Roaring Twenties

The Roaring Twenties refers to the North American historical period of the 1920s, which has been described as "one of the most colorful decades in American history." The decade encapsulates a fascinating story, beginning with the return of young soldiers from the fronts of the First World War and emergence of a new and confident face of the modern womanhood, and ending with the sad note of the Black Tuesday, harbinger of the Great Depression. The years of the Roaring Twenties are marked by several inventions and discoveries of far reaching consequences; emergence of unprecedented industrial boom and accelerated consumer demand and aspirations, coupled with significant changes in the lifestyle; and a series of events, national as well as the international, which shaped a large part of the history of the 20th century.

Culture of the Roaring Twenties

The Lost Generation

The Lost Generation were young people who came out of World War I disillusioned and cynical about the world. The term usually refers to American literary notables that lived in Paris at the time. Famous members included Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein.

Related Topics:
Paris - Ernest Hemingway - F. Scott Fitzgerald - Gertrude Stein

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Social Criticism

As the average American in the 1920s became more self-absorbed in wealth and everyday luxuries, some began satirizing the hypocrisy and greed they observed. Of these social critics, Sinclair Lewis was the most popular. His 1920 novel Main Street was one of the most popular of the time. The story satirized the dull, ignorant lives of those in a Midwestern town. He followed with Babbitt, about a middle-aged businessman who rebels against his safe life and family, only to realize that the young generation is as hypocritical as his own. Lewis satirized religion with Elmer Gantry, which followed a con man who teams up with an evangelist to sell religion to a small town. Other social critics included Sherwood Anderson and H.L. Mencken. Anderson published a collection of short stories titled Winesburg, Ohio, which studied the dynamic within a small town. Mencken criticized the narrow American taste and culture through various essays and articles.

Related Topics:
Sinclair Lewis - Main Street - Babbitt - Elmer Gantry - Sherwood Anderson - H.L. Mencken - Winesburg, Ohio

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Art Deco

Art Deco was the style in design and architecture that marked the era. Starting from Europe, it spread to America towards the end of the 1920s, where one of the most remarkable buildings featuring this style was constructed as the tallest building of the time: the Chrysler Building. The forms of art deco were pure and geometric, even though the artists often drew inspiration from nature. In the beginning lines were curved, but later on rectangular designs became more and more popular.

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Expressionism and Surrealism

Painting in North America during the 1920s developed into a different direction than that in Europe. In Europe, the 1920s were the era of expressionism and later, surrealism. As Man Ray stated in 1920 after the publication of a unique issue of New York Dada: "Dada cannot live in New York".

Related Topics:
Painting - Expressionism - Surrealism - Man Ray - New York Dada

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Cinema

The bulk of the 1920s cinema was silent. Late in the decade, early—and eventually, more advanced—sound recording technology was developed, leading into the age of what was known at the time as talkies. The first talking movie, Don Juan was made in 1926, also in that same yearmovies with Technicolor had arrived. Walt Disney produced his first cartoon during the Roaring Twenties. Al Jolson's follow-up film to The Jazz Singer, The Singing Fool http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=110318 in 1928 made the talkies popular with a wider audience. The period also saw emergence of Charlie Chaplin and Valentino as box office draws.

Related Topics:
Cinema - Sound recording - Talkies - Don Juan - Movies - Technicolor - Walt Disney - Cartoon - The Singing Fool - Charlie Chaplin - Valentino - Box office

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Harlem Renaissance

The African American culture developed rapidly during the 1920s under the title of the "Harlem Renaissance". In 1921, the Black Swan Corporation opened. At its height it issued ten recordings a month. All-African-American musicals also started up in 1921. In 1923, the Harlem Renaissance Basketball Club was founded by Robert Douglas. During the later 1920s, and especially in the 1930s, the basketball team became known as the best in the world.

Related Topics:
African American - Black Swan Corporation - Harlem Renaissance Basketball Club - Robert Douglas

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The first issue of Opportunity was published. The African American playwright, Chip Woman's Fortune, debuted at Frazee Theatre.{{fn|1}} African American culture has contributed the largest part to the rise of jazz music.

Related Topics:
Opportunity - Playwright - Frazee Theatre

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The Jazz Age

The first commercial radio station in the United States, KDKA began broadcasting in Pittsburgh in 1922. Radio stations subsequently proliferated at a remarkable rate, and with them spread the popularity of jazz. Jazz became associated with all things modern, sophisticated, and also decadent. Louis Armstrong marked the time with improvisations and endless variations on a single melody. Armstrong contributed largely to making scat singing popular, an improvisational vocal technique in which nonsensical syllables are sung or otherwise vocalized, often as part of a call-and-response interaction with other musicians onstage. Apart from the clarinet, Sidney Bechet also popularized the saxophone. Dance venues increased the demand for professional musicians and jazz adopted the 4/4 beat of dance music. Tap dancers entertained people in vaudeville theaters, out in the streets or accompanying bands. At the end of the Roaring Twenties, Duke Ellington entered the scene to start the beginning of the big band era.

Related Topics:
Radio station - KDKA - Pittsburgh - Jazz - Louis Armstrong - Scat singing - Syllable - Musician - Clarinet - Sidney Bechet - Saxophone - Tap dancers - Duke Ellington - Big band

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Dance

Starting in the 1920s, ballrooms across the U.S. sponsored dance contests, where dancers invented, tried, and competed with new moves. Professionals began to hone their skills in tap dance and other dances of the era throughout the Vaudeville hall circuit across the U.S.

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Electric lighting and air conditioning made evening social entertainment available to much wider audiences, giving rise to an era of dance halls and live music.

Related Topics:
Electric light - Air conditioning - Dance hall

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Harlem played a key role in the development of dance styles. With a number of entertainment venues, people from all walks of life, all races, and all classes came together. The Cotton Club featured black performers and catered to the rich, glamorous, and white clientele, while the Savoy Ballroom catered to average, working, and mostly black clientele.

Related Topics:
Cotton Club - Savoy Ballroom

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From the early to mid-1920s, Breakaway and Charleston dominated the emerging dance scene. Both were based upon African-American musical styles and beats, notably the blues. The Charleston's popularity exploded after being featured in two Broadway shows in 1922. A brief Black Bottom craze, originating from the Apollo Theater, would sweep dance halls from 1926 to 1927, replacing the Charleston in popularity. By 1927, Lindy Hop, a dance based on Breakaway and Charleston, and integrating elements of Tap, would become the dominant social dance. Developed in the Savoy Ballroom, it was set to stride piano ragtime jazz. Lindy Hop would remain popular for over a decade, before evolving into Swing dance.

Related Topics:
Breakaway - Charleston - Blues - Broadway - Black Bottom - Apollo Theater - Lindy Hop - Stride piano - Ragtime - Swing

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Suffrage

At the end of World War I, the State of Tennessee became the last of 36 states needed to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment, in the summer of 1920. Women were thus recognized as equals as men in every state—at least at the polls.

Related Topics:
Tennessee - Nineteenth Amendment

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Fashion and the changing role of women

Due to the dreary economic situation after the First World War, many American and European families needed to replace the incomes of the family fathers lost in the battlefield; women had to accept a job, and move outside the home. This also gave them a new self-confidence. The change in role was also reflected in the media: the garçonne-look, with its most notable exponent actress Marlene Dietrich, portrayed the ideal woman as an androgynous, working woman that had reached equality with men while simultaneously possessing the appeal of the femme fatale. Pantsuits, hats and canes gave women a sleek look without frills and avoiding the fickleness of fashion. The style was named after the novel La garçonne by Victor Margueritte. In Europe, this look featured women with short hair (Bubikopf) for the first time; in the U.S., the bob was introduced by actress Louise Brooks in the late 1920s. As a result of this move towards practical androgyny, corsets went out of style, and some women even bandaged their breasts to make them look flatter. Flappers, as these women were called in the U.S., wore short dresses with a straight loose silhouette. By 1927 seams had risen to just below the knee, so that part of the knee could be seen when dancing Charleston.

Related Topics:
Marlene Dietrich - Androgynous - Femme fatale - Pantsuit - Hat - Cane - La garçonne - Victor Margueritte - Louise Brooks - Corset - Flapper - Charleston

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Thus, the Roaring Twenties gave a new definition to womanhood—a new woman was born, who smoked and drank in public, danced and exercised her franchise, kept her hair short, wore make-up, dressed differently, and confidently participated in economic activities.

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