The 1920’s Culture

JAZZ

• Who were the first Jazz Musicians?– African Americans

• Where was Jazz born?– New Orleans

• When did Jazz appear nationwide?– The early 1920s

• Why did Jazz spread past New Orleans?– Violence and racism resurfaced in New

Orleans and Jazz musicians fled to cities like Chicago, New York, and Kansas City

JAZZ

"The true spirit of jazz is a joyous revolt from convention, custom, authority, boredom, even sorrow--from everything that would confine the soul of man and hinder its riding free on the air." ~ J.A. Rogers, "Jazz at Home," The Survey Graphic, 1925

1920s Jazz Musicians

Bix Beiderbecke Duke Ellington

1920s Jazz Musicians

Jelly Roll Morton Earl Hines

1920s Jazz Musicians

Kid Ory Louis Armstrong

1920s Jazz Musicians

Joe “King” Oliver Paul Whiteman

The Charleston

• The Social dance - popular in the mid-1920s.

• Thought to have come from Cape Verdes Isles in Africa

1920s Fashion

1920s Fashion

1920s Fashion – The Men

• Stemmed from sports or gangsters• Wanted to appear “dapper.” • Baggy pants, polished shoes, and a handkerchief

in the pocket • The baggy zoot suit worn for fancy occasions

Flappers• F. Scott Fitzgerald said

"lovely, expensive, and about nineteen.“

• Rebelling from societal norms

• Short Sleek hair, short shapeless dresses, lots of makeup

• Frequenters of nightclubs

1920s Fashion – The Flapper

FlappersThe Playful flapper here we see,

The fairest of the fair.She's not what Grandma used to be, --

You might say, au contraire.Her girlish ways may make a stir,

Her manners cause a scene,But there is no more harm in her

Than in a submarine.

She nightly knocks for many a goalThe usual dancing men.

Her speed is great, but her controlIs something else again.

All spotlights focus on her pranks.All tongues her prowess herald.

For which she well may render thanksTo God and Scott Fitzgerald.

Her golden rule is plain enough -Just get them young and treat them

rough.

Prohibition

• 18th Amendment outlawed the transporting, selling, manufacturing of Alcohol.

• Widely ignored

• Lead to Organize Crime

The 1920s Night Club “Speakeasies”

• Offered an intense experience

• Entertainment tended toward adult fare

• “Alcohol" was central to the experience.

• The Night Clubs also had their dark side.

Two Cultural Movements1. The Harlem Renaissance

- Rebirth of African-American culture- Literature, art, music, dance- Took place primarily in Harlem

• Factors in the development of the Harlem Renaissance were:

1. African-American urban migration2. Trends toward experimentation throughout the country3. The rise of radical African-American intellectuals.

• Never before had so many Americans embraced the African-American culture.

The Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem RenaissanceDreams

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow.

by Langston Hughes

Two Cultural Movements

2. The Lost Generation1. Rejection of American

Materialism

2. Looking for the Meaning of Life, after quick change from war.

3. Intellectuals, poets, artists and writers

The Lost Generation

"The Hollow Men"

We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men

Leaning together Headpiece filled with straw

Our dried voices, when We whisper together

Are quiet and meaningless As wind in dry grass

Or rat's feet over broken glass In our dry cellar

by T.S. Eliot

Motion Pictures

• New Pastime: THE MOVIES!

• Silent movies became "talkies" when sound was finally added.

• Charlie Chaplin most famous silent actor

Motion Pictures

•The best movies of the decade were "Treasure Island" and "Ben Hur” and “The Jazz Singer.”

Baseball• The New American

Pastime

• Radio Broadcasts, Stadiums, and Sports Sections in Newspapers

• Celebrities like Babe Ruth

• A Spectator Sport for the Working Class: Myth vs. Reality

Slang Words

All wet

Applesaucewhat you say when you are angry

"Oh, applesauce!"

describes a wrong idea or person

He's all wet.

Slang Words

The Big Cheese

The Cat’s Meowsomething splendid or wonderful

the best

the most important person

the boss

Cheaters eyeglasses

JakeOK

Everything is Jake.

Slang Words

Dogs

Giggle Water Alcohol

Feet

Heebie Jeebies A Scary Nervous Feeling

Jalopy An Old Car

Moll A Gangster’s Girlfriend

Slang Words

Pushover

Scram Alcohol

Someone easily convinced

Swell Wonderful

Upchuck Vomit

Is the 1920s for you?

Would you want to live in the 1920s? Why or Why not?