· Broadcast Jazz music- Allowed African Americans from across America to share their troubles and become more unified.
· Soap operas- Targeted toward housewives, as it allowed them something to listen to while tending to the house. Topics included: family life, personal relationships and emotional/moral conflicts
· Fireside chats- a series of thirty evening radio addresses given by FDR between 1933 and 1944. (Especially Convenient for FDR due to his Polio)
· Provided information through newsreels- A short film containing filmed news stories and items of interest. It was a source of news, current affairs, and entertainment for millions of people.
· Escape from the realities of the depression- People could forget their troubles with movies, for many it was an escape.
· Many different types of movies were popular:
Newspaper and Magazines:
· Sparked fads in fashion and style- outlined the latest fashions and styles for their readers.
· Muckraking was still popular- Journalists finding dirt on various companies/ practices in the community.
· Helped shape cultural norms and serve as a great nationalizing agent- People could read about what America was doing and feel proud about it.
Changes to traditional values:
- Traditional religion-
-Darwin’s theory- Widely discussed the topic of evolution.
-Scopes (monkey) trial- Tennessee teacher, John Scopes, was accused of teaching evolution in school.
- Traditional roles of women-
-Flappers- Women in the 20's who expressed a cultural change.
-19th amendment- Allowed all to vote. (including women)
- Open immigration-
-Immigration restriction act of 1921 (Emergency Quota Act)- restricted immigration to 3% per country.
-The rise of the new KKK- Just as minority groups were coming to power, the new KKK was formed to try and prevent their equality.
-Smuggling, Bootleggers, Speakeasies and rise of organized crime- Gangsters were able to profit off of illegal alcohol sales, led to major crime syndicates. (e.g. Al Capone)