When I think of the 1920s, I think of the world trying to get back on track, after being derailed by war and disease. World War I ended two years prior to the turn of the decade, while the Entente powers were enjoying the spoils of war, Germany was in economic ruin and the other Central powers lost almost all of their influence. While that was going on a new strain of influenza tore up the global populace. This event was the H1N1 or Spanish Bird Flu pandemic. At this time prohibition in the US created a bunch of lucrative money-making opportunities for those willing to take on the risks associated with it. That being said, when I think of the 1920s I think of NASCAR. I don’t find NASCAR particularly interesting, but the origins behind the sport are fascinating. NASCAR is stock car racing, the sport started after the end of prohibition when the sale of alcohol was made legal again. This notion put many bootleggers and their customized cars out of business, so the bootleggers took to street racing with their covert supercars. I also think of the formation of America’s biggest nemesis of the 20th century, the Soviet Union with the Russian Civil War starting in 1917 and ending in the early 20s. America also firmly occupied multiple Caribbean nations such as Haiti and Nicaragua.
The pictures of the 1920s when you search just that into Google lack a variety of pictures. Mostly depicting the Flapper lifestyle and there was one picture of the Klu Klux Klan in the ceremonial garbs. The reason I found this interesting, is because it highlights how racial inequality was an even bigger issue 100 years ago. The Klu Klux Klan tries to hide in plain sight nowadays, with fear of ostracization from the communities they belong to, but a century ago it was socially acceptable to be a part of a bigoted organization like that. I decided not to talk too much about flappers and the socially liberal movements that became more mainstream. I knew that my screen would be filled with women in fabulous dresses, smoking, and drinking which was considered unladylike in this era. Flappers and swing music dominated speakeasys’ (underground illegal bars.) I also chose this image of Hollywood, because in the 1920s cinema started to become a prominent feature in pop culture. One of the most famous movies filmed in color was the movie The Wizard of Oz which highlights the power that Hollywood held over the general population. Movies became another medium for entertainment, before the cinema, most people relied upon radio or newspaper to occupy themselves when they found they had downtime.
Joe is a Sophomore at Ramapo and a Global Communications major enrolled in Discovering Digital History.
