By Austin Ladly & Scott Klein Pop Culture By Austin Ladly & Scott Klein
Pop culture in 1920 Pop culture started in around the 1900s but really took off in 1920, 1920 was a time of celebration, partying and spending money for America to celebrate the ending of WW1. Flappers, Automobiles, Jazz music, Movies, and night clubs were all created to celebrate the new era.
Radio The Radio became more popular in American culture. It was the T.V without the picture. Approximately 1/3 of the American population owned one at the end of the decade. People would gather around the radio and listen to the sports and kids would listen to there favourite cartoons and shows.
Movies and Theater Movies were a pretty big deal but once the 1920s came it took off and took a new approach. Huge corporations like Warner Bros, Paramount, Fox Film Corporation (20th Century Fox) and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer became huge movie producers. “The Mark of Zorro, United artist (1920)” and “Robin Hood, United artist (1922)” really took off. Theaters and plays took off in 1920 and became the 3rd leading industry of the decade.
Music The 1920s was a party era and Jazz music fit it perfectly. Jazz music was very popular across the nation. Prohibitation began to take over because older folks said it was a threat to old values as the music embraced the “Roaring 20s.” It opened up a whole new industry in America to be a Musician.
Famous Musicians Louis Armstrong, born on August 4th 1901. He was an essential and foundational influence in the Jazz community. He was one of the few African-American musicians, whose skin color was second to his music abilities. Joe “King” Oliver, one if the most prominent figures of early Jazz. Known for his abilities to make alternations with his cornet sound
Broadway Broadway was created in this era alongside jazz, the 20s were the prime years for it as it included 50 musicians in just one season. Musicians were created by showmen who are dedicated to theater and want to make quality entertainment as well as profit “Sally” and “No No Nanette” were very popular musicals.
Dance The 20s became a popular time for going out to dance which brought the creations of different types of dances. The most popular one being “The Charleston” which comprised mainly of outward heel kicking and moving of the knees. The dancing at the time matched the fast paced and lively lifestyle.
Famous Dancers Josephine Baker- Famous French dancer/singer, who was also a spy for the French in WW2 Leonard Reed- A famous dancer who created the shim-sham-shimmy, also known as the anthem tap.
Literature and Famous Writers The 1920s were not just a time of partying, people would read and write books and gained much knowledge from this. F. Scott. Fitzgerald, Famous for writing “This side of paradise” which shot him to stardom, he also wrote “The Great Gaspy” which was one of the greatest piece of literature of the decade. Ernest Hemingway, one of the greatest authors of the 20th century. He wrote “The sun also rises” and “In our time.”
Bibliography www.prezi.com www.1920girls.tripod.com www.benluke1920.weebly.com www.1920s-fashion-and-music.com
Video of 1920s Pop Culture.