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{{trope}}
{{Useful Notes}}
[[File:x 112658 Life Magazine Roaring Twenties 3352.jpg|frame|The '20s actually ''were'' just like this.]]
[[File:x 112658 Life Magazine Roaring Twenties 3352.jpg|thumb|400px|The '20s actually ''were'' just like this.]]


{{quote|''"Dudes in hats, machine guns, bullets, booze, and the kind of hot chicks you could still unironically refer to as broads..."''|'''[[Moviebob]]'''}}
{{quote|''"Dudes in hats, machine guns, bullets, booze, and the kind of hot chicks you could still unironically refer to as broads..."''
|'''[[Moviebob]]'''}}


The time of [[Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll|bootleg, flappers, and jazz]]. And where coffee costs a dime.
The time of [[Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll|bootleg, flappers, and jazz]]. And where coffee costs a dime.
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Style is almost exclusively [[Art Deco]] ''moderne'', all minimalist lines and coolly fluid shapes. (Side point- Art Deco's fascination with streamlining household objects whose actual wind resistance is irrelevant proved popular because levelling incomes led for the first time to a group of people who could afford good design but not household servants. It seems that a streamlined Art Deco lamp is easier to ''dust'' than a frilly Victorian one...)
Style is almost exclusively [[Art Deco]] ''moderne'', all minimalist lines and coolly fluid shapes. (Side point- Art Deco's fascination with streamlining household objects whose actual wind resistance is irrelevant proved popular because levelling incomes led for the first time to a group of people who could afford good design but not household servants. It seems that a streamlined Art Deco lamp is easier to ''dust'' than a frilly Victorian one...)


Dresses are short and so is ladies' hair. (Bobbed hair had actually emerged earlier and was popularized during the earlier 20's, while hemlines gradually rose to knee-length by 1925. And despite those costumes you buy these days, above-the-knee hemlines were nonexistent at any time. And contrary to the costumes you buy, not all dresses were tasseled and figure-hugging. Dresses had a boxy and boyish silhouettes, had dropped waists and were minimally or highly decorated depending on the occasion.)
Dresses are short and so is ladies' hair. ([[Bob Haircut|Bobbed hair]] had actually emerged earlier and was popularized during the earlier 20's, while hemlines gradually rose to knee-length by 1925. And despite those costumes you buy these days, above-the-knee hemlines were nonexistent at any time. And contrary to the costumes you buy, not all dresses were tasseled and figure-hugging. Dresses had a boxy and boyish silhouettes, had dropped waists and were minimally or highly decorated depending on the occasion.)


Characters include gangsters and G-men, flappers and their sheiks (sort of proto-[[Metrosexual]] young males), languid white movie idols and jolly black jazz singers and dancers, and lots of cheery collegiate types who wear huge fur coats and play ukuleles while shouting "[[23]] skidoo!" The basic idea was to shock, amaze and amuse at all costs; there were apparently some women of the era who would greet their guests ''in the bath''.
Characters include gangsters and G-men, flappers and their sheiks (sort of proto-[[Metrosexual]] young males), languid white movie idols and jolly black jazz singers and dancers, and lots of cheery collegiate types who wear huge fur coats and play ukuleles while shouting "[[23]] skidoo!" The basic idea was to shock, amaze and amuse at all costs; there were apparently some women of the era who would greet their guests ''in the bath''.


The fun and excitement is only heightened by the fact that much of it is totally illegal, at least in the USA. There Prohibition is in full swing, so gin is made in bathtubs, smuggled by the likes of Al Capone and served only in 'speakeasies', hole-in-the-wall bars highly prone to raids by stolid, humourless cops. Unless you're Eliot Ness or one of his [[The Untouchables|Untouchables]], be extra cautious to never insult a tough-looking Italian in a sharp suit, or you'll find yourself looking down the barrel of a Tommy Gun.
The fun and excitement is only heightened by the fact that much of it is totally illegal, at least in the USA. There Prohibition is in full swing, so gin is made in bathtubs, smuggled by the likes of [[Al Capone]] and served only in 'speakeasies', hole-in-the-wall bars highly prone to raids by stolid, humourless cops. Unless you're Eliot Ness or one of his [[The Untouchables|Untouchables]], be extra cautious to never insult a tough-looking Italian in a sharp suit, or you'll find yourself looking down the barrel of a Tommy Gun.


As for entertainment, [[Silent Age of Hollywood|silent films]] starring the likes of [[Charlie Chaplin]] and [[Buster Keaton]] gained enormous popularity, though the fact that they didn't have sound meant that movies still hadn't killed off [[Vaudeville]] or [[Minstrel Shows]] just yet. The advent of sound later in the decade finished the job, however. Radio progressed quickly through the last of its experimental phases and was firmly established as a mass-market medium by the end of the decade, while ultra-low-def mechanical television had brief success with early adopters (essentially beta-testing it) before [[The Great Depression]] and the advent of (relatively) high-definition all-electronic TV killed it off by the mid-30s.
As for entertainment, [[Silent Age of Hollywood|silent films]] starring the likes of [[Charlie Chaplin]], [[Mary Pickford]], and [[Buster Keaton]] gained enormous popularity, though the fact that they didn't have sound meant that movies still hadn't killed off [[Vaudeville]] or [[Minstrel Shows]] just yet. The advent of sound later in the decade finished the job, however. Radio progressed quickly through the last of its experimental phases and was firmly established as a mass-market medium by the end of the decade, while ultra-low-def mechanical television had brief success with early adopters (essentially beta-testing it) before [[The Great Depression]] and the advent of (relatively) high-definition all-electronic TV killed it off by the mid-30s.


During all this, of course, the relics of [[The Gay Nineties]], now doughty dowagers and grumpy old Colonels, look on disapprovingly, from short skirts and hair, to make-up and swimming wear.
During all this, of course, the relics of [[The Gay Nineties]], now doughty dowagers and grumpy old Colonels, look on disapprovingly, from short skirts and hair, to make-up and swimming wear.


One should also note that while things were just swell in America, Britain and much of Western Europe (where it was dubbed [[The Golden Twenties]] across [[The Pond]]), if you were in an area hard hit by [[World War I]] (say, [[Weimar Republic|Germany]], [[Fascist Italy|Italy]], Russia, Turkey or the entire Caucasus Mountains region before the Soviets annexed it) this was ''not'' a fun time. However, it doesn't mean that they didn't try, once they were able to pull themselves together again. However, in Germany, there are rightwing paramilitary groups who have some very grand ambitions and there will be a few people who get a chilling feeling that [[Adolf Hitler|one loudmouth Austrian with a toothbrush mustache]] is going to be very big trouble.
One should also note that while things were just swell in America, Britain and much of Western Europe (where it was dubbed [[The Golden Twenties]] across [[The Pond]]), if you were in an area hard hit by [[World War I]] (say, [[Weimar Republic|Germany]], [[Fascist Italy|Italy]], [[The Soviet Twenties|Russia]], Turkey or the entire Caucasus Mountains region before the Soviets annexed it) this was ''not'' a fun time. (Even some of the victors, like the Dominion of Newfoundland, were left with mountains of war debt.) However, it doesn't mean that they didn't try, once they were able to pull themselves together again. However, in Germany, there are right-wing paramilitary groups who have some very grand ambitions and there will be a few people who get a chilling feeling that [[Adolf Hitler|one loudmouth Austrian with a toothbrush mustache]] is going to be very big trouble.


For example, [[The Soviet Twenties|Soviet Russia]] (called USSR since 1922), after a devastating civil war, experienced a short period of economic growth thanks to the NEP (new economic policy), a series of reforms that allowed free enterprise and private property. A new Soviet bourgeoisie was born, with a penchant for over-the-top parties and a slavish fascination with American fashion, music and dance. The Soviet [[Nouveau Riche]] (typically called a ''nepman'') was a stock character in 20's Russian satire.
For example, [[The Soviet Twenties|Soviet Russia]] (called USSR since 1922), after a devastating civil war, experienced a short period of economic growth thanks to the NEP (new economic policy), a series of reforms that allowed free enterprise and private property. A new Soviet bourgeoisie was born, with a penchant for over-the-top parties and a slavish fascination with American fashion, music and dance. The Soviet [[Nouveau Riche]] (typically called a ''nepman'') was a stock character in 20's Russian satire.


Often a nostalgic setting during [[The Fifties]] and [[The Sixties]]. This period lasted sometime after [[World War I]] till the [[The Great Depression|Crash of 1929]].
Often a nostalgic setting during [[The Fifties]] and [[The Sixties]]. This period began sometime after [[World War I]] and continued to the [[The Great Depression|Crash of October 1929]], which led to [[Bank Run]]s and ultimately [[The Great Depression]] of the Dust Bowl "dirty thirties".


For the 1939 movie of the same name, click [[The Roaring Twenties (film)|here.]]
For the 1939 movie of the same name, click [[The Roaring Twenties (film)|here.]]


Also see: [[The Great Depression]], [[The Forties]], [[The Fifties]], [[The Sixties]], [[The Seventies]], [[The Eighties]], [[The Nineties]], [[Turn of the Millennium]], and [[The New Tens]] for more decade nostalgia.
Also see: [[The Great Depression]], [[The Forties]], [[The Fifties]], [[The Sixties]], [[The Seventies]], [[The Eighties]], [[The Nineties]], [[Turn of the Millennium]], and [[The New Tens]] for more decade nostalgia.

----
== Twenties Slang ==
{{examples|Twenties Slang}}
'''This ain't baloney, this is [[Serious Business|Serious Beeswax]], as most words and phrases originated from this decade, so here are some examples:'''
'''This ain't baloney, this is [[Serious Business|Serious Beeswax]], as most words and phrases originated from this decade, so here are some examples:'''
* "Ab-so-lute-ly"
* "Ab-so-lute-ly"
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* "Attaboy!/Attagirl!" - well done, son/lad/lass/boy/girl/kid.
* "Attaboy!/Attagirl!" - well done, son/lad/lass/boy/girl/kid.
* "Baby" - sweetheart, also a respectable word.
* "Baby" - sweetheart, also a respectable word.
* "Bearcat" - [[Tsundere]]
* "[[Bearcat]]" - [[Tsundere]]
* "Beat it" or "23 skidoo" - get lost or GTFO!
* "Beat it" or "23 skidoo" - get lost or GTFO!
* "Bee's knees" or "Cat's meow" - an extraordinarily splendid person, idea or thing.
* "Bee's knees" or "Cat's meow" - an extraordinarily splendid person, idea or thing.
Line 95: Line 96:


{{examples}}
{{examples}}
== Works set in the Twenties ==
== [[Anime]] ==
=== [[Anime]] ===
* ''[[Baccano!]]'' (technically 1930, but essentially the same.)
* ''[[Baccano!]]'' (technically 1930, but essentially the same.)
* ''[[Chrono Crusade]]''
* ''[[Chrono Crusade]]''
* ''[[Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden]]'' - The prequel to [[Fushigi Yuugi]], featuring Takiko aka Genbu No Miko, who lived in this decade's [[Imperial Japan]] before being [[Trapped in Another World]].
* ''[[Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden]]'' - The prequel to ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]'', featuring Takiko aka Genbu No Miko, who lived in this decade's [[Imperial Japan]] before being [[Trapped in Another World]].
* ''[[Golden Days]]''
* ''[[Golden Days]]''
* ''[[Sakura Gari]]''
* ''[[Sakura Gari]]''
* ''[[Sakura Taisen]]''
* ''[[Sakura Taisen]]''
* ''[[Steel Angel Kurumi]]''
* ''[[Steel Angel Kurumi]]''
* ''[[Taishou Yakyuu Musume]]''
* ''[[Taishō Baseball Girls]]''


== [[Comic Books]] ==
=== [[Comic Books]] ===
* [[Tintin]]. First appeared in January, 1929.
* [[Tintin]]. First appeared in January, 1929.
** [[Tintin/Recap/Tintin in the Land of the Soviets|Tintin in the Land of The Soviets]] (1929-1930).
** [[Tintin/Recap/Tintin in the Land of the Soviets|Tintin in the Land of The Soviets]] (1929-1930).
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* King Mob of ''[[The Invisibles]]'' gets to travel back in time to the Roaring Twenties.
* King Mob of ''[[The Invisibles]]'' gets to travel back in time to the Roaring Twenties.


== [[Film]] ==
=== [[Film]] ===
* ''[[Dick Tracy (film)|Dick Tracy]]''
* ''[[Dick Tracy (film)|Dick Tracy]]''
* ''[[The Untouchables]]''
* ''[[The Untouchables]]''
* ''[[Chicago]]'' (based on a 1926 play)
* ''[[Chicago]]'' (based on a 1926 play)
* ''[[Some Like It Hot]]''
* ''[[Some Like It Hot]]''
* ''[[Singin' in the Rain|Singin in The Rain]]''
* ''[[Singin' in the Rain]]''
* ''[[Miller's Crossing|Millers Crossing]]''
* ''[[Miller's Crossing]]''
* ''The Roaring Twenties''
* ''The Roaring Twenties''
* ''The Public Enemy''
* ''The Public Enemy''
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* ''[[Silent Movie]]''
* ''[[Silent Movie]]''
* ''[[The Artist]]''
* ''[[The Artist]]''
* ''[[The Cats Meow]]''
* ''[[The Cat's Meow]]''
* ''[[Sunset]]''
* ''[[Sunset]]''


== [[Literature]] ==
=== [[Literature]] ===
* Most of [[H.P. Lovecraft|HP Lovecraft]] (1890-1937)'s work not set in a [[Dream World]].
* Most of [[H.P. Lovecraft]] (1890-1937)'s work not set in a [[Dream World]].
* Several ''[[Jeeves and Wooster (novel)|Jeeves and Wooster]]'' stories (1917-1966) by [[P. G. Wodehouse|PG Wodehouse]], and a decent number of his many other ones, too.
* Several ''[[Jeeves and Wooster (novel)|Jeeves and Wooster]]'' stories (1917-1966) by [[P. G. Wodehouse|PG Wodehouse]], and a decent number of his many other ones, too.
* ''[[The Sheik]]''. First published in 1919, becoming a great hit in this period.
* ''[[The Sheik]]''. First published in 1919, becoming a great hit in this period.
* [[Agatha Christie/Bibliography]]. The first published works by Christie appeared in this decade.
* [[Agatha Christie]]. The first published works by Christie appeared in this decade.
** ''[[Hercule Poirot]]''. The novel series started in 1920.
** ''[[Hercule Poirot]]''. The novel series started in 1920.
* ''[[Bulldog Drummond]]''. The novel series started in 1920.
* ''[[Bulldog Drummond]]''. The novel series started in 1920.
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* Some of [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s work,
* Some of [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s work,
** Including his (actual) debut novel,''[[The Sun Also Rises]]'' (1926). ''The Torrents of Spring'' being a blatant [[Springtime for Hitler]].
** Including his (actual) debut novel,''[[The Sun Also Rises]]'' (1926). ''The Torrents of Spring'' being a blatant [[Springtime for Hitler]].
* ''[[Winnie-the-Pooh|Winnie the Pooh]]''. Series started in 1926.
* ''[[Winnie-the-Pooh]]''. Series started in 1926.
* ''[[Hardy Boys]]''. Series started in June,1927.
* ''[[Hardy Boys]]''. Series started in June, 1927.
* ''[[Miss Marple]]''. First appeared in December, 1927. Starred in a number of short stories.
* ''[[Miss Marple]]''. First appeared in December, 1927. Starred in a number of short stories.
* ''[[Lady Chatterley's Lover]]'' (1928)
* ''[[Lady Chatterley's Lover]]'' (1928)
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* ''[[The Princess 99]]'' (c. 2009) takes place in 1924, in New Orleans...but with wizards!
* ''[[The Princess 99]]'' (c. 2009) takes place in 1924, in New Orleans...but with wizards!


== [[Live Action TV]] ==
=== [[Live-Action TV]] ===
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'', episodes "Black Orchid" and "The Unicorn and the Wasp".
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'', episodes "Black Orchid" and "The Unicorn and the Wasp".
* [[Poirot]], the TV series; the books actually span a much longer period. (The ''Miss Marple'' series, meanwhile, is set in a different version of this trope - what might be called the suburban one. Middle-aged housewives sit around musing how hard it is to get good help since The War gave the rabble ideas.)
* [[Poirot]], the TV series; the books actually span a much longer period. (The ''Miss Marple'' series, meanwhile, is set in a different version of this trope - what might be called the suburban one. Middle-aged housewives sit around musing how hard it is to get good help since The War gave the rabble ideas.)
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* In the ''[[Charmed]]'' episode "Pardon My Past" Prue, Piper and Phoebe time-travel back to the Twenties.
* In the ''[[Charmed]]'' episode "Pardon My Past" Prue, Piper and Phoebe time-travel back to the Twenties.


== Music ==
=== Music ===
* [[Louis Armstrong]] rose to fame in this decade.
* [[Louis Armstrong]] rose to fame in this decade.
* Al Jolson was really big during this era.
* [[Al Jolson]] was really big during this era.
* [[George Gershwin]] wrote two of his most popular works, "Rhapsody In Blue" and "An American In Paris" during this decade.
* [[George Gershwin]] wrote two of his most popular works, "Rhapsody In Blue" and "An American In Paris" during this decade.


== Newspaper Comics ==
=== Newspaper Comics ===
* [[Rupert Bear]]. First appeared in November, 1920.
* [[Rupert Bear]]. First appeared in November, 1920.
* [[Popeye (comic strip)|Popeye]]. First appeared in January, 1929.
* [[Popeye (comic strip)|Popeye]]. First appeared in January, 1929.


== Other ==
=== Other ===
* At [[Knotts Berry Farm]], the "Boardwalk" area, which now holds most of the park's thrill rides, was previously called "The Roaring 20s," a literal [[The Theme Park Version|theme park version]] of the era.
* At [[Knotts Berry Farm]], the "Boardwalk" area, which now holds most of the park's thrill rides, was previously called "The Roaring 20s," a literal [[The Theme Park Version|theme park version]] of the era.


== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
=== [[Tabletop Games]] ===
* The Fate powered "Spirit of Century" RPG is [[The Theme Park Version]] of this decade.
* The Fate powered "Spirit of Century" RPG is [[The Theme Park Version]] of this decade.
* [[Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game)]]
* [[Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game)]]


== [[Video Games]] ==
=== [[Video Games]] ===
* ''Rollercoaster Tycoon 2'', in the 'Time Twisters' expansion pack provides a ''lot'' of iconic Roaring Twenties art deco architecture and memorabillia to create a park themed around it. (Literally an [[Expansion Pack Past]]?)
* ''Rollercoaster Tycoon 2'', in the 'Time Twisters' expansion pack provides a ''lot'' of iconic Roaring Twenties art deco architecture and memorabillia to create a park themed around it. (Literally an [[Expansion Pack Past]]?)
* [[Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army]], set in year 20 of the Taisho era (think [[Taishou Yakyuu Musume]]).
* [[Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army]], set in year 20 of the Taisho era (think [[Taishō Baseball Girls]]).
* Ditto with the sequel, [[Raidou Kuzunoha VS King Abaddon]].
* Ditto with the sequel, [[Raidou Kuzunoha VS King Abaddon]].
* ''[[Shadow Hearts]]: From The New World'' is set in the mid-twenties, and one plot thread involves the Chicago mob war.
* ''[[Shadow Hearts]]: From The New World'' is set in the mid-twenties, and one plot thread involves the Chicago mob war.
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* The [[Penny Arcade Adventures]] series
* The [[Penny Arcade Adventures]] series


== [[Web Comics]] ==
=== [[Web Comics]] ===
* ''[[Lackadaisy Cats]]'', whose only inaccuracy is that the world is populated by [[Talking Animal|anthropomorphic felines]]. ** And the presence of a cathedral radio, and a few anachronistic cars (by ''one year''). And, maybe, checkbooks.
* ''[[Lackadaisy Cats]]'', whose only inaccuracy is that the world is populated by [[Talking Animal|anthropomorphic felines]]. ** And the presence of a cathedral radio, and a few anachronistic cars (by ''one year''). And, maybe, checkbooks.
* ''[[Chess Piece]]'' takes place at the near end of this decade. Of course, it being an alternate universe, some things are very, very different. Like ghosts inhabiting Antarctica, demons ruling Australia (no, really), and America being ruled by a [[Noble Demon|kindly]] [[Dark Is Not Evil|demonic-looking]] king.
* ''[[Chess Piece]]'' takes place at the near end of this decade. Of course, it being an alternate universe, some things are very, very different. Like ghosts inhabiting Antarctica, demons ruling Australia (no, really), and America being ruled by a [[Noble Demon|kindly]] [[Dark Is Not Evil|demonic-looking]] king.
* ''[[Problem Sleuth]]'', save for the occasional [[Anachronism Stew]].
* ''[[Problem Sleuth]]'', save for the occasional [[Anachronism Stew]].


== Western Animation ==
=== Western Animation ===
* [[The Silent Age of Animation]] was still ongoing, until ''[[Steamboat Willie]]'' debuted.
* [[The Silent Age of Animation]] was still ongoing, until ''[[Steamboat Willie]]'' debuted.
* The [[Fleischer Studios]] produced its first hit series
* The [[Fleischer Studios]] produced its first hit series
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* ''[[The Legend of Korra]]'' is set in the universe's version of this time period, and the soundtrack shows the influence, with [[Word of God]] describing it as "If Jazz was invented in China during the 20s."
* ''[[The Legend of Korra]]'' is set in the universe's version of this time period, and the soundtrack shows the influence, with [[Word of God]] describing it as "If Jazz was invented in China during the 20s."


== Works made, but not set, during the twenties ==
== Works made during the 1920s==
''See [[:Category:Films of the 1920s‎|Films of the 1920s‎]], [[:Category:Literature of the 1920s‎|Literature of the 1920s‎]], [[:Category:Newspaper Comics of the 1920s‎|Newspaper Comics of the 1920s]], [[:Category:Theatre of the 1920s‎|Theatre of the 1920s‎]], and [[:Category:Western Animation of the 1920s‎|Western Animation of the 1920s]].''
=== Literature ===
* ''[[Colas Breugnon]]'', 1919
* [[Zorro]]. First appeared in 1919. The original one-shot novel turned into a novel series in this era.
* [[Scaramouche]]. First appeared in 1921. The setting is [[The French Revolution]].
* [[Solomon Kane]]. First appeared in August, 1928. The character was active in the late 16th century, and his story ends c. 1610.
* [[Kull]]. First appeared in August, 1929.


{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Hollywood History]]
[[Category:Hollywood History]]
[[Category:The Twentieth Century]]
[[Category:The Twentieth Century]]
[[Category:The Roaring Twenties]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roaring Twenties, The}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roaring Twenties, The}}

Latest revision as of 16:06, 9 September 2020


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    /wiki/The Roaring Twentieswork
    The '20s actually were just like this.

    "Dudes in hats, machine guns, bullets, booze, and the kind of hot chicks you could still unironically refer to as broads..."

    —Moviebob

    The time of bootleg, flappers, and jazz. And where coffee costs a dime.

    The setting of many an Agatha Christie mystery, this is one era that absolutely lives up to the stereotypes and then some. The Great War was over, (most of) the Western world had never been so prosperous - time to par-tay!

    Style is almost exclusively Art Deco moderne, all minimalist lines and coolly fluid shapes. (Side point- Art Deco's fascination with streamlining household objects whose actual wind resistance is irrelevant proved popular because levelling incomes led for the first time to a group of people who could afford good design but not household servants. It seems that a streamlined Art Deco lamp is easier to dust than a frilly Victorian one...)

    Dresses are short and so is ladies' hair. (Bobbed hair had actually emerged earlier and was popularized during the earlier 20's, while hemlines gradually rose to knee-length by 1925. And despite those costumes you buy these days, above-the-knee hemlines were nonexistent at any time. And contrary to the costumes you buy, not all dresses were tasseled and figure-hugging. Dresses had a boxy and boyish silhouettes, had dropped waists and were minimally or highly decorated depending on the occasion.)

    Characters include gangsters and G-men, flappers and their sheiks (sort of proto-Metrosexual young males), languid white movie idols and jolly black jazz singers and dancers, and lots of cheery collegiate types who wear huge fur coats and play ukuleles while shouting "23 skidoo!" The basic idea was to shock, amaze and amuse at all costs; there were apparently some women of the era who would greet their guests in the bath.

    The fun and excitement is only heightened by the fact that much of it is totally illegal, at least in the USA. There Prohibition is in full swing, so gin is made in bathtubs, smuggled by the likes of Al Capone and served only in 'speakeasies', hole-in-the-wall bars highly prone to raids by stolid, humourless cops. Unless you're Eliot Ness or one of his Untouchables, be extra cautious to never insult a tough-looking Italian in a sharp suit, or you'll find yourself looking down the barrel of a Tommy Gun.

    As for entertainment, silent films starring the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Buster Keaton gained enormous popularity, though the fact that they didn't have sound meant that movies still hadn't killed off Vaudeville or Minstrel Shows just yet. The advent of sound later in the decade finished the job, however. Radio progressed quickly through the last of its experimental phases and was firmly established as a mass-market medium by the end of the decade, while ultra-low-def mechanical television had brief success with early adopters (essentially beta-testing it) before The Great Depression and the advent of (relatively) high-definition all-electronic TV killed it off by the mid-30s.

    During all this, of course, the relics of The Gay Nineties, now doughty dowagers and grumpy old Colonels, look on disapprovingly, from short skirts and hair, to make-up and swimming wear.

    One should also note that while things were just swell in America, Britain and much of Western Europe (where it was dubbed The Golden Twenties across The Pond), if you were in an area hard hit by World War I (say, Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey or the entire Caucasus Mountains region before the Soviets annexed it) this was not a fun time. (Even some of the victors, like the Dominion of Newfoundland, were left with mountains of war debt.) However, it doesn't mean that they didn't try, once they were able to pull themselves together again. However, in Germany, there are right-wing paramilitary groups who have some very grand ambitions and there will be a few people who get a chilling feeling that one loudmouth Austrian with a toothbrush mustache is going to be very big trouble.

    For example, Soviet Russia (called USSR since 1922), after a devastating civil war, experienced a short period of economic growth thanks to the NEP (new economic policy), a series of reforms that allowed free enterprise and private property. A new Soviet bourgeoisie was born, with a penchant for over-the-top parties and a slavish fascination with American fashion, music and dance. The Soviet Nouveau Riche (typically called a nepman) was a stock character in 20's Russian satire.

    Often a nostalgic setting during The Fifties and The Sixties. This period began sometime after World War I and continued to the Crash of October 1929, which led to Bank Runs and ultimately The Great Depression of the Dust Bowl "dirty thirties".

    For the 1939 movie of the same name, click here.

    Also see: The Great Depression, The Forties, The Fifties, The Sixties, The Seventies, The Eighties, The Nineties, Turn of the Millennium, and The New Tens for more decade nostalgia.

    Twenties Slang

    This ain't baloney, this is Serious Beeswax, as most words and phrases originated from this decade, so here are some examples:

    • "Ab-so-lute-ly"
    • "And How!" - I agree!
    • "Attaboy!/Attagirl!" - well done, son/lad/lass/boy/girl/kid.
    • "Baby" - sweetheart, also a respectable word.
    • "Bearcat" - Tsundere
    • "Beat it" or "23 skidoo" - get lost or GTFO!
    • "Bee's knees" or "Cat's meow" - an extraordinarily splendid person, idea or thing.
    • "Big cheese" - an important person.
    • "Big six" - The Big Guy
    • "Blind date" - dating a stranger
    • "Bootleg", "hooch" or "giggle water" - alcoholic beverage
    • "Bump off" - to kill
    • "Crush" - infatuation
    • "Dick" - no, not that dick, a private investigator
    • "Doll" - sexy lady
    • "Double cross" - backstabbing
    • "Earful" - enough
    • "Egg" - Big cheese living the big life.
    • "A flapper" and her "Dapper" - 20s girl and her dad.
    • "Fly boy" - aviator
    • "For crying out loud!" - the period's Big OMG
    • "Gold Digger" - woman who marries a man for his wealth.
    • "Goofy" - in love.
    • "Hard boiled" or "bimbo" - tough guy. Overlaps with big six.
    • "It" - sex appeal
    • "Kisser" - mouth
    • "Middle aisle" - to marry
    • "Pipe down" - shut up
    • "Sap" - a fool
    • "See a man about a dog" - an old excuse to where he's leaving without any apparent reason
    • "Sheik" and "Sheba" - man and woman with sex appeal, respectively
    • "Swell" - wonderful
    • "Torpedo" - a hired gun.
    • "What's eating you?" - What's wrong?
    • "Whoopee!" - having a gay old time
    • "You slay me" - that's funny.

    Had an earful, sap? I have to see a man about a dog, so pipe down or I'll bump ya off.

    Popular tropes from this time period are:
    Examples of The Roaring Twenties include:

    Works set in the Twenties

    Anime

    Comic Books

    Film

    Literature

    Live-Action TV

    • Doctor Who, episodes "Black Orchid" and "The Unicorn and the Wasp".
    • Poirot, the TV series; the books actually span a much longer period. (The Miss Marple series, meanwhile, is set in a different version of this trope - what might be called the suburban one. Middle-aged housewives sit around musing how hard it is to get good help since The War gave the rabble ideas.)
    • Upstairs, Downstairs (seasons 3-5)
    • Boardwalk Empire
    • In the Charmed episode "Pardon My Past" Prue, Piper and Phoebe time-travel back to the Twenties.

    Music

    • Louis Armstrong rose to fame in this decade.
    • Al Jolson was really big during this era.
    • George Gershwin wrote two of his most popular works, "Rhapsody In Blue" and "An American In Paris" during this decade.

    Newspaper Comics

    • Rupert Bear. First appeared in November, 1920.
    • Popeye. First appeared in January, 1929.

    Other

    Tabletop Games

    Video Games

    Web Comics

    • Lackadaisy Cats, whose only inaccuracy is that the world is populated by anthropomorphic felines. ** And the presence of a cathedral radio, and a few anachronistic cars (by one year). And, maybe, checkbooks.
    • Chess Piece takes place at the near end of this decade. Of course, it being an alternate universe, some things are very, very different. Like ghosts inhabiting Antarctica, demons ruling Australia (no, really), and America being ruled by a kindly demonic-looking king.
    • Problem Sleuth, save for the occasional Anachronism Stew.

    Western Animation

    Works made during the 1920s

    See Films of the 1920s‎, Literature of the 1920s‎, Newspaper Comics of the 1920s, Theatre of the 1920s‎, and Western Animation of the 1920s.

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