The Roaring Twenties: Difference between revisions

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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 "[[~~Twenty Three|~~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.

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* [[Cosmic Horror]], if you're Lovecraft

* [[Dance Sensation]] / [[Happy Dance]]: In prosperous times like these, dances like The Shimmy and The Charleston would set the dance floor ablaze with sensational flappers cutting the rug. The former was banned as bootleg, yet praised as a good aerobic dance; the latter became the rage during the rest of the decade.

* [[Dangerously Short Skirt]]: Despite being knee length due to a flourishing economy, they were scandalous, at the time, according to their Victorian parents.

* [[Dangerously-Short Skirt]]: Despite being knee length due to a flourishing economy, they were scandalous, at the time, according to their Victorian parents.

* [[Damn It Feels Good to Be A Gangster]]

* [[Damn, It Feels Good to Be A Gangster!]]

* [[Diesel Punk]], just starting out with [[Fritz Lang]]'s ''[[Metropolis (Film)|Metropolis]]''

* [[The Flapper]]

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== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* ''[[~~Doctor Who (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.)

* ''[[Upstairs, Downstairs]]'' (seasons 3-5)

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[[Category:The Twentieth Century]]

[[Category:The Roaring Twenties]]

[[Category:Trope]]