Popular Culture
Sports
This was a time of sports. People played, watched and listened to the different games. Baseball was a favorite; also boxing basketball, college football, and tennis were big sports of the time.
Babe Ruth broke the homerun record and the RBI record. This was during his first year playing for the Yankees. Many people loved to come to the games and watch him play, hoping he would hit another homerun.Jack Dempsey was a heavyweight boxer and Benny Leonard was a lightweight boxer. Both of these men were excellent boxers. They were two of the top boxers of the time.Newspapers helped with enthusiasm for basketball and college football. This brought attention to the sports and more people enjoyed watching the sports. Bill Tilden and Helen Wills dominated the World Tennis. (Classroom Text)
Babe Ruth broke the homerun record and the RBI record. This was during his first year playing for the Yankees. Many people loved to come to the games and watch him play, hoping he would hit another homerun.Jack Dempsey was a heavyweight boxer and Benny Leonard was a lightweight boxer. Both of these men were excellent boxers. They were two of the top boxers of the time.Newspapers helped with enthusiasm for basketball and college football. This brought attention to the sports and more people enjoyed watching the sports. Bill Tilden and Helen Wills dominated the World Tennis. (Classroom Text)
The Radio
The 1920s was all about the radio. Everyone listened to it. The radio was the T.V. back then. It had every thing you wanted to listen to. It had Soap Operas, live sports events, weather, music, comedy shows, and the news.
The soap opera would play everyday and continue with the story line. To make it entertaining they would put in special sound effects so you could picture someone coming in a door or walking across the room. The sports events would be about a local football game or baseball game. If you couldn’t make it to the game you would tune in at the right time to catch all the details. In the morning the local weather would be on. This way you knew what would happen during the day. The music was mostly jazz. Jazz was very popular in the 1920s. People loved to dance and sing a long to the music. Comedy shows would also air. This was similar to soap operas. They would use special effects to catch the audience’s attention. The news would inform the public about what was going on around the world and in the local community. (Classroom Text)
The soap opera would play everyday and continue with the story line. To make it entertaining they would put in special sound effects so you could picture someone coming in a door or walking across the room. The sports events would be about a local football game or baseball game. If you couldn’t make it to the game you would tune in at the right time to catch all the details. In the morning the local weather would be on. This way you knew what would happen during the day. The music was mostly jazz. Jazz was very popular in the 1920s. People loved to dance and sing a long to the music. Comedy shows would also air. This was similar to soap operas. They would use special effects to catch the audience’s attention. The news would inform the public about what was going on around the world and in the local community. (Classroom Text)
Movies and Dancing
When looking for entertainment in the 1920s the people went to movies or went to gatherings with dancing. The movies were improving with the sound and picture. The dancing was picking up the tempo.
One of the most famous movies of the 1920s is “The Jazz Singer.” This was the first talking movie of all time. There was no longer a pianist sitting in the back of the movie theater playing the piano for sound. The actual characters could now be heard on film. This movie was released in 1927 and directed by Al Crosland. (http://www.filmsite.org/jazz.html)
"Rin-Tin-Tin" was a popular movie also. This movie was about World War One. It was a crowd pleaser because they had just experienced it. It had a German Shepard in it that people loved. The dog in the movie was the most famous dog. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rin_Tin_Tin)
Dancing was the thing to do. During the weekend everyone would gather at a place and play music. They would dance the Fox Trot, the Shimmy, or the Charleston. They would have dance marathons. This is where they would dance for very long periods of time. (Classroom Text)
One of the most famous movies of the 1920s is “The Jazz Singer.” This was the first talking movie of all time. There was no longer a pianist sitting in the back of the movie theater playing the piano for sound. The actual characters could now be heard on film. This movie was released in 1927 and directed by Al Crosland. (http://www.filmsite.org/jazz.html)
"Rin-Tin-Tin" was a popular movie also. This movie was about World War One. It was a crowd pleaser because they had just experienced it. It had a German Shepard in it that people loved. The dog in the movie was the most famous dog. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rin_Tin_Tin)
Dancing was the thing to do. During the weekend everyone would gather at a place and play music. They would dance the Fox Trot, the Shimmy, or the Charleston. They would have dance marathons. This is where they would dance for very long periods of time. (Classroom Text)
Flappers
Flappers were new in the 1920s. These women changed their looks. Their attitude was also very different. The old style didn’t work for them anymore. They wanted a change.
The dresses were a lot shorter and the corsets were no longer in style. The dresses that there wore were flowing. They were very easy to move and dance in. There hair was no longer long. It was cut short, a bob cut. The woman loved their new style. It was free and easy.
Along with the new style came a new attitude. Men were the only ones that used to smoke, but now Flappers started to also. Their parents were stunned. They couldn’t believe their little girls would do such a thing. As if that was bad, the women started going to speakeasies. Here they drank and danced to the up beat music.
Flappers were the young women who loved to have fun. Or the older women who wanted to stay young. These women were trendsetters. The new attitude was something that some of the men enjoyed. (http://my.ilstu.edu/~lmerri/uhigh/1920%27s/flappers.gif)
The dresses were a lot shorter and the corsets were no longer in style. The dresses that there wore were flowing. They were very easy to move and dance in. There hair was no longer long. It was cut short, a bob cut. The woman loved their new style. It was free and easy.
Along with the new style came a new attitude. Men were the only ones that used to smoke, but now Flappers started to also. Their parents were stunned. They couldn’t believe their little girls would do such a thing. As if that was bad, the women started going to speakeasies. Here they drank and danced to the up beat music.
Flappers were the young women who loved to have fun. Or the older women who wanted to stay young. These women were trendsetters. The new attitude was something that some of the men enjoyed. (http://my.ilstu.edu/~lmerri/uhigh/1920%27s/flappers.gif)
