Examples Of New Cultural Norms In The 1920's

Through the 1920s, America really started blooming as an economic powerhouse and started new cultural norms as known the famous phrase: “the roaring 20s”. The move from traditional to modern which was supported by consumerism, technology, and culture caused a mass society. Mass society was a brand-new idea in the 20s and cause wrestling about modernity because no one knew if it would work because society was already used to having separate classes for many many years before. The newly developed idea of consumerism allowed for the lower classes to hide their economic status much easier than before. The new advances in technology sets the same standards for everyone in society to reach so they all look alike. Cultural norms changed because of

For example, the automobile was the newest technology had to offer in the twenties which was shown through the purchase history of the automobile. In 1929, about $2.58 billion dollars were being spent on cars and so many cars were bought that there was about 1 car for every 6 people in America (Henretta 681). With the $2.58 billion being used on cars and more money on other things, Where was the money coming from to buy these objects? “Democracy of goods” is an idea that these new goods were available to everyone making everyone equal (Churella 122). Many people couldn’t afford cars so they were bought through credit from the banks to assume equality with the upper classes (Henretta 681). Credit was a new idea because in the old society, someone wouldn’t buy the object but now everyone wants to be the same under “democracy of goods” so they use borrowed money to have greater social marker than is true. This behavior of wanted to show off as higher than one actually is evolved from the

By commercials setting the standards for mass society, everyone wants to reach the same standard that is unreachable. These standards were spread by radios and theaters because by the end of the century, 40% of American households had a radio (Henretta 680). The radio and magazines, which are produced by new technology, just a couple of examples of technology spreading the ideas of advertisers to mass groups of people to create one mass society (Churella 121) . This mass advertising was tested in the war through “national ad campaigns” to support the war (Childs 77). If it could work for the war, couldn’t the ads work with consumer goods? One consumer good that the ads worked with was clothes. The ready-made clothes allowed for easy purchase which meant that many people were wearing the same styles instead of everyone wearing individual homemade close that were traditionally worn (Henretta 681). The ones involved in mass society could link and bond through their clothes. People could bond through their clothes at parties where they used automobiles to arrive at the parties. One example was shown through the the 20s novel The Great Gatsby where Mr. Gatsby threw all these amazing parties. Before the party started, the narrator