The paper sold 250,000 extra copies.
4) Summarize how tabloid journalism redefined the norms of American society Influences the national consumer culture Sensational news reporting
Advertising Modernity New techniques affecting advertising… Shifts in advertising… Product examples…
Advertising in the 1920s Related to the efforts of the CPI in WW I The focus “Needs, desires and anxieties” Appeals to… “Nature, medical authority, personal freedom, vanity, physical & emotional wellbeing” 1.4 billion in billion 1929
Jan, McClure's Magazine Script: NEW Kissproof the waterproof rouge...in a startling jade green case. New! Different! Exquisitely modern! Daintily thin! Never before has a Compact Rouge been offered in such a strikingly original case! Luxurious gold and brilliant jade green! An Exclusive Compact Rouge for Particular Women--yet costs but 50c! And its genuine Kissproof!
Jan, McClure's Magazine Script: “The Supreme Achievement in Electric Washing Machines”
Advertising Modern The focus “Needs, desires and anxieties” 1922: 100K in sales : 4 million in sales
10) Summarize how advertising redefined the norms of American society CONSUMPTION! Creates a national consumer culture
The Phonograph & Record Industry The most popular types of music in the 1920s… v=2iqqAIZpp2c
The Phonograph & Record Industry Records transform popular culture 1921: 100 million in record sales
The Phonograph & Record Industry What regional or ethnic markets were developed?
Louis Armstrong
11) Summarize how the record industry redefined the norms of American society Dances crazes... Fox trot, Tango, Grizzly bear, Charleston, Black bottom Creates a common understanding of popular music & the role of music in social interaction
Sports Heroes & Celebrities Objective… Summarize the significance of sport and celebrity in the 1920s?
Babe Ruth “The Sultan of Swat” HRs Who was George Herman Ruth and how did he affect the game of baseball?
The Negro Leagues
The NL played 11 World Series Biggest black sports attraction in the US East – West All-Star game…
Josh Gibson Led NL in HRs for 10 years 75 HRs in ft. HR at Yankee Stadium Elected to MLB Hall of Fame in 1972 Satchel Paige Pitcher Hall of Fame Age 59, pitched 3 innings for the A's -oldest man to pitch in MLB
Charles Lindbergh The Spirit of St. Louis lands in Paris First to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean NY to Paris in 33 ½ hours A magnetic compass & air speed indicator to guide 100,000 greet him in Paris
Amelila Earhart st woman (passenger) to cross Atlantic -20 hrs. 40 min solo flight across Atlantic 1937 disappears trying to fly around world
Gertrude Ederle In 1926, at the age of 19, Ederle swam 35 miles across in the English channel in 14 hrs 39 min. "People said women couldn't swim the Channel but I proved they could" -- Ederle
Boxing: Jack Dempsey Heavyweight Champ Tennis: Bill Tilden “Battling Bill”
Golf: Bobby Jones Considered the greatest amateur golfer of modern times.
Red Grange “The Galloping Ghost” Illinois v. Michigan… -First 5 carries & 5 TDs -First sports figure with manager
Johnny Weissmuller "Greatest Aquatic Star ever produced in America" Olympic Swimmer & Water Polo Player 5 gold medals 1 bronze (Polo) he stars in 12 Tarzan films
Summarize how the celebrities of the 1920s helped redefine the norms of American society?
Explain how the image of the flapper embodied the changing values and attitudes of young women in the 1920s. Identify the characteristics of a flapper. Objective….
Women at the turn of the century Women in the 1920s
Flappers: What are the social and fashion characteristics that define a flapper.
Flappers
1920 Hair styles
January, 1923 How is the style of the 1920s reflected in this magazine cover?
A New Morality 13) What was the image of the flapper and what was she in reality? What promoted the image of the flapper? What was the double standard applied to women?
Anti-Flapper Laws Utah - Fine or imprisonment for wearing skirts higher than 3”above the ankle Virginia - Woman can’t wear shirts or evening gowns displaying more than 3” of throat Ohio - No neckline more than 2” in depth & no garment composed of any transparent material to be sold
Women being arrested in 1922 for wearing revealing bathing suits…
A New Morality 14) In what way was she (Flapper) a continuation from an earlier period and in what way was she new? 15) What sources were responsible for a more open treatment of sexuality in the 1920s? 16) What do sociological surveys from the time suggest?
The uniqueness of the flapper was that certain already existing cultural elements became normal for: A) Big city, upper class, women B) Minority women C) White middle–class women D) Small isolated rural areas E) White, poor, rural women
Whether shopping, watching the movies, listening to radio or reading a newspaper, consumers in the 1920s were exposed to more things that A) Reflected local or regional qualities. B) Set them apart from the new immigrants. C) Were produced for a national market. D) Challenged them intellectually.
Immigration Act of 1921: established a three-percent quota system based on the number of foreign-born persons per nationality already living in America at the time of the 1910 census. In 1924, Congress further restricted immigration with passage of the Johnson-Reed Act, also known as the Immigration Act of 1924: This act established the 1890 census as the new quota baseline. A. PA Poem (American Protective Association) Come ye sons of Uncle Sam, Come join the gallant band, Come unite with us to fight our country's foe. For our God is with the right, We will conquer by His might, And the slick and wily Jesuit must go. Noble men are in our ranks -- We are not a band of cranks -- We are not a lot of bigots or of fools. But, ye Roman Catholic hordes, We will buckle on our swords, If you dare to meddle with our public schools