A New Culture for the Masses

THE INTERWAR PERIOD HIST 1301 | History A New Culture for the Masses The 1920s saw the emergence of mass culture and mass media in addition to the spread of democracy. Thanks to technological advancements, individuals may interact almost instantly and share experiences even when they are not in the same location. Radio and the pictures were what made this feasible where the necessary infrastructure was in place. Although radio wave technology was developed in the late 1800s, it would take decades before it was widely used and had a significant cultural impact. Radio's usefulness as a news source was becoming apparent by the 1920s, but its real impact came from commercial radio programmes, which were bolstered by another novel media known as advertising that clogged the airwaves in the middle of the decade. From then until the interwar period, people might congregate to listen to the most recent installments of gripping westerns, mystery series, and soap operas, as well as news items and real-time sports reporting. In the 1900s and 1910s, silent films dominated movie theatres. However, starting in the late 1920s, "talking pictures" appeared and swiftly took over as the primary genre of motion pictures. Thanks to mass media technology, individuals thousands or even hundreds of kilometres distant might watch the same films, keep up with the same soap operas, and support the same sports teams. Through these experiences, individuals whose lives had previously been dominated by local and regional issues came together to form a mass culture for the first time. Throughout the 1930s, the film industry in several nations grew in rather distinct ways. The epicentre of the American film industry was located in Hollywood, a neighbourhood in Los Angeles, California. The executives of film studios aimed to create pictures that were both reasonably priced to produce and well-liked by viewers. While the cinema industries were as well-liked in other nations, several of them also encouraged artistic innovation in the medium. The silent 1920 horror film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, for instance, demonstrates the modernist style used by the German cinema industry. Many of its postwar films criticised postwar politics and society. The 1920s saw a wave of change in the Japanese cinema industry as filmmakers and producers started experimenting with new approaches to filming rather than merely capturing a stage play. While some films adopted socialist stances that mirrored the rise of unions in Japanese culture, other genres—like those with samurai characters—also gained notoriety and popularity. In the 1920s, people were also adopting new lifestyles. Particularly women were prepared to live up to their revised self-expectations. This era's "New Woman" forsook the customs of the past in favour of an exciting future. Women were making new goals for their life in many different nations, including going to college, even though the proportion of women with college degrees was still quite low. In the workplace, women were keen to take on a multitude of different roles. Women were starting to replace males as the primary workers in secretarial positions in Europe and the US in the 1800s. Another popular profession choice for women is nursing. The nineteenth-century Western woman, who kept her long hair piled high on her head and dressed in high-necked shirts and ankle-length skirts, was very different from the New Woman. In the 1920s, short hair was in style, knee-length skirts were worn, and corsets were abandoned by young ladies. In the nights, they would go out to socialise, drink, and dance. Because of the way these ladies danced with their arms flying at their sides, a woman who adopted similar habits became known as a flapper in the United States. The way this contemporary picture of a lady went viral proved how much of an impact the West, and particularly the United States, already had on popular culture. The New Woman was everywhere—in books, on signs, in song lyrics, and in the developing film industry. In particular, advertisers quickly embraced her image, elevating her to a status that female customers might strive for. Every nation has its own version, such as the French garçonne (a tomboy or flapper) and the Japanese moga (modern girl).