1d: Cultural change in the 1920s

Question 1

What did the 1920s see an explosion of?

Answer 1

The roaring twenties saw an explosion of popular culture:

Developments in radio, cinema, dance, sport, fashion.

Question 2

Which industry capitalised on this new media?

Answer 2

The advertisement industry.

Question 3

What part of black culture saw a major crossing over into the mainstream?

Answer 3

Music: jazz and the blues became embedded in musical culture - Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.

Question 4

The age of fads:

What did the 1920s seem to be?

Answer 4

An age of lightheartedness and optimism, symbolised by massive growth in entertainment and fads.

Question 5

The age of fads:

What “fad” went into overdrive and still exists today?

Answer 5

Crossword puzzles. They were first created in 1917 and quickly became a spectator sport.

Question 6

The age of fads:

What new break from the past became popular as an energetic form of entertainment?

Answer 6

Dance marathons - a Chicago marathon went on for 119 days.

As well as roller skating and rocking horse derbies.

Question 7

The age of fads:

What new music craze did conservatives kick back against?

Answer 7

Jazz.

They believed that the amount of body contact and unrestrained movement in such dances was immoral.

Question 8

The age of fads:

How did jazz become even more popular than it would have done in a previous era?

Answer 8

The creation and widespread nature of radios and records meant people could experience it at home.

Question 9

The media and sport:

How can we describe the 1920s?

Answer 9

As the first age of mass entertainment due to the exploitation of higher disposable income and leisure time.

Question 10

The media and sport: Radio

What demonstrates the rapid growth of the radio?

Answer 10

The first commercial radio station (KDKA) was set up in Pittsburgh, 1920.
By 1922, there were 500 stations.
By 1927, both NBC and CBS had been set up as national networks.

Question 11

The media and sport: Radio

What did critics say about the radio?

Answer 11

There must be dangerous invisible energy flying through the air that killed birds.

Question 12

The media and sport: Radio

How can we see the impact radio had on people and sport?

Answer 12

In 1927, 50 million people listened to the boxing match between Tunney and Dempsey.
People would hold radio parties.

Question 13

The media and sport: Radio

How did radios fuel the consumer boom?

Answer 13

They weren’t cheap ($150) so most were bought on credit.
By 1927, 33% of all money spent on furniture was spent on radios.
The availability of credit allowed people to create radio into a massive industry.

Question 14

The media and sport: Radio

How large did the radio industry become?

Answer 14

Between 1923-1930, 60% of American families purchased a radio.
Sales grew massively: 1923 = $60mn vs 1929 = $842mn.

Question 15

The media and sport: Radio

How was advertising and radio important for each other?

Answer 15

Advertisements and sponsorships often paid for programmes.

Ads got massive exposure - Pepsodent sponsored a comedy show that reached 40mn listeners.

Question 16

The media and sport: Radio

What did radio mean for the American people as a whole?

Answer 16

It brought the nation together: they were all experiencing the same events, the same shows, the same jokes.

Question 17

The media and sport: Cinema

Why can we argue that the Cinema industry was even more significant than the radio industry?

Answer 17

The industry (Hollywood) was the 4th largest in terms of capital investment and it employed more people than either Ford or GM.

Question 18

The media and sport: Cinema

Were cinemas just merely a form of escapism?

Answer 18

No. There were elaborate picture palaces that could hold thousands.
The Roxy, in New York, cost ~$10mn, had an organ, a chandelier, a $10k red carpet, and 118-piece orchestra.

Question 19

The media and sport: Cinema

What can we call actors of this period?

Answer 19

The popularity of the cinema made them the first real celebrities.
Clara Bow symbolised the liberated woman.

Question 20

The media and sport: Cinema

What made cinema even more popular?

Answer 20

1927 had the first sound film - The Jazz Singer.

Question 21

The media and sport: Sport

Why did sport attracted a large following at this time?

Answer 21

People had more leisure time and the growth of radio fostered a growth in buzz and community.

Question 22

The media and sport: Sport

How did advertising aid sport?

Answer 22

It made sports stars into celebrities.
Jack Dempsey (boxer) made $10 million over the course of his career thanks to sponsorship deals.

Question 23

The media and sport: Sport

What made baseball popular?

Answer 23

1 - The enthusiasm of Babe Ruth.
2 - The balls that were easier to hit turned attention towards batters like Ruth, rather than pitchers - people became fascinated by home runs.

Question 24

The media and sport: Sport

What shows that culture in America was still socially divided?

Answer 24

The Negro National Baseball League was set up.
It shows that sport was segregated and that black players earned half of what their white counterparts earned despite pulling crowds of up to 30,000.

Question 25

The Harlem Renaissance:

Why did the 1920s look to be a poor time for black Americans?

Answer 25

The KKK were powerful; the Northern migration led to riots and conflicts in cities; Southern senators blocked Harding’s anti-lynching bill.

Question 26

The Harlem Renaissance:

Why can Harlem be seen in a negative light?

Answer 26

It could be seen as the ghettoisation of black Americans.
1914: 50k blacks in Harlem vs 1930: 165k - this led to overcrowding, poverty, and poor living conditions as many landlords let properties fall into disrepair.

Question 27

The Harlem Renaissance:

However, why can Harlem be seen in a positive light?

Answer 27

This high concentration of black Americans in one area led to a flowering of culture.

Question 28

The Harlem Renaissance:

What did James Weldon Johnson mean by “the Harlem renaissance”?

Answer 28

He wrote an optimistic essay about the “greatest negro city in the world”.
He saw a resurgence of black culture, pride and achievement.

Question 29

The Harlem Renaissance:

What is emblematic of this black resurgence?

Answer 29

Many moved away from the victimhood of slavery and created a new black culture and identity.
This was done through the depth and intense music of jazz and the blues.

Question 30

The Harlem Renaissance:

What did Alain Locke hope in relation to music and race?

Answer 30

He hoped that white appreciation of black music would lead to greater tolerance and equality.

Question 31

The Harlem Renaissance:

What did actually happen due to white interest in black culture?

Answer 31

A sanitisation of music aimed at white - Benny Goodman and “Sing, sing, sing” (nicknamed King of Swing).
The formation of clubs in Harlem catered to wealthy white people (priced out ordinary blacks) reinforcing segregation and stereotypes (Cotton Club, Plantation).

Question 32

The Harlem Renaissance:

How did many black Americans react to this white tourism?

Answer 32

They felt resentment as they felt like they were being treated like animals in a zoo.
Poet Claud McKay: Harlem was “an all white picnic ground”.
Many blacks became more militant and less tolerant - New Negro Movement.

Question 33

The Harlem Renaissance:

How can one defend the white interest and tourism?

Answer 33

This exposure to black culture could aid ethnic understanding.
However, the USA was still incredibly racist and segregated; the Southern blacks experienced no positves.

Question 34

The New Negro:

Was black American militancy a new phenomenon?

Answer 34

No. It goes back to the time of slavery.

Question 35

The New Negro:

Who were prominent figures?

Answer 35

WE Dubois fought passionately for ethnic rights.
Marcus Garvey advocated a “back to Africa” campaign and believed in segregation so that blacks could develop independently of white influence.

Question 36

The New Negro:

Why did some people discount ides of the New Negro and the Harlem Renaissance?

Answer 36

They believed it ignored achievements from before the 1920s.

Question 37

The New Negro:

Is it possible to say that there may have been a slight breakdown in prejudices?

Answer 37

Potentially due to the wider exposure of black culture and figures to white America.
Black writers, such as Langston Hughes, became more well known, and black music was accepted as a great US art form.

Question 38

Literature in the 1920s:

What did literary trends reflect?

Answer 38

A widespread disillusionment with the USA, but also a renaissance in US writing.

Question 39

Literature in the 1920s:

Who were some prominent writers?

Answer 39

F Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway.

Question 40

Literature in the 1920s:

What did many intellectuals complain about?

Answer 40

The USA was becoming too concerned with materialism and economic growth.
Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” was about the superficial and hedonistic lifestyle of the young that concealed a deep malaise.

Question 41

Literature in the 1920s:

What was the symbolism of Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises”?

Answer 41

It was about Americans who led fruitless lives in France.

One had been rendered impotent from the war and symbolises the emptiness of society, especially after the war.

Question 42

Literature in the 1920s:

What does one need to remember about people and literature?

Answer 42

Despite the popularity of Hemingway, the majority of people were not reading this.
Many were reading popular fiction in the Reader’s Digest - humorous and short pieces of fiction, not social exposes.