The 1920s was a transformative decade for American society, and the relatively new medium of motion pictures played a major role in both reflecting and influencing these changes. During this period, going to the movies evolved from a novelty into an affordable mass entertainment and art form with tremendous reach and influence. Movies both shaped and reflected the cultural mood, values, fads, and morals of the Roaring Twenties.
The Rise of the Movie Industry
Several key developments in the 1920s paved the way for movies to take off and profoundly impact American society:
- Technology advances – New camera and projection techniques made movies smoother, livelier, and more realistic.
- Hollywood’s emergence – Southern California became the new center of American film production. Studios like Paramount, Warner Brothers, and MGM helped turn Hollywood into the symbolic capital of the movie industry.
- Movie palaces – Lavish theaters with grand architecture and amenities catered to a glamorous movie-going experience.
- The star system – Actors and actresses now became celebrities and household names with international fame.
- Feature-length films – Movies evolved from shorts lasting just minutes to feature films up to 90 minutes long with more complex plots.
These developments coincided with a huge surge of movie attendance in the 1920s. Weekly movie attendance skyrocketed from 40 million in 1922 to 90 million in 1929. Movies became a quintessential pastime of the decade.
Movies as Mass Entertainment
For many Americans, movies represented an exciting, relatively affordable form of entertainment. At their peak, there were over 20,000 movie theaters across the country. Admission tickets typically cost just 10 to 25 cents for an air-conditioned, plush theater – cheaper than many plays or amusement parks.
The glamour of the movie experience was enhanced by the lavish movie palaces built in big cities like Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angeles. These were ornate theaters that mimicked grand opera houses and vaudeville stages. Going to the movies became an event, not just watching a movie. Broadway did its part too by adapting popular films into stage musicals.
Another appeal was the escape and fantasy that movies provided, especially with the rise of genre films. Audiences could be whisked away to exotic locations, experience the Wild West, or fall in love with a fairytale romance. Movies took people out of their everyday lives and into a whole new world onscreen.
Shaping of American Culture
Beyond just entertainment, movies also became an influential force in shaping American culture and values in the 1920s. In particular, they helped spread new fads, fashion trends, speech patterns, and moral attitudes. As historian Paula Fass said, they “created a common culture shared by Americans across the country.”
Youth culture was strongly affected. Young Americans, especially women, imitated the lingo, style, and attitudes of flapper actresses like Clara Bow and Louise Brooks. Men copied the suave, debonair persona of stars like Rudolph Valentino and Ramon Novarro.
Movies idealized romance and sexuality in a way that challenged traditional social mores. They promoted new norms like dating, co-ed interactions, and women taking initiative in relationships. However, movies could also reinforce troubling stereotypes regarding race, ethnicity, and gender.
Beyond style and values, movies even influenced major life decisions. For example, films that depicted exciting urban living encouraged migration from rural areas into cities. Movies made California living look glamorous and alluring, contributing to westward migration.
Rise of Consumerism
Movies fueled rising consumerism and a desire for material goods. Product placements in movies explicitly advertised items like clothing, home appliances, and cigarettes. More indirectly, films cultivated aspirations to live like the wealthy characters onscreen with luxurious homes, cars, and lifestyles.
Celebrity Culture
The adoration of movie stars as celebrities and role models was another cultural influence. Fan magazines fueled a gossip industry following the lives of stars like Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Rudolph Valentino. Americans were fascinated by the lavish wealth and glamour of Hollywood.
Reflection of 1920s Life
While reshaping values and norms, movies also held up a mirror to American society in the 1920s. They reflected the fashions, speech, urban living, and gender roles of the real Roaring Twenties. As historian Robert Sklar wrote, movies “presented in dramatic and visual terms the styles, the attitudes, the behavior, the aspirations” of the era.
The fast pace and visual dynamism of many films mimicked the tempo of modern city life in the 1920s. Movies explored and expressed many of the decade’s tensions – tradition versus modernity, rural versus urban lifestyles, conservatism versus liberalism. They became a creative outlet for the zeitgeist of the Jazz Age.
Comedies and Romances
Lighthearted stories of romance, adventure, and comedy dominated early 1920s cinema. Audiences wanted an upbeat escape from World War I and other serious concerns. Iconic films like Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid (1921) and Buster Keaton’s The General (1926) made millions laugh with slapstick humor.
Shifting Social Mores
Flapper films starring Clara Bow, Louise Brooks, and Joan Crawford captured the liberated youth culture and shifting sexual norms. Cecil B. DeMille spiced up the screen with risqué comedies that challenged old taboos. Westerns portrayed lawlessness and gender role reversals in frontier towns.
Urbanization and Immigration
Gritty crime films and ethnic movies reflected urbanization and immigration changes. Foreign-born directors like Frank Capra and Josef von Sternberg shaped artistic values. Black filmmakers like Oscar Micheaux pioneered African American cinema.
Modern Technology
Movies highlighted society’s embrace of technological innovations like telephones, cars, and electricity. Silent films adapted to the transition to recorded sound with movies like The Jazz Singer (1927).
Impact on the Art Form
Within the film industry, movies evolved from a novelty to a serious art form over the course of the 1920s. Feature-length films became the norm along with more complex storytelling. Comedies developed into a sophisticated genre with distinctive comic personas like Chaplin’s Little Tramp.
D.W. Griffith’s films, like Way Down East (1920), demonstrated that movies could handle epic themes and setpieces. Directors like F.W. Murnau and Fritz Lang used striking visual styles and production design. Advances in editing and camera movement added to the visual innovation and momentum of films.
The arrival of sound at decade’s end shook up the industry and artistic conventions. The technical novelty initially overwhelmed other aspects like writing and acting. But within a few years, sound integrated into cinematic art as just one more tool.
This rapid evolution showed how much creative potential cinema held as an entirely new medium of artistic expression. Movies were becoming an established 20th century art form with their own visual language and craft.
| Year | Key Films | Notable Trends |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | The Mark of Zorro, Way Down East, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari | Swashbuckling adventures, melodramas, German Expressionism |
| 1921 | The Kid, The Sheik, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse | Charlie Chaplin comedies, Valentino exotic romances, anti-war films |
| 1922 | Nosferatu, Robin Hood, Blood and Sand | German Expressionism, swashbucklers, torero films |
| 1923 | The Covered Wagon, The Ten Commandments, Safety Last! | Westerns, biblical epics, thrill comedy |
| 1924 | Greed, The Thief of Bagdad, He Who Gets Slapped | Master filmmakers, fantasy epics, circus films |
| 1925 | The Gold Rush, The Big Parade, The Freshman | Chaplin classics, anti-war, college comedy |
| 1926 | Flesh and the Devil, Don Juan, The General | John Gilbert romances, historical epics, Buster Keaton |
| 1927 | Wings, The Jazz Singer, Metropolis | Epic action films, sound arrives, German Expressionism |
| 1928 | The Crowd, Steamboat Bill Jr., The Cameraman | Everyman stories, Keaton comedy, Chaplin |
| 1929 | The Broadway Melody, Pandora’s Box, Man With a Movie Camera | Sound musicals, Louise Brooks films, montage experimentation |
Conclusion
The growing influence of motion pictures in the 1920s significantly shaped American society and culture. Movies both reflected and reinforced changes in values regarding youth culture, sexuality, consumerism, urbanization, and modernity. They popularized new fashions and trends across the country. Going to the movies became a weekly habit for tens of millions, inspiring the awe and glamour of Hollywood fantasy worlds. Beyond just entertainment, movies evolved into a powerful new art form and medium for connecting with mass audiences.