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Popular entertainmentAmerican culture and society underwent a period of great change between 1910 and 1929 due to the popularity of the cinema, silent films, talkies and the impact of jazz music. Some referred to the 1920s as
The Roaring Twenties. At the time, business was booming - many Americans were developing a taste for a new, faster lifestyle. Modern music became popular as a result of developments in the media (radio,
records and films). Some people had more money to spend and more time to listen to the music of the time. Jazz originated in the southern states
of the USA in the early 1900s. It was a mix of brass band marches, ragtime, blues and gospel. Many young people had had enough of their parents' old dances, eg the waltz. Jazz was much more rhythmic and lively, and it was easy to dance to. This led to some young people smoking, drinking and, according to some, behaving indecently. College students, especially, were willing to challenge their parents' values and lifestyle. A number of black musicians became very famous, including Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith, the 'Empress of the Blues'. But racism was still a major problem during this period. When Bessie Smith had a serious car crash in 1937, she was taken to a hospital that was for white people only. The hospital refused to treat her because she was black and she died. The impact of the radio and gramophoneListening to the radio was arguably the most popular form of entertainment. Mass production, the spread of electricity and buying on hire-purchase meant that approximately 50 million people, that's 40 per cent of the population, had a radio set by the end of the 1920s.
Dancing and the speakeasy cultureMore daring dances became popular after World War One.
It was mostly young people who liked the new music, and it was mostly older and religious people who rejected it. The popularity of the new music had helped to improve the social status of some women and some black people
GCSE Subjects
What innovations contributed to popular culture in the 1920s?In the 1920s, radio and cinema contributed to the development of a national media culture in the United States.
What was the most popular consumer attraction of the 1920s?Cars were the symbol of the new consumer society that emerged in the 1920s. In 1919, there were just 6.7 million cars on American roads. By 1929, there were more than 27 million cars--or nearly one car for every household in the United States.
What helped drive the consumer culture of the 1920s?Consumerism in the 1920s was a culture based on buying and consuming goods in increasing amounts. This culture was fueled by the era's rise in advertising that gained traction amid the technological surge of the era.
Which situation contributed to the economic problems of the late 1920s?Overproduction and underconsumption were affecting most sectors of the economy. Old industries were in decline. Farm income fell from $22 billion in 1919 to $13 billion in 1929. Farmers' debts increased to $2 billion.
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