The Culture of the 1920s
The Roaring Twenties started in North America and spread to Europe as the effects of
World War I diminished. In Europe, the years following the First World War (1919-1923)
were marked by a deep recession. Europe spent these years in rebuilding and coming to
terms with the vast human cost of the conflict. Unlike in the aftermath of World War II, the
United States did little to try to rebuild Europe. Instead, it took an increasingly isolationist
stance (Answers, 2006).
In Canada, an important economic transformation accelerated as Britain was wholly
supplanted by the United States as Canadas main economic partner. By the middle of the
decade, economic development started to soar in Europe and the Roaring Twenties broke
out in Germany, Britain and France, where the second half of this decade was termed “The
Golden Twenties”. In France and Canada, they were also called the “Crazy Years”
(ann*ƒ¹es folles) (Answers, 2006).
The spirit of the Roaring Twenties was marked by a general feeling of discontinuity
associated with modernity, and a break with traditions. A new and different era was felt to
be coming up. Everything seemed to be feasible through modern technology; the limits
that ecology and sustainability pose to economic and technological growth were yet
unknown. Technologies, such as trains, cars and mass communication by radio and
telephone, spread the idea of modernity to a large part of the population. Formal decorative
frills were shed in favor of practicality, in architecture as well as in daily life. At the same
time, amusement, fun and lightness were cultivated in jazz and dancing, in defiance of the
horrors of World War I, which were still present in peoples minds. The period is often
called the “Jazz Age” (Answers, 2006).
The 1920s was considered as the New Era. During this era, mass society, mass culture, and
mass consumption was apart of the modern life. In the 1920s, the United States was in the
middle of a revolution in the area of production. With a 64 percent increase in
manufacturing; outputting per work hour around 40 percent. The most difficult to grasp
was the sale of electricity and the consumption of fuel oil doubled. Americans were spread
to their limits. Around 1922 and 1927, the economy grew by at least 7 percent a year.
The 20s was a time of changing and reinventing. At this time some sports were just starting
out, others were broadening their horizons, while others were simply becoming more
