POP CULTURE & FADS OF THE 1920'S

Fads

Pop Culture

Q: What is pop culture?

A: Pop culture is media, entertainment, fashion, fads, etc. that are trending at the time.

Q: Does pop culture change?

A: Yes, it changes over time with new trends and new styles that are influenced by historical events/politics.

Q: What does pop culture have to do with fads?

A: Pop culture is heavily influenced by fads, the two are virtually the same.

Pop Culture

Q: What is a fad?

A: Something (such as an interest or fashion) that is very popular for a short time. (Merriam-Webster.com)

Q: How is it different from a trend?

A: A fad is something that is popular for a short amount of time and a trend is something that people follow not as exaggeratedly as a fad.

Q: How are fads started?

A: Fads can be started many different ways; popular/high profile people start to do something that others follow. They can be started to prove a point for or against a current event, etc. Advertisements on the fad contribute to its popularity.

Women's rights

• Women's increasing independence:
• Gaining more life skills
• Controlling their own money
• Earning the right to vote

Pop Culture

Fads of the 1920's

Free & Easy Lifestyle

Fads of the 1920's

Flappers

Clothes / fashion

• In the 1920's there wasn't many things you couldn't do, just really no rules in general.
• No standard of morality to go by.
• Laissez faire - let it be was a popular saying in the 1920's because it means let it be

• Specific style: heavy makeup, short fringed dresses, jewelry, short hair.
• "New Breed" of young Western women
• Redefined women's roles with wild/ reckless behavior such as dancing, drinking, sexual liberation.

• Modern movement
• Women abandon restricting clothing for more comfortable options
• Men abandoned formal clothing for more athletic options

Pop Culture

Gaudy lifestyle / wealth

Other Strange Trends

Fads of the 1920's

Dance Contests / radios

• Couples danced non-stop for hundreds of hours to win prize money

• Pole Sitting: men would sit on raised platforms for extended periods of time (weeks-months) as an endurance test/ claim to fame
• Swallowing live goldfish became popular for college students to do as dares.
• Various competitions such as: rocking chair, kissing, eating, drinking, laughing competitions, etc.

Pop Culture

• Commercial radio broadcasting began in the 1920s and became important for entertainment and news.

Racism as a trend

• Wealthy people of the 1920's didn't have many worries. The economy was very good at the time.
• People in the 1920's would make an appearance like they were wealthy just to gain a good/wealthy social status.
• Usually the people's wealth wasn't used for anything important. Like how they could use money for charities or money to help people in need.
• It was popular to throw extravagant, expensive parties.

Fads of the 1920's

• The KKK reached the height of its popularity in the 1920's
• Race riots broke out across Northern & Southern cities
• Over 1 million African Americans moved North by 1919.

Temperance Movement

• Alcohol ban: Prohibition
• Started 1919, ended in 1933
• Religiously motivated
• Looked down upon by modernists
• Speakeasy: clubs that illegaly sold alcohol

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fads of the 1920's

Hair Trends

• 1920's hair culture caused more controversy than any other time period
• Women cut their hair short (bob style)
• Pin-up curls/ finger waves were popular
• These styles weren't seen as "feminine."

• Hanson, Erica. The 1920s. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 1999. Print.
• Unknown. "The Roaring Twenties." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.
• Corrigan, Jim. The 1920s Decade in Photos: The Roaring Twenties. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2010. Print.
• "Digital History." Digital History. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2015.

Pop Culture

The Jazz Age & Harlem Renaissance

• Became a popular style of music
• New musicians included: Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, etc.

https://docs.google.com/a/svvsd.org/forms/d/1XNkTgbQ3lU2nG9BslgcJqOZtzZe01Y0XG5iyjcX48CE/viewform

The Harlem Renaissance

'THE ROARING TWENTIES' POP CULTURE & FADS!

Haley McCallum & Caitlin Steele

• "New Negro Movement"
• Cultural expression through music, art, writing, and religion
• Common themes: Elite white audiences, slavery experience, black identity, modern black life, and racism.