The Roaring 20s

The Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s, principally in North
America, but also in London, Berlin and aris !or a period o! sustained economic
prosperity" The phrase was meant to emphasi#e the period$s social, artistic, and cultural
dynamism" %a## music blossomed, the !lapper rede!ined modern womanhood, Art &eco
pea'ed, and !inally the (all )treet *rash o! 1929 ser+ed to punctuate the end o! the era,
as The ,reat &epression set in" The era was !urther distinguished by se+eral long -ohns
and realities o! !ar.reaching importance, unprecedented industrial growth, accelerated
consumer demand and aspirations, and signi!icant changes in li!estyle and culture"
The social and cultural !eatures 'nown as the Roaring Twenties began in leading
metropolitan centers, especially *hicago, New /rleans, New 0or', hiladelphia, aris
and London, and then spread widely in the a!termath o! (orld (ar 1" The 2nited )tates
gained dominance in world !inance" Thus when ,ermany could no longer a!!ord war
reparations to Britain, 3rance and other Allies, the Americans came up with the &awes
lan and (all )treet in+ested hea+ily in ,ermany, which repaid its reparations to nations
that in turn used the dollars to pay o!! their war debts to (ashington" By the middle o! the
decade, prosperity was widespread4 the second hal! o! the decade becoming 'nown as the
5,olden Twenties5"
As the a+erage American in the 1920s became more enamored o! wealth and
e+eryday lu6uries, some began satiri#ing the hypocrisy and greed they obser+ed" /! these
social critics, )inclair Lewis was the most popular" 7is popular 1920 no+el Main Street
satiri#ed the dull and ignorant li+es o! the residents o! a 8idwestern town" 7e !ollowed
with Babbitt, about a middle.aged businessman who rebels against his sa!e li!e and
!amily, only to reali#e that the young generation is as hypocritical as his own" Lewis
satiri#ed religion with Elmer Gantry, which !ollowed a con man who teams up with an
e+angelist to sell religion to a small town"
Art Deco was the style o! design and architecture that mar'ed the era" /riginating in
Belgium, it spread to the rest o! (estern 9urope and North America towards the mid.
1920s" 1n the 2")", one o! the most remar'able buildings !eaturing this style was
constructed as the tallest building o! the time4 the *hrysler Building" The !orms o! art
deco were pure and geometric, e+en though the artists o!ten drew inspiration !rom nature"
1n the beginning, lines were cur+ed, though rectilinear designs would later become more
and more popular"
At the beginning o! the decade, films were silent and colorless" 1n 1922, the !irst all.
color !eature, Toll of the Sea, was released" 1n 192:, (arner Bros" released Don Juan, the
!irst !eature with sound e!!ects and music" 1n 192;, (arner released The Jazz Singer, the
!irst sound !eature to include limited tal'ing se<uences"
The public went cra#y !or tal'ies, and mo+ie studios con+erted to sound almost
o+ernight" 1n 192=, (arner released Lights of New York, the !irst all.tal'ing !eature !ilm"
1n the same year, the !irst sound cartoon, Dinner Time, was released" (arner ended the
decade by un+eiling, in 1929, the !irst all.color, all.tal'ing !eature !ilm, n with the
Show"
*artoon )horts were popular in mo+ie theaters during this time" The late 1920s saw
the emergence o! (alt &isney" 8ic'ey 8ouse made his debut in 5)teamboat (illie5 on
No+ember 1=, 192= at the *olony Theater in New 0or' *ity" 8ic'ey would go on to star
in more than 120 cartoon shorts, not to mention starring in the 8ic'ey 8ouse *lub, and
other specials" This would -ump &isney and would lead to creation o! other characters
going into the 19>0s" /swald, a character created by &isney, be!ore ,eo!!, in 192;, who
was contracted by 2ni+ersal !or distribution purposes, starred in a series o! shorts
between 192; and 192=" &isney lost the rights to the character, but in 200:, regained the
rights to /swald" 7e was the !irst &isney character to be merchandised"
1mmortali#ed in mo+ies and maga#ine co+ers, young women's fashion o! the 1920s
was both a trend and a social statement, a brea'ing.o!! !rom the rigid ?ictorian way o!
li!e" These young, rebellious, middle.class women, labeled @!lappersA by older
generations, did away with the corset and donned slin'y 'nee.length dresses, which
e6posed their legs and arms" The hairstyle o! the decade was a chin.length bob, o! which
there were se+eral popular +ariations" *osmetics . which until the 1920s was not typically
accepted in American society because o! its association with prostitution . became, !or
the !irst time, e6tremely popular"
The 1920s also saw the rise in popularity of various new styles of recorded music"
%a## became the most popular !orm o! music !or young people and the !lapper culture"
3amous -a## per!ormers and singers !rom the 1920s include Louis Armstrong, &u'e
9llington, aul (hiteman and Bing *rosby" The de+elopment o! urban and city blues
also began in the 1920s with per!ormers such as Bessie )mith and 8a Rainey"
The spirit o! the Roaring Twenties was mar'ed by a general !eeling o! discontinuity
associated with modernity, a brea' with traditions" 9+erything seemed to be !easible
through modern technology" New technologies, especially automobiles, mo+ing pictures
and radio proli!erated $modernity$ to a large part o! the population" 3ormal decorati+e
!rills were shed in !a+or o! practicality in both daily li!e and architecture" At the same
time, -a## and dancing rose in popularity, in opposition to the mood o! the specter o!
(orld (ar 1" As such, the period is also o!ten re!erred to as the %a## Age"