Industrialization 1900s

Questions to Consider

How did the new technologies change entertainment and popular culture in the early decades of the 20th century?

What did people do for entertainment?

How have these forms of entertainment changed over the years?

Race?

Historical happenings?

What Was the World Like In 1900s and 1910s?

Century starts out with Britain being a world leader

By 1919 the United States was on the world stage

World War I was on a scale not ever seen before

Key Themes of 1900s

World War I

Technology

Immigration

Rise of US as a world power

Racism

National identity

History 1900-1910

Wright Brother first airplane

T. Roosevelt – president

Ford Motors was founded

FBI was established

T. Roosevelt leaves office and Wilson takes over

What was life like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdrzTzlZnVM

Industrialization

Through most of human history, the masses were influenced by dogmatic forms of rule and traditions dictated by local folk culture.

Most people were spread throughout small cities and rural areas – conditions that were not conducive to a ‘popular’ culture.

With the beginning of the Industrial era (late eighteenth century), the rural masses began to migrate to cities, leading to the urbanization of most Western societies.

Industrialization

Urbanization is a key ingredient in the formation of popular culture.

People who once lived in homogeneous small villages or farms found themselves in crowded cities marked by great cultural diversity.

These diverse people would come to see themselves as a ‘collectivity’ as a result of common, or popular, forms of expression.

Thus, many scholars trace the beginning of the popular culture phenomenon to the rise of the middle class brought on by the Industrial Revolution.

Industrialization

Industrialization also brought with it mass production:

developments in transportation, such as the steam locomotive and the steamship;

advancements in building technology;

increased literacy;

improvements in education and public health;

and the emergence of efficient forms of commercial printing,

representing the first step in the formation of a mass media (ex the penny press, magazines, and pamphlets).

All of these factors contributed to the blossoming of popular culture.

Urbanization

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loZ5XFGbd0Q

Trolley Ride: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=954L9MpfCEo

Media At Start of 20th Century

By the start of the twentieth century, the print industry mass-produced illustrated newspapers and periodicals, as well as serialized novels and detective stories.

Newspapers served as the best source of information for a public with a growing interest in social and economic affairs.

The ideas expressed in print provided a starting point for popular discourse on all sorts of topics.

Media At Start of 20th Century

Fueled by further technological growth, popular culture was greatly impacted by the emerging forms of mass media throughout the twentieth century. Films, broadcast radio and television all had a profound influence on culture.

So urbanization, industrialization, the mass media and the continuous growth in technology since the late 1700s, have all been significant factors in the formation of popular culture. These continue to be factors shaping pop culture today.

Background Information – 1900s

The average life expectancy for men in America was 46 years, for women it was 47 years

An average worker made $12.78/week for 59 hours of work

There were 115 recorded lynchings

Police had arrested a woman for smoking in public

Part of the “Second Industrial revolution”

1900s - Cost

The average yearly wage was $432, and a steam-powered car cost $1,000. The average home in America sold for approximately $5,000 in 1900.

In 1900, shoppers could buy a 5-pound bag of flour for 12 cents.

Round steak was 13 cents a pound, and bacon was a penny more.

Eggs were 21 cents per dozen, milk sold for 14 cents per half gallon and butter cost 26 cents per pound.

A 10-pound bag of potatoes was 14 cents, and a 5-pound bag of sugar cost the relatively princely sum of 31 cents.

1900s - Cost

Coffee often cost upwards of 35 cents a pound, and a small tin of tea leaves ran between 50 to 75 cents.

Chocolate was also relatively expensive, costing around 34 cents per pound.

A properly dressed gentleman in 1900 would have spent between $7 and $16 on his suit, $1 on each of his dress shirts, around $7 on his topcoat and 48 cents for a fine felt hat.

Women's dresses cost between $10 and $12, women's hats cost 35 cents and shoes for women were approximately $2 to $3 per pair.

Historical Timeline

http://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1900.html

Imperialism

Turn of century, British empire was at its height Great Britain was imperializing

around the world – India, Canada,

New Zealand, Australia and South Africa

Great Britain is a strong global influence

What was popular in Great Britain would be popular world wide

Global influence of the US began to get stronger

“American Century” was beginning

Manufacturing power would overtake the European industrial powers

World War I

8.5 million people killed

More than 21 million wounded

First industrial war

Technological advances and mass production made WWI the one of most brutal and horrific the world has ever seen

War changed how people thought

Social restrictions prior to war seemed less important

General public wanted to be freer from these restrictions

Suffrage

Women around the world fighting to vote

United States and United Kingdom primarily

New Zealand – granted right in 1893

Australia in 1902

Finland in 1906

Norway 1913

Suffrage

Demonstrations

Militant actions in order to draw attention to their plight

United Kingdom – campaigners chained themselves to railings, refused to pay taxes, went on hunger strikes if they were imprisoned

Women did many jobs of men during WWI

Travel

Before this time travel was for the very rich

Transportation becoming more affordable

More travel options – subway systems, trains

Ocean travel became faster

Air travel was “taking flight”

Travel

Increase in prosperity meant that people had more time available for leisure activities

Vacations

Railways made it possible for people to travel longer distances in shorter time

Trends traveled too

Example: Riverboats of Mississippi River helped popularity of ragtime and jazz spread up from New Orleans

Travel

Urban and suburban areas linked by trains

Faster travel

People could commute from suburbs to the city for work

New York City had a subway by 1904

Titanic

“Unsinkable”

April 1912

Hit iceberg and sank

Killed 1,490 people

Led to new regulations on lifeboats

Stories, movies, songs, works of art

Story fascinates people even today

Air Travel

1903

Orville and Wilbur Wright

June 14/15, 1919 – John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown made first Atlantic flight

16 hours and 27 minutes from Canada to Clifden, Ireland

Aircraft in World War I

Commercial flights later in 20th century

Car

Rich could only afford at first

1903 Ford Motor Company sold its first cars

1908 Ford released Model T

1913 assembly line – Michigan

Goods made cheaply and affordable to the masses

Car

Initially they were not popular

Noisy and dangerous

1903- Britain – Motor Car Act – top speed of 20 miles per hour

Car

Car changed society

Made people more mobile and gave them freedom to go where they wanted

Created need for roads and changed approaches to towns and cities

People could live farther away from jobs

Ford made car affordable for all

Immigrants

Large numbers of European immigrants came to the United States

2 million Italians

1.5 million Jews

.5 million Slavs

Added to American culture and brought popular culture

Film

Movies became very popular

People started following careers of favorite stars and even wanted to look like them

Movies were accessible to a large part of the population

Films

Films in this period were very cheap and short, they played at nickelodeons which cost 5 cents. Theses were extremely popular and sometimes played naughty films. One film that was widely known was “The Great Train Robbery,” because it was rather long (7 minutes) and it used a lot of innovative techniques.

Early Beginnings to Film

1896 – available to public

Vaudeville/Circus Shows – short films were part of these music hall shows

1902 – LA, California – shop opened only showing motion pictures – very popular

Movie houses opened across the country

1905 – Pittsburg, PA – first movie house

Nickel – knows as nickelodeon

First appealed to working class and grew to appeal to middle class too

Early Film Industry

World War I changed things

Increase in demand for film because people wanted to escape horrors of war

US took lead and became foremost film making country in the world

With WWI Europe couldn’t meet the demand

First US cities of film – New York and Chicago

Hollywood

Film companies wanted to film year round

New York and Chicago were not ideal

Warmer climate and clearer skies

LA suburb

Hollywood

Popular culture has changed as a concept throughout the decades, often because of how different technologies and fields reinvent it.

The current understanding of popular culture as synonymous with mass culture can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution and its expansive middle class.

It has long been thought that studying what is popular, especially popular forms of art and communication, reveals a great deal about general cultural practices and the people who make use of them.

Silent Movies

Early movies very different than today

Short, silent

Comedies, dramas, documentaries

Music was played live – piano

In between scenes title cards would pop up explaining what was happening

The Great Train Robbery

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un1BqZptleM

Silent Movies

Movies were only a few minutes long – kind of like commercials today

1903 – Edwin S. Porter revolutionized filmmaking

Made movies to tell stories in different locations

1903 Life of an American Fireman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ym7-QW_GWo

1st US Documentary – scenes from an actual fire

1st Blockbuster

D.W. Griffith’s 1915 The Birth of a Nation

Most profitable movie of its time

About American Civil War

Admired for technical and dramatic innovations

Condemned for racism it contained in the story

Cost $100,000 to make

Successful – made millions in profit

Movie Stars

We didn’t always recognize movie stars and celebrities

1909 movie producer Carl Laemmle introduced the star system

Promoted actress Florence Lawrence

Before this actors/actresses were not known by name

“Biograph Girl with the Curls” – actress Mary Pickford

Music Hall and Vaudeville

Vaudeville in the US

Music Halls in Britain

Variety shows

Light entertainment

Singers, dancers, jugglers, magicians, acrobats, comedians, trained animals

Origins of Vaudeville

Started in 1850s/1860s in beer halls

Aimed mainly at men

Late 19th century became more respected, held in theaters and was family entertainment

Mid 1890s – 1930s

Vaudeville Stars

W.C. Fields – juggler and comedian

Harry Houdini – escape artist

Buster Keaton – silent film star – acrobat in vaudeville

Movies edged out vaudeville by about 1927

Jewish Influence

Many Europeans emigrating to the US

Escaping persecution and poverty

Brought own cultures with them

Jewish immigrants settled in American’s northeast – New York and Boston

Jewish immigrants got involved in all forms of entertainment industry and influenced pop culture

Anti-Semitism

A lot of negative feelings toward Jewish people

Many Jewish performers made their religion a part of their act in a humorous way

Helped bring an understanding of Jewish culture to the audience and soften anti-Semitic attitudes

Music

Claude Debussy

Gustav Mahler

Richard Strauss

Igor Stravinsky

Caruso and Nelly Melba – opera singers

Music

African Americans couldn’t make it big because of skin color

Ragtime

Blues

Jazz

These styles would become a big influence around the world

Broadway and Music

During the 1900’s Broadway musicals flourished, Irving Berlin and George M. Cohan produced many spectacular shows.

During this time many memorable Vaudeville songs were preformed. (Vaudeville was a type of entertainment that consisted of acts and performances that were completely unrelated, but were grouped together on a common bill.)

One very famous song was, “A Bird in a Gilded Cage,” recorded by Harry MacDonough. Also, songs were sung such as “Bill Bailey Won’t You Please Come Home,” that symbolised racial prejudice in the decade.

Ragtime

1899-1917

Forerunner of jazz

Emerged from various forms of African American music

Influenced by folk and brass band music as well as black and white minstrel shows

Piano – main instrument

Based on “honky-tonk” piano playing

Right hand beat is syncopated which means the strong beat gets weaker and the weak beat gets stronger

Music Spreads

Leisure time was increasing for people

Spread of sheet music

Popular to have piano in many homes

Entertainment and status symbol

Ragtime was African American music that transferred easily to the white mainstream because it was instrumental

Scott Joplin

Maple Leaf Rag

Scott Joplin

Published 1899

Sold 75,000 copies in the first year

Jazz

Developed in southern US in early 20th century

Started with African American musicians and its appeal quickly spread to large sections of society

Popular to listen to and dance to in bars and saloons

Still popular today

Jazz

Informal sound

Up tempo rhythm

Combination of West African rhythms with elements of ragtime, brass bands, blues and work songs

Work songs – songs sung by slaves and workers to relieve the boredom of a repetitive task

Were often spiritual in nature

Jazz

Brass Band music – New Orleans marching bands, important part of jazz

Improvised tunes – key element

Do not play from written sheet music

Music of 1900s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvbhvX6VJgI&list=PLoG3qbRnUFHGE3WMHm96Jyhkh-z7k-v1v

Blues

Also emerged from the South

African American work songs with white folk music

First record published in 1912

“Memphis Blues” by W. C. Handy

Dance

As ragtime grew so did dance

Cakewalk – couples form a square with men on the inside Couples strut around square to the music

Judges evaluate dancers on elegance, grace and inventiveness – eliminating couples who were not the best

Winning couple got a cake

Scott Joplin’s “Swipesy Cakewalk” – popular tune for this dance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC0pQtf3ABk

Dance

Dances to ragtime were mainly the one-step

Couple walked one step to each beat of the music

Simple, everyone could do it – that’s why it was popular

Argentine tango

Hesitation waltz

Brazilian maxixe

Fox Trot

Dance

In the 1900’s ball room dancing had replaced the traditional waltz, (although, the waltz was still popular with the higher class).

Dances such as the Jitterbug were created and ragtime dances were widely known.

Some popular ragtime dances included: the cake walk, castle walk, and the One step.

Furthermore, during 1909 to the 1920’s the tango was immensely popular, as was Russian ballet.

Anna Pavlova ran her own company during this time, (she’s credited as one of the most famous ballerinas in history.)

Music Business

Most common way to get music was to buy sheet music

Recorded music was growing

Became in larger demand after World War I

Idea of radio growing as well

Started in 1916

Wasn’t until after WWI that commercial broadcasting increased – around 1920

Fashion

Fashion in this decade consisted of formal outfits and flashy dresses, women wore long dresses and men were clothed in suits.

Ladies were corseted to achieve a fashionable S-curve, however, there were lingerie dresses worn in hotter climates. These dresses were made of light materials, like cotton, and adorned with simple decorations.

Large hats were worn by women and were stylized with flowers, ribbons and/or stuffed birds (if one could afford it.)

Fashion

Men were attired in short hair, curled moustaches, bow ties for the evening and ascot ties for less formal functions.

Blazers and lounge coats were also worn for casual activities.

Still, for the most formal occasions only the dark tail coat and trousers would do.

Men generally wore stiff bowler hats, but higher class men preferred to adorn themselves in top hats.

Fashion

People wanted to be like movie stars

Functional – automobiles and bicycles – people had to dress accordingly, especially women

Increase in leisure time increased demand for sportswear and swimwear

Women’s rights increased demand for fashion as women fought for equality

Fashion

At turn of century women work uncomfortable and complicated clothes – such as corsets

Pulled in the waist and supported the chest

French designers began making clothes that supported women differently so they no longer needed a corset

Fashion

Fashionable men wore pants, waistcoat, coat with a top hat

After 1880, trend for beards passed

Men were clean-shaven or wore just a mustache

Fashion

Trend just beginning

People more active in bike riding, horse riding, tennis, sailing, archer

Informal separates such as blouses, shirts, skirts and shorts

Fashion

Early swimsuits covered most of the body

Modest

Swimming was segregated

By early 20th century men started wearing shorts without a top

In 1900 Australian swimmer introduced a loose one piece for women – made of wool

Fashion Facts

Around 1912 – it became acceptable to wear lipstick in public

Zipper started in 1914 – Swedish-born engineer Gideon Sundback

Used by US Army on the clothing and gear of the WWI troops

Fashion

Late 1880s – safety bicycle

Women’s fashion impacted

Women started to wear a kind of pants to ride their bikes

Bloomers

Bicycles gave women freedom and helped them fight for right to vote

Wartime Fashion

Fashion had to become practical

By 1916 hemlines jumped to mid-calf from ankle length

Pants for women were considered ugly but practical for war work

Short hair was seen as sensible and safe for factory work

Women involved in military war efforts wore uniforms

This shaped fashionable dress

Wartime Fashion

During the war there were shortages of many things

Food and building materials

Fabric and fabric dye

Fashion used less material than they did before the war

Shortage of dye meant the colors were limited

Relaxation of Rules

Fashion didn’t seem so important during the war

Neither did fashion rules

Shorter skirts

Women also wore heeled shoes and stockings

No more corsets after the war – practical work did not allow for this

Plus needed steel from corsets for the war effort

28,000 tons of steel during the war – enough for 2 battleships

Post War Fashion

After the war people dressed more informally

Sportswear became more popular

Simpler fashion

Practical fashion

Fashion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlMrQBRGS48

Fads and Slang

In the 1900’s fads such as ping pong and speeding existed.

Ping pong was mostly played by people who couldn’t afford the luxury of lawn tennis.

Speeding was a dangerous motoring sport that was popular amongst males.

Teddy bears were invented during this decade and they soon became very big. Both Europe and America claim to have first invented the teddy bear, regardless the product was a huge success.

A lot of the slang used in the 1900-1909’s is still used today. Here’s a list of popular expressions (that I at least) use now a days:

I have “Butterflies in the stomach”

It’s “in the bag”

He’s a “bone head”

He got “screwed” by a crafty salesman

She’s so naive, it’s like she’s “just off the boat”

There is other slang that was used but this is just a small sample of the colourful language people used to use.

Printed Word

Mass production of books and print media was easier

Literacy rates were rising

Pulp Magazines

Printed on pulp paper

Allowed price of magazines to drop – more affordable

The Golden Argosy – first pulp magazine

200 pages long and packed with fiction and poetry

Successful

Detective Story Magazine

New Buffalo Bill Weekly

Miscellany Periodicals

Combination magazines

Short stories

Articles on travel

Political events

Technological oddities

If you couldn’t travel, you could read about far away places

Short stories were good for commuters on the new trains

Women’s Magazines

Good Housekeeping – 1885

Vogue -1892

Harper’s Bazaar – 1867

Vanity Fair - 1859

Comics

1895-1905 Comics grew in popularity

By 1910 the Sunday paper was in color

Comics grew

The Yellow Kid 1896

Government

In America from 1901-1909 a president unlike none other was elected, Theodore Roosevelt. He was the youngest president elected at the time and was widely known as a soldier, a hunter, a naturalist, as well as a politician. Theodore Roosevelt won a Nobel Peace Prize and earned himself a Medal of Honour leading the Rough Riders, (when the Spanish American war broke out.) Theodore was a very influential person in the 1900’s for the United States of America, almost like Barrack Obama is for us.

Other parts of the world were also undergoing changes in their popular culture due to the government. In China binding of women’s feet was outlawed, this was decreed by the dowager empress Tzu Hsi. London became the capital of the largest empire in the world and transportation evolved. A tram system was constructed thanks to the London City Council.

Art

Art was undergoing a revolution at this time, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque were heading the new art form Cubism. Cubism is an abstract form involving the reconstruction of an analyzed subject.

Fauvism began at the start of the decade. A work of art that has strong colour over representational or real values, it emphasizes painterly qualities. Some of the well known artists of this art movement were Henri Matisse and Andre Derain.

Expressionism is artwork that are the artists perception of the meaning of “being alive.” It’s a subjective type of art that reflects emotional angst.

Inventions that Shook the World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JszhyeW73Q4

World War I

The Century: America’s Time – Shell Shock 1914-1919

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GBWDQ5cF_U

World War I

Crash Course:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XPZQ0LAlR4

Hughes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOq8iG20iuQ