January 30, 2024. Isabella Apgar.
When reflecting upon the 1920s, I think about the United States and a more “Hollywood” appearance. I see glittery flappers, tough gangsters, and illegal but captivating speakeasies. Most of my 1920s viewpoints are from The Great Gatsby, which depicts Gatsby hosting huge lavish parties. It feels exhilarating and fun to be a part of it when, in reality, I know there were more pressing issues, such as the ongoing anti-immigration movement, race issues, such as the actions of the Ku Klux Klan, prohibition, and overall gender and sexual inequality. When I Googled “the 1920s,” the image results showed the side I thought about. Everyone was happy, smiling wide, dancing in clubs and parties, and well dressed. There were very few distressing images of people in harsh conditions or from the negative aspects of the 1920s. In my search, I noticed that most of the photos were of white people, with almost zero people of color featured (except for the amazing Josephine Baker and Louis Armstrong). I find it interesting that when I hear “1920s,” I think about the United States. I believe it is because I have a better understanding and education on United States history than world history. I did more research about the 1920s and found a couple of things interesting, such as Benito Mussolini gaining power in Italy and Germany becoming the most significant film producer in Europe. For the most part, many countries struggled after World War 1 and faced economic and sociopolitical issues.
This image of four women lined up drinking liquor reflects my thinking of the 1920s. The 1920s was a time when people were able to let loose, especially for women. Women became more open with themselves and their sexuality, while society was forced to become more tolerant of it. Prior to the picture being taken, people would see the women drinking as unladylike and taboo, while in the present times, people glance past it.
The following image shows an unidentified jazz band playing in Chicago. Chicago was a hotspot for jazz music, brought to the area by African-American musicians. I find this very interesting and would love to learn more about the spread of jazz and the history of it. I picked this image because it is one of the few that showed people of color. Even then, there was much racial inequality that is not represented in an image such as this. Despite that, it is nice to see their bright smiling faces, and it makes you be able to hear the image and imagine how it must have been.
The image of Josephine Baker ties both images together because Baker broke through many barriers. She represents the emergence of women’s sexuality and power because of it, as well as becoming an influential figure for African Americans.
Overall, the 1920s were a very fascinating time because it emerged from a major world war and then dived into the Great Depression. My image searches only crack the surface, and I am excited to continue expanding my education into the exciting decade.
Bibliography
Chicago History Museum, Jazz, photograph, Getty Images, January 1, 1925, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-unidentified-band-plays-some-jazz-onstage-at-an-news-photo/85877700?adppopup=true.
Kirn Vintage Stock, Flapper women drink in unison, ca. 1925, photograph, Getty Images, January 1, 1925, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/four-women-line-up-along-a-wall-and-chug-bottles-of-liquor-news-photo/526305544?utm_medium=organic&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=iptcurl.
Walery, Josephine Baker dancing the Charleston at the Folies-Bergère, Paris, painting, January 1, 1926, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_Twenties#/media/File:Baker_Charleston.jpg.
History major and Human Rights and Genocide Studies minor at Ramapo College of New Jersey class of 2025.
