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75-483: Consumer culture began to increase rapidly during the extreme economic growth of the Roaring Twenties .The challenge for the future is to find ways to revive the valid portion of the culture of constraint and control the overpowering success of the twentieth century. Social scientists Arthur Berger , Aaron Wildavsky , and Mary Douglas have suggested that there are four political and consumer cultures possible in

150-536: A 1999 report by the National Resources Defense Council found that many water companies use words like “pure” and “pristine” to aid in marketing. Wilk explains that it is more than just the marketing of it being pure, but that people want bottled water because they know the source. Public water comes from an anonymous source and Wilk concludes that the home is an extension of ourselves, so why would we want to bring an unknown specimen into our home? This

225-450: A Midwestern town. He followed with Babbitt , about a middle-aged businessman who rebels against his dull life and family, only to realize that the younger generation is as hypocritical as his own. Lewis satirized religion with Elmer Gantry , which followed a con man who teams with an evangelist to sell religion to a small town. Other social critics included Sherwood Anderson , Edith Wharton , and H. L. Mencken . Anderson published

300-536: A boom in construction, and the rapid growth of consumer goods such as automobiles and electricity in North America and Europe and a few other developed countries such as Australia. The economy of the United States, successfully transitioned from a wartime economy to a peacetime economy, boomed and provided loans for a European boom as well. Some sectors stagnated , especially farming and coal mining. The US became

375-478: A break with tradition, through modern technology such as automobiles, moving pictures , and radio, bringing "modernity" to a large part of the population. Formal decorative frills were shed in favor of practicality in both daily life and architecture. At the same time, jazz and dancing rose in popularity, in opposition to the mood of World War I. As such, the period often is referred to as the Jazz Age . The 1920s saw

450-463: A cabaret audience; the other an exchange between him and his mother. The "natural" sounds of the settings were also audible. The film's profits were proof enough to the film industry that the technology was worth investing in. In 1928, the film studios Famous Players–Lasky (later known as Paramount Pictures ), First National Pictures , Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , and Universal Studios signed an agreement with Electrical Research Products Inc. (ERPI) for

525-484: A collection of short stories titled Winesburg, Ohio , which studied the dynamics of a small town. Wharton mocked the fads of the new era through her novels, such as Twilight Sleep (1927). Mencken criticized narrow American tastes and culture in essays and articles. Art Deco was the style of design and architecture that marked the era. Originating in Europe, it spread to the rest of western Europe and North America towards

600-572: A democratic society: hierarchical/ elitist , individualist , egalitarian , and fatalist . To improve the effectiveness of advertisements, people of various age groups are employed by marketing companies to increase the understanding of the beliefs, attitudes, and values of the targeted consumers. A quote by Shah states that "The sophistication of advertising methods and techniques has advanced, enticing and shaping and even creating consumerism and needs where there has been none before". Anthropologist Richard R. Wilk has written about bottled water and

675-562: A few films with live dialogue, though only in a few scenes. It finally released Lights of New York (1928), the first all-talking full-length feature film. The animated short film Dinner Time (1928) by the Van Beuren Studios was among the first animated sound films. It was followed a few months later by the animated short film Steamboat Willie (1928), the first sound film by the Walt Disney Animation Studios . It

750-571: A long-distance television signal over 438 miles (705 km) of telephone line between London and Glasgow; Baird transmitted the world's first long-distance television pictures to the Central Hotel at Glasgow Central Station. Baird then set up the Baird Television Development Company Ltd and in 1928 made the first transatlantic television transmission, from London to Hartsdale, New York and the first television programme for

825-529: A new form of entertainment that virtually ended the old vaudeville theatrical genre. Watching a film was cheap and accessible; crowds surged into new downtown movie palaces and neighborhood theaters. Since the early 1910s, lower-priced cinema successfully competed with vaudeville. Many vaudeville performers and other theatrical personalities were recruited by the film industry, lured by greater salaries and less arduous working conditions. The introduction of sound film , a.k.a. "the talkies" which did not surge until

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900-586: A platform for mass marketing . Its economic importance led to the mass culture that has dominated society since this period. During the " Golden Age of Radio ", radio programming was as varied as the television programming of the 21st century. The 1927 establishment of the Federal Radio Commission introduced a new era of regulation. In 1925, electrical recording , one of the greater advances in sound recording , became available with commercially issued gramophone records . The cinema boomed, producing

975-492: A positive correlation, but the extent to which health has a causal effect on economic prosperity is unclear. There is evidence that happiness is a cause of good health, both directly through influencing behavior and the immune system , and indirectly through social relationships, work, and other factors. One study which advances a holistic definition of prosperity is the Legatum Prosperity Index (an annual report by

1050-413: A pure substance and has connections in many religions. Throughout history, it has been shown that control over water is equivalent to control over untamed nature, and this has been shown in movies as well. To build on this idea, Wilk points out how having bottled water enforces the idea of this control over nature and the need that humans have for water. To further enforce this idea of natural and pure water,

1125-532: A report to the UK Sustainable Development Commission in 2008, comprehensively expanded on the arguments and policy recommendations. Internationally organised, the Degrowth movement is taking a similar position and argue that overconsumption lies at the root of long-term environmental issues and social inequalities , advocating for the down-scaling of production and consumption . In

1200-486: A smash box-office success. It was innovative for its use of sound. Produced with the Vitaphone system, most of the film does not contain live-recorded audio, relying on a score and effects. When the movie's star, Al Jolson , sings, however, the film shifts to sound recorded on the set, including both his musical performances and two scenes with ad-libbed speech—one of Jolson's character, Jakie Rabinowitz (Jack Robin), addressing

1275-570: A trend and social statement, a breaking-off from the rigid Victorian way of life. These young, rebellious, middle-class women, labeled 'flappers' by older generations, did away with the corset and donned slinky knee-length dresses, which exposed their legs and arms. The hairstyle of the decade was a chin-length bob, which had several popular variations. Cosmetics, which until the 1920s were not typically accepted in American society because of their association with prostitution, became extremely popular. In

1350-729: Is due to hedonic adaptation and social comparison , and a failure to anticipate these factors, resulting in people not allocating enough energy to non-financial goals such as family life and health. The World Bank's "Voices of the Poor", based on research with over 20,000 poor people in 23 countries, identifies a range of factors which poor people identify as part of poverty. These include abuse by those in power, disempowering institutions, excluded locations, gender relationships, lack of security, limited capabilities, physical limitations, precarious livelihoods, problems in social relationships, weak community organizations and discrimination. Economic growth

1425-501: Is due to the larger companies being able to make more connections and pay the expensive fee to be sold on the shelves. Wilk concludes that since it is hard to trust either, it comes down to which is distrusted least. Before the Industrial Revolution , the home was a place where men and women produced, consumed, and worked. The men were highly valued workers, such as barbers, butchers, farmers, and lumbermen who brought income into

1500-458: Is often seen as essential for economic prosperity, and indeed is one of the factors that is used as a measure of prosperity. The Rocky Mountain Institute , among others, has put forth an alternative point of view, that prosperity does not require growth, claiming instead that many of the problems facing communities are actually a result of growth, and that sustainable development requires abandoning

1575-467: Is the flourishing, thriving, good fortune and successful social status . Prosperity often produces profuse wealth including other factors which can be profusely wealthy in all degrees, such as happiness and health . Economic notions of prosperity often compete or interact negatively with health, happiness, or spiritual notions of prosperity. For example, longer hours of work might result in an increase in certain measures of economic prosperity, but at

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1650-402: Is where the bottled water preference comes in, according to Wilk, because people can trace it back to where it came from. In addition to this idea, many brands and companies have started marketing water toward specific needs like special water for women, kids, athletes, and so on. This increases competition between brands and takes away from customers being able to choose what water they want. This

1725-643: The Apollo Theater , swept dance halls from 1926 to 1927, replacing the Charleston in popularity. By 1927, the Lindy Hop , a dance based on Breakaway and Charleston and integrating elements of tap, became the dominant social dance . Developed in the Savoy Ballroom, it was set to stride piano ragtime jazz. The Lindy Hop later evolved into other Swing dances. These dances, nonetheless, never became mainstream, and

1800-406: The post–World War I recession of 1919–1920 and a sharp deflationary recession or depression in 1920–1921. Quickly, however, the economies of the U.S. and Canada rebounded as returning soldiers re-entered the labor force and munitions factories were retooled to produce consumer goods. Mass production made technology affordable to the middle class. The automotive industry , the film industry ,

1875-530: The radio industry , and the chemical industry took off during the 1920s. Before World War I, cars were a luxury good . In the 1920s, mass-produced vehicles became commonplace in the U.S. and Canada. By 1927, the Ford Motor Company discontinued the Ford Model T after selling 15 million units of that model. It had been in continuous production from October 1908 to May 1927. The company planned to replace

1950-410: The richest country in the world per capita and since the late-19th century had been the largest in total GDP. Its industry was based on mass production , and its society acculturated into consumerism . European economies , by contrast, had a more difficult post-war readjustment and did not begin to flourish until about 1924. At first, the end of wartime production caused a brief but deep recession,

2025-495: The 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture . It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the United States and Europe, particularly in major cities such as Berlin, Buenos Aires, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York City, Paris, and Sydney. In France, the decade was known as the années folles ( ' crazy years ' ), emphasizing

2100-552: The 1920s developed in a different direction from that of 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". At the beginning of the decade, films were silent and colorless. In 1922, the first all-color feature, The Toll of the Sea , was released. In 1926, Warner Bros. released Don Juan ,

2175-576: The 1920s under the banner of the " Harlem Renaissance ". In 1921, the Black Swan Corporation was founded. At its height, it issued 10 recordings per month. All-African American musicals also started in 1921. In 1923, the Harlem Renaissance Basketball Club was founded by Bob Douglas . During the late-1920s, and especially in the 1930s, the basketball team became known as the best in the world. The first issue of Opportunity

2250-436: The 1920s with performers such as Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey . In the latter part of the decade, early forms of country music were pioneered by Jimmie Rodgers , The Carter Family , Uncle Dave Macon , Vernon Dalhart , and Charlie Poole . Dance clubs became enormously popular in the 1920s. Their popularity peaked in the late 1920s and reached into the early 1930s. Dance music came to dominate all forms of popular music by

2325-589: The 1920s, new magazines appealed to young German women with a sensuous image and advertisements for the appropriate clothes and accessories they would want to purchase. The glossy pages of Die Dame and Das Blatt der Hausfrau displayed the "Neue Frauen", "New Girl" – what Americans called the flapper . She was young and fashionable, financially independent, and was an eager consumer of the latest fashions. The magazines kept her up to date on styles, clothes, designers, arts, sports, and modern technology such as automobiles and telephones. Prosperity Prosperity

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2400-641: The 1920s, swing in the 1930s, bebop in the 1940s, cool jazz and hard bop in the 1950s, free jazz and fusion in the 1960s.... There is substantial agreement on the defining features of each style, the pantheon of great innovators, and the canon of recorded masterpieces." The pantheon of performers and singers from the 1920s include Louis Armstrong , Duke Ellington , Sidney Bechet , Jelly Roll Morton , Joe "King" Oliver , James P. Johnson , Fletcher Henderson , Frankie Trumbauer , Paul Whiteman , Roger Wolfe Kahn , Bix Beiderbecke , Adelaide Hall , and Bing Crosby . The development of urban and city blues also began in

2475-1032: The 1930s. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit , a character created by Disney before Mickey in 1927, was contracted by Universal for distribution purposes, and starred in a series of shorts between 1927 and 1928. Disney lost the rights to the character, but in 2006, regained the rights to Oswald. He was the first Disney character to be merchandised. The period had the emergence of box-office draws such as Mae Murray , Ramón Novarro , Rudolph Valentino , Buster Keaton , Harold Lloyd , Warner Baxter , Clara Bow , Louise Brooks , Baby Peggy , Bebe Daniels , Billie Dove , Dorothy Mackaill , Mary Astor , Nancy Carroll , Janet Gaynor , Charles Farrell , William Haines , Conrad Nagel , John Gilbert , Greta Garbo , Dolores del Río , Norma Talmadge , Colleen Moore , Nita Naldi , Leatrice Joy , John Barrymore , Norma Shearer , Joan Crawford , Anna May Wong , and Al Jolson . African American literary and artistic culture developed rapidly during

2550-592: The 2021 Review on the Economics of Biodiversity commissioned by the UK Treasury, Partha Dasgupta argues prosperity has come at a "devastating" cost to biodiversity , and that sustainable economic growth will require abandoning GDP as a measure for economic progress. Many distinct notions of prosperity, such as economic prosperity, health, and happiness, are correlated or even have causal effects on each other. Economic prosperity and health are well-established to have

2625-579: The Atlantic Ocean. His aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis , was a custom-built, single engine, single-seat monoplane . It was designed by aeronautical engineer Donald A. Hall . In Britain, Amy Johnson (1903–1941) was the first woman to fly alone from Britain to Australia. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set numerous long-distance records during the 1930s. The 1920s saw several inventors advance work on television, but programs did not reach

2700-565: The BBC. For decades biologists had been at work on the medicine that became penicillin. In 1928, Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming discovered a substance that killed a number of disease-causing bacteria. In 1929, he named the new substance penicillin . His publications were largely ignored at first, but it became a significant antibiotic in the 1930s. In 1930, Cecil George Paine, a pathologist at Sheffield Royal Infirmary , used penicillin to treat sycosis barbae , eruptions in beard follicles, but

2775-413: The U.S.-sponsored dancing 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 stage circuit across the United States. With the advent of talking pictures (sound film), musicals became all the rage and film studios flooded the box office with extravagant and lavish musical films. The representative

2850-584: The US for general distribution was The Poor Millionaire , released by Biltmore Pictures in April 1930. Four other silent features, all low-budget Westerns , were also released in early 1930. The 1920s saw milestones in aviation that seized the world's attention. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh rose to fame with the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight . He took off from Roosevelt Field in New York and landed at Paris–Le Bourget Airport . It took Lindbergh 33.5 hours to cross

2925-467: The United States had just under 27,000,000 motor vehicles registered. Automobile parts were being manufactured in Ontario, near Detroit, Michigan. The automotive industry's influence on other segments of the economy were widespread, jump starting industries such as steel production, highway building, motels, service stations, car dealerships, and new housing outside the urban core. Ford opened factories around

3000-543: The box office. Other studios quickened the pace of their conversion to the new technology and started producing their own sound films and talking films. In February 1929, sixteen months after The Jazz Singer , Columbia Pictures became the eighth and last major studio to release a talking feature. In May 1929, Warner Bros. released On with the Show! (1929), the first all-color, all-talking feature film. Soon silent film production ceased. The last totally silent feature produced in

3075-485: The consumerist basis it has in society. The base point of this article is to point out how water is free, and it is abundant, but over time it has become a point of marketing. The debate has always existed if there is a real difference in taste between bottled water and tap water. When it comes down to it, during many blind tastes, people cannot even tell which was tap and which was bottled, and more often than not tap water won for better taste. Water has always been regarded as

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3150-460: The conversion of production facilities and theaters for sound film. Initially, all ERPI-wired theaters were made Vitaphone-compatible; most were equipped to project Movietone reels as well. Also in 1928, Radio Corporation of America (RCA) marketed a new sound system, the RCA Photophone system. RCA offered the rights to its system to the subsidiary RKO Pictures . Warner Bros. continued releasing

3225-562: The dance hall" but had little impact. The most popular dances throughout the decade were the foxtrot , waltz , and American tango . From the early 1920s, however, a variety of eccentric novelty dances were developed. The first of these were the Breakaway and Charleston . Both were based on African American musical styles and beats, including the widely popular blues . The Charleston's popularity exploded after its feature in two 1922 Broadway shows. A brief Black Bottom craze, originating from

3300-722: The decade by unveiling On with the Show in 1929, the first all-color, all-talking feature film. Cartoon shorts were popular in movie theaters during this time. In the late 1920s, Walt Disney emerged. Mickey Mouse made his debut in Steamboat Willie on November 18, 1928, at the Colony Theater in New York City. Mickey was featured in more than 120 cartoon shorts, the Mickey Mouse Club , and other specials. This started Disney and led to creation of other characters going into

3375-453: The early years of suffrage, as can be seen by the large drop in voter turnout). Politicians responded by focusing more on issues of concern to women, especially peace, public health, education, and the status of children. On the whole, women voted much like men, except they were more interested in peace, even when it meant appeasement. The Lost Generation was composed of young people who came out of World War I disillusioned and cynical about

3450-465: The end of the decade of the 1920s, eliminated vaudeville's last major advantage and put it into sharp financial decline. The prestigious Orpheum Circuit , a chain of vaudeville and movie theaters, was absorbed by a new film studio. In 1923, inventor Lee de Forest at Phonofilm released a number of short films with sound. Meanwhile, inventor Theodore Case developed the Movietone sound system and sold

3525-477: The end of the decade, one in five workers were women. Interest in finding jobs, in the now ever-growing manufacturing sector of U.S. cities, became widespread among rural Americans. Many countries expanded women's voting rights, such as the United States, Canada, Great Britain, India, and various European countries in 1917–1921. This influenced many governments and elections by increasing the number of voters (but not doubling it, because many women did not vote during

3600-490: The era's social, artistic and cultural dynamism. Jazz blossomed, the flapper redefined the modern look for British and American women, and Art Deco peaked. The social and cultural features known as the Roaring Twenties began in leading metropolitan centers and spread widely in the aftermath of World War I . The spirit of the Roaring Twenties was marked by a general feeling of novelty associated with modernity and

3675-437: The expense of driving people away from their preferences for shorter work hours. In Buddhism , prosperity is viewed with an emphasis on collectivism and spirituality . This perspective can be at odds with capitalistic notions of prosperity, due to the latter's association with greed. Data from social surveys show that an increase in income does not result in a lasting increase in happiness; one proposed explanation to this

3750-408: The fashion trends for Europe and North America. The fashion for women was all about getting loose. Women wore dresses all day, every day. Day dresses had a drop waist, which was a sash or belt around the low waist or hip and a skirt that hung anywhere from the ankle on up to the knee, never above. Daywear had sleeves (long to mid-bicep) and a skirt that was straight, pleated, hank hem, or tired. Jewelry

3825-425: The first feature with sound effects and music. In 1927, Warner released The Jazz Singer , the first sound feature to include limited talking sequences. The public went wild for sound films, and movie studios converted to sound almost overnight. In 1928, Warner released Lights of New York , the first all-talking feature film. In the same year, the first sound cartoon, Dinner Time , was released. Warner ended

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3900-483: The house. The wives of these men completed various tasks to save money which included, churning butter, fixing clothes, and tending the garden. This system created an equal value for all of the jobs and tasks in a community. Once the Industrial Revolution began, there was no such thing as equal and high valued work in a mass production industry. The only value these workers had were the wage they made. That meant

3975-567: The idea that growth is required for prosperity. The debate over whether economic growth is necessary for, or at odds with, human prosperity, has been active at least since the publication of Our Common Future in 1987, and has been pointed to as reflecting two opposing worldviews. In 1996, the British ecological economist Tim Jackson outlined the conflicting relationship between human wellbeing and economic growth in his book Material Concerns . Prosperity without Growth then, first published as

4050-605: The large-scale development and use of automobiles, telephones, films, radio, and electrical appliances in the lives of millions in the Western world. Aviation soon became a business due to its rapid growth. Nations saw rapid industrial and economic growth, accelerated consumer demand, and introduced significant new trends in lifestyle and culture. The media, funded by the new industry of mass-market advertising driving consumer demand, focused on celebrities, especially sports heroes and movie stars, as cities rooted for their home teams and filled

4125-479: The late 1920s. Classical pieces, operettas, folk music, etc., were all transformed into popular dancing melodies to satiate the public craze for dancing. For example, many of the songs from the 1929 Technicolor musical operetta " The Rogue Song " (starring the Metropolitan Opera star Lawrence Tibbett ) were rearranged and released as dancing music and became popular dance club hits in 1929. Dance clubs across

4200-469: The mid-1920s. In the U.S., one of the more 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, though the artists often drew inspiration from nature. In the beginning, lines were curved, though rectilinear designs would later become more and more popular. Painting in North America during

4275-402: The millions. New car dealers were franchised by the car makers and became prime movers in the local business community. Tourism gained an enormous boost, with hotels, restaurants and curio shops proliferating. Electrification , having slowed during the war, progressed greatly as more of the US and Canada was added to the electrical grid . Industries switched from coal power to electricity. At

4350-416: The most popular form of music for youth. Historian Kathy J. Ogren wrote that, by the 1920s, jazz had become the "dominant influence on America's popular music generally" Scott DeVeaux argues that a standard history of jazz has emerged such that: "After an obligatory nod to African origins and ragtime antecedents, the music is shown to move through a succession of styles or periods: New Orleans jazz up through

4425-498: The nation was fascinated with its great metropolitan centers that contained about 15% of the population. The cities of New York and Chicago vied in building skyscrapers, and New York pulled ahead with its Empire State Building . The basic pattern of the modern white-collar job was set during the late-19th century, but it now became the norm for life in large and medium-sized cities. Typewriters, filing cabinets, and telephones, brought many unmarried women into clerical jobs. In Canada, by

4500-462: The new palatial cinemas and gigantic sports stadiums. In many countries, women won the right to vote . Wall Street invested heavily in Germany under the 1924 Dawes Plan , named after banker and later 30th Vice President Charles G. Dawes . The money was used indirectly to pay reparations to countries that also had to pay off their war debts to Washington. While by the middle of the decade prosperity

4575-632: The old model with a newer one, the Ford Model A . The decision was a reaction to competition. Due to the commercial success of the Model T, Ford had dominated the automotive market from the mid-1910s to the early-1920s. In the mid-1920s, Ford's dominance eroded as its competitors had caught up with Ford's mass production system. They began to surpass Ford in some areas, offering models with more powerful engines, new convenience features, and styling. Only about 300,000 vehicles were registered in 1918 in all of Canada, but by 1929, there were 1.9 million. By 1929,

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4650-940: The overwhelming majority of people in Western Europe and the U.S. continued to dance the foxtrot, waltz, and tango throughout the decade. The dance craze had a large influence on popular music. Large numbers of recordings labeled as foxtrot, tango, and waltz were produced and gave rise to a generation of performers who became famous as recording artists or radio artists. Top vocalists included Nick Lucas , Adelaide Hall , Scrappy Lambert , Frank Munn, Lewis James , Chester Gaylord , Gene Austin , James Melton , Franklyn Baur , Johnny Marvin, Annette Hanshaw , Helen Kane , Vaughn De Leath , and Ruth Etting . Leading dance orchestra leaders included Bob Haring , Harry Horlick , Louis Katzman, Leo Reisman , Victor Arden , Phil Ohman , George Olsen , Ted Lewis , Abe Lyman , Ben Selvin , Nat Shilkret , Fred Waring , and Paul Whiteman . Paris set

4725-521: The public until the eve of World War II, and few people saw any television before the mid 1940s. In July 1928, John Logie Baird demonstrated the world's first color transmission, using scanning discs at the transmitting and receiving ends with three spirals of apertures, each spiral with a filter of a different primary color; and three light sources at the receiving end, with a commutator to alternate their illumination. That same year he also demonstrated stereoscopic television. In 1927, Baird transmitted

4800-472: The rights to the film studio, Fox Film . In 1926, the Vitaphone sound system was introduced. The feature film Don Juan (1926) was the first feature-length film to use the Vitaphone sound system with a synchronized musical score and sound effects, though it had no spoken dialogue. The film was released by the film studio Warner Bros. In October 1927, the sound film The Jazz Singer (1927) turned out to be

4875-511: The same time, new power plants were constructed. In America, electricity production almost quadrupled. Telephone lines also were being strung across the continent. Indoor plumbing was installed for the first time in many homes, made possible due to modern sewer systems . Urbanization reached a milestone in the 1920 census, the results of which showed that slightly more Americans lived in urban areas, towns, and cities, populated by 2,500 or more people, than in small towns or rural areas. However,

4950-500: The trendy venues, and were well covered by the gossip columns of the London tabloids. As the average American in the 1920s became more enamored of wealth and everyday luxuries, some began satirizing the hypocrisy and greed they observed. Of these social critics, Sinclair Lewis was the most popular. His popular 1920 novel Main Street satirized the dull and ignorant lives of the residents of

5025-535: The wives lost their value at home and had to start working for a living. This new system created the thought of everyone being replaceable. The life of a worker was a challenging one. Working 12 to 14-hour days, 6 days a week, and in a dangerous environment. The worst part was the infrequency of pay or not being paid at all. At times, employers paid their workers in script pay, non-U.S. currency , or even in-store credit . Roaring Twenties The Roaring Twenties , sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s , refers to

5100-422: The world and proved a strong competitor in most markets for its low-cost, easy-maintenance vehicles. General Motors , to a lesser degree, followed. European competitors avoided the low-price market and concentrated on more expensive vehicles for upscale consumers. Radio became the first mass broadcasting medium . Radios were expensive, but their mode of entertainment proved revolutionary. Radio advertising became

5175-582: The world. The term usually refers specifically to American literary notables who lived in Paris at the time. Famous members included Ernest Hemingway , F. Scott Fitzgerald , and Gertrude Stein who wrote novels and short stories criticizing the materialism they perceived to be rampant during this era. In the United Kingdom, the bright young things were young aristocrats and socialites who threw fancy dress parties, went on elaborate treasure hunts, were seen in all

5250-417: Was less conspicuous. Hair was often bobbed, giving a boyish look. For men in white collar jobs, business suits were the day to day attire. Striped, plaid, or windowpane suits came in dark gray, blue, and brown in the winter and ivory, white, tan, and pastels in the summer. Shirts were white and neckties were essential. Immortalized in movies and magazine covers, young women's fashions of the 1920s set both

5325-544: Was published. The African American playwright Willis Richardson debuted his play The Chip Woman's Fortune at the Frazee Theatre (also known as the Wallacks theatre ). Notable African American authors such as Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston began to achieve a level of national public recognition during the 1920s. The 1920s brought new styles of music into the mainstream of culture in avant-garde cities. Jazz became

5400-413: Was the first commercially successful animated short film and introduced the character Mickey Mouse . Steamboat Willie was the first cartoon to feature a fully post-produced soundtrack, which distinguished it from earlier sound cartoons. It became the most popular cartoon of its day. For much of 1928, Warner Bros. was the only studio to release talking features . It profited from its innovative films at

5475-470: Was the musical Gold Diggers of Broadway , which became the highest-grossing film of the decade. Harlem played a key role in the development of dance styles. Several entertainment venues attracted people of all races. The Cotton Club featured black performers and catered to a white clientele, while the Savoy Ballroom catered to a mostly black clientele. Some religious moralists preached against "Satan in

5550-725: Was unsuccessful. Moving to ophthalmia neonatorum , a gonococcal infection in infants, he achieved the first recorded cure with penicillin, on November 25, 1930. He then cured four additional patients (one adult and three infants) of eye infections, but failed to cure a fifth. The automobile's dominance led to a new psychology celebrating mobility. Cars and trucks needed road construction, new bridges, and regular highway maintenance, largely funded by local and state government through taxes on gasoline. Farmers were early adopters as they used their pickups to haul people, supplies and animals. New industries were spun off—to make tires and glass and refine fuel, and to service and repair cars and trucks by

5625-465: Was widespread, with the second half of the decade known, especially in Germany, as the " Golden Twenties ", the decade was coming fast to an end. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 ended the era, as the Great Depression brought years of hardship worldwide. The Roaring Twenties was a decade of economic growth and widespread prosperity, driven by recovery from wartime devastation and deferred spending,

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