Why was there a great debate in the 1920’s about the future? Who won it, the modernists or the fundamentalists? Would you characterize this period primarily as the Age of Jazz or as the Age of Prohibition?
The 1920’s could be seen as a defining point in history for a number of reasons. First of all after the end of the First World war, the old order was collapsing and society became more open with the world of landed gentry and suchlike vanishing off the face of the earth as if it never existed. Consequentially life began changing even for the lower classes which meant that if one had talent and applied it correctly, he/she could rise in life and this also meant that everyone was able to achieve.
Intrinsically the 1920’s also meant that the age of modernism was coming to the fore with new artistic styles and also architecture of a different age flourishing hugely. Music was also changing with jazz infusing the salons and dance halls of Europe and America and this also meant that everyone was now looking forward to liberation from the shackles of fundamentalism. More liberal philosophies became part of the accepted learning stages and education was rather more liberal in this sense too.
However the greatest change of all was the attribution that a monarchical society was no longer part of the established ruling class and politics were also changing substantially. The rise of Communism and Socialism in Russia and the UK not to mention the United States also had a significant effect on development in the political sense as all countries began to change their customs accordingly. This had an effect on the common working man who could now also have his say in world affairs through the vote, probably the most important development of the 1920’s.
So one can say that it was definitely the modernists who won the debate in the 1920’s as modernism entered every strata of society accordingly. One could see modernism in the style of paintings such as those by George Grosz and Vassily Kandinsky or even Pablo Picasso which took the art world by storm. And the new architectural style of the Bauhaus in Germany also demonstrated the eclectic beauty of modernism which triumphed in a big way. Literature was also changing especially the new books such as the Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald and Lady Chatterley’s Lover by DH Lawrence.
One can say that the 1920’s was also definitely the Jazz Age and had nothing to do with Prohibition which was a retrograde step and which actually achieved nothing. The 1920’s saw the expansion of modernist values which culminated in the complete development of jazz and other musical styles and most certainly was something which changed the world. However the 1920’s was not only a decade of progress and development as everything went out of the window with the Wall Street Crash which destroyed hopes and dreams in one fell swoop. However the decade will definitely be remembered as the starting point for modernism and also the triumph of jazz.
Works cited:
Burns, Ken, and Geoffrey C. Ward. Jazz—A History of America's Music. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 2000, Print
