The fact that the 1920’s are now one hundred years behind us is a bit jarring. How could that be? Especially when the image of flappers, jazz musicians taking part in a decade long party has always been a fuzzy one. Movies didn’t even have sound yet, of course it was a long time ago. However, something about the 20’s feels everlasting. This could be due to the popularity of 20’s culture in mainstream pop culture. For example, “The Great Gatsby” movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio is burned in the minds of many, and the book itself is read in high school English classes all across America. Snooki infamously had a “Great Gatsby” themed wedding. The continuous references to the time period of the 1920’s could be the obvious explanation for the everlasting association with it. However for me, the feeling that the 1920’s is everlasting is a bit more personal.
On October 18, 1923 my grandmother, my Mema – Francesca, was born in a small village in Sicily. She was seventy-five when I was born, and would tell my sister and I about how her family moved to America to escape the rising fascism in Italy. My great-grandfather, Carmello, was a stonemason and the story goes that he sailed to America alone at first, that way he could find work and a place for the whole family to live before the rest of them immigrated as well. It’s a story many of us have heard before from many other sources. The story would make images of boats sailing across the Atlantic and men sitting on skyscrapers during their lunch breaks clear in my mind. After that though, the image that remains in my mind is a baby photo of my Mema, pictured below.
She is at most five years old in the picture, which is jarring because that means it was taken no later than 1928. The 1920’s never felt that long ago to me because I had living proof that they were not sitting next to me at dinner each sunday. The decade of the 1920’s is where my Mom’s family finds its origins. My grandfather, Nick, was born on March 1, 1920 in Chicago, Illinois. His family had come to America prior to that in the early twentieth century it’s believed. That is why being in the year 2023 is a bit jarring for me, as it’s already been 100 years since one of my grandparents was born, and the next 100 year anniversary is slowly creeping upon us. However, it’s for that very reason that the 1920’s look different in my mind compared to what would come up in a 1920’s Google image search.
When searching “the 1920s” on Google Images the pictures that showed in the first row were all of flappers in some way, shape, or form. There were also some photos demonstrating prohibition and women advocating for their right to vote, and two photos of cars. What’s interesting is the categories the photos are separated into: fashion, america, flapper, jazz, prohibition, art, etc. Although in the main search there are mostly flappers. It seems to be a poor representation of a time where many people were working hard to secure better futures for prosperity. There were those like my ancestors who immigrated to America from a different country, but there are no pictures representing that story when you search “the 1920s”. Another example of those who were represented poorly on the main search page would be the suffragettes, there is only one photo to remind searchers that women received the right to vote in August of 1920. While the 1920’s look different to everyone, to me they look like new beginnings and working class people. There are sure to be others who see it the same way, which is why it would be nice to see representation of each aspect on the main search page.
Michelle Steidle is a History Major at Ramapo College, graduating with the Class of 2023. She enjoys historical research, long walks on the beach, and a good joke.
