Repaso

Contemporary Era 1920-Present

Daily Life Many Americans now owned modern conveniences such as cars, telephones, radios and electric washers and dryers. Cars gave people freedom and ease of traveling for business and pleasure Motion pictures became a main form of entertainment Major changes in fashion 1929 – stock crashes and depression starts (The Dust Bowl) remained until after WWII (1945) Suburbs developed

Government 1920 – women can vote – Holocaust – World War II 1963 – President Kennedy assassinated 1968 – Martin Luther King assassinated

Religion Very, very diverse

Science and Math 1920s – Television and frozen foods 1930s – modern plastics, radar and tape recorder invented 1940s – atomic bomb, digital computer and Polaroid camera invented

Science and Math 1950s – polio vaccine 1960s – 1 st man on the moon (1969) 1970s – organ transplants, open heart surgery 1980s – internet, s and cell phones 1990s – DNA mapping and cloning.

Music 1920s – creative musical explosion, a period when classical and popular music began to blend. For example a blend of classical music and jazz rhythms lead to George Gerswhin’s Rhapsody In BlueRhapsody In Blue – styles of country music, jazz, rock, pop and musical comedies and music from motion pictures became prevalent. Country came from folk music of the south and Rock music is a mixture of blues, country, jazz and American music. Composers in this era are constantly experimenting with new ways to create music but stay true to traditional form of music (same form used throughout all eras)

Art 1920s & 1930s – dreamlike states make way for Surrealism as artists share a fascination with the strange 1940s & 1950s – artistic center moves from Paris to New York as abstract expressionism in art takes over 1960s – optical illusions begin to pop up in art galleries everywhere and Pop Art (Andy Warhol) begins to make way Today artists feel there are no limits and experiment with many different mediums to create the new and upcoming art of today