American Movies of the 1920’s

Running head: AMERICA AND THE MOVIES OF THE 1920’S February 13, 2012 US HIS II ABSTRACT The movies of the 1920’s provided one of America’s most forms of entertainment after World War One. Americans were able to spend a little extra and enjoy such events as they were not devastates during with war. The movies for the American people began soon after the invention of automobiles. The movies provided communications and entertainment and soon began to open the American people to ideas of a different lifestyle on the screen. Some great actors and actresses came from this era.
One of the being Charlie Chaplin, who with his charm, wit and forms of acting entertained the American people. The years following the devastating war take place prior to 1920 and fortunately left the United States unharmed. The United States was therefore able to experience a decade of peace and prosperity following one of the most devastating wars. One of the reason’s America was able to prosper was because technology played a vital part in bringing the economic and culture prosperity that America experienced in the 1920’s. New advancements, new inventions and the discoveries improved American lives in numerous ways.
The combination of an increase in American recreation and the invention of the automobile helped in bringing success to the movie industry. Early movie attendance was low due to the distribution of theaters. As soon as the automobile was more popular, transportation was less of a hassle and movie attendance increased. The history of film ps from the early part of the nineteenth century. Motion pictures developed gradually from carnival novelty to one of the most important tools of communication and entertainment. Many of the films in the 20th century were silent.

In the silent era of film, marrying the image with sound was not possible for the inventors and producers. For the first thirty years of the history of film, they were silent, and sometimes were accompanied by live musicians and sometimes sound effect and commentary were spoken by the showman. In the earliest silent films the actors were responsible for method acting or pantomime to portray their feelings to the audience. This in itself took much talent from the actors and actresses to help the audience feel the total impact of the movie.
The movie industry became a huge part of American industry in general. Movies became America’s favorite form of entertainment. “Early movie stars such as Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks became idols to the American people who set trends in clothing and hairstyles” (James, 2009). Although the movies were a huge part of American life, some negative roles came from the movies. Actress Clara Bow, known as the “jazz baby” was enticing in the movies, and she soon became a cultural icon, who women accepted as their idol.
The silent movie “It” was a huge success for Clara and millions of girls across America soon began imitating her style. Another famous person in the movies of the 1920’s was Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin was one of the greatest and most loved movie stars. He was known for his slapstick acrobatics. Chaplin was able to keep the attention of the audience by creating an environment and walk around it until something natural happened. He used overdramatic acting and lots of emotion. He helped the audience with knowing what the film was about by his demonstrations.
The advent of technology helped the success of the movie history. Life was easy and convenient due to the industry of movies that took place during the 1920’s. The American people had dealt with the happenings of the war, and now they were able to relax and enjoy the newer things that life had to offer. Movies were the biggest form of entertainment during this time. REFERENCES Henrietta James A. , et. al. America: A Concise History. 4th Edition Bedford/St. Martins: Boston 2009. Primary Source Packet. Bethel University: McKenzie, TN 2005