THE 1920’S AS WE KNOW IT, page 1 Abby Nachtman, Gillian Biscupski,Kara Maiers
MASS PRODUCTION, page,page 3 Kara Maiers
ADVERTISEMENTS ARE JUST A PROMISE,page 2 Gillian Biscupski
TURN YOUR RADIO TO CHANNEL FAKE NEWS,page 4 Abby Nachtman
BIBLIOGRAPHY , page 5
The 1920s as we know it How is the 1920s changing in regards to consumerism in the way Americans spend their leisure time? Gillian Biscupski, Kara Maiers, Abby Nachtman The Sultan of Swat. The King of Crash. The Colossus of Clout. The Great Bambino. These are all nicknames for Babe Ruth, the most successful baseball player of the decade and Americans are flocking to baseball stadiums around the nation to watch him play. Certainly baseball isn’t the only leisure time activity Americans are enjoying. Baseball, movies, radios and shopping are Americans new love affair. These new leisure time activities are the result of new changes to consumerism. Consumerism is changing the way Americans spend their leisure time for the better.
Extreme advertising is the culprit of heavy consumerism. New advertising tactics left America wanting more. We do not buy for value anymore, we buy simply to purchase our wants. Americans are purchasing the newest innovations to show off how much money they have. Buying has become a competition and credit is making it easier to participate. Credit may seem like a way to buy everything you could ever want but it has its drawbacks. Credit is beginning to be overused leading to debt. Americans think that in a swipe of a piece of plastic, all their dreams could come true. Then reality hits like a punch in the face and Americans realize that credit isn't that simple.
Americans have started spending money on things that are falsely advertised and unnecessary. However, extreme advertising put in place product regulation and safety so now Americans can be sure that the products are safe to consume and use.
Consumerism has become a huge part of Americans lives. Americans have begun to buy everything in sight. While consumers thought they were being savvy, they were actually wasting money. With advertisements constantly showing off their newest products, Americans never feel satisfied with what they have. Advertisements need to be monitored so that they truly reflect the product.
In conclusion, Consumerism and leisure has affected America for the better. Baseball brings families together, movies give young couples a fun date night, and radio can inform the public. Shopping has its perks too! It has brought credit to the table and daily regulations. Overall, the 1920s has been an era of massive consumerism and leisure time activities.
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Advertisements are just a promise are new advertising tactics good for America, or a way to brainwash Americans into buying things they don't need? Gillian Biscupski
New advertising tactics are making America brain dead. Americans are unable to process their own opinions due to ads plastering on words that are screwed into americans heads. ¨This product will make your life better, guaranteed!¨ You'll see this quite often on ads in the 1920s. The 1920s is an era of extreme advertisement and extreme consumerism. Advertisers often hire psychologists to improve ads and make them more mentally appealing. New ads signify people have problems that they actually don't. Imagine an ad being so persuasive and powerful you start to become ill due to a new medicine that will cure everything. When in reality, products only did a fraction of what they promised. A bar of soap that melts away fat? Sounds like a joke but it is a ¨trusted¨ product of the 1920s. In the 1920s, America achieved the highest standard of living, thanks to these extreme advertisements. Advertisers gave no time to think so consumers wouldn't change their mind. They would use phrases like ¨once in a lifetime chance!¨ As Stuart Chase once said, ¨We buy not for value, but because the fake information we get pulled into thinking, it has affected our opinions,standard of life and pictures of a good way of living.¨ New advertising tactics makes the public crave things they don't need.¨
Lastly, advertising is expensive! America spent more than 15 million dollars on ads. We feel the need to advertise everything to everyday people so ¨Andy Consumer¨ was born. Andy Consumer is used to represent a typical consumer in scenarios. This attracted a whole new group of innocent people. America is still learning but we can stop this severe advertising. Cutting down on ads will save money, make America a more efficient place, and teach us an important lesson of being content with what we have.
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Mass Production Is mass production lowering the quality of American products, or is it good for the US Kara Maies
Is mass production lowering the quality of american products, or is it good for the US consumers? Mass production is good for US consumers, and is not lowering the quality of of american products. The Ford assembly line is a good example. Ford is able to mass produce cars for a cheaper cost for the consumers. It went from a high cost and nobody having a car, to a lower price and almost half American citizens having a car. Americans were getting the money by working, stocks, and credit.
More americans were starting to spend more money instead of saving money. Americans have more wants instead of needs, they want to feel like they fit in with everybody. They wanted the newest items, like cars, radios, and more. The 1920’s was full of new products and new pricing.
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Turn your radio to channel ¨fake news¨ Are Radio and Movies Brainwashing People or Informing Them? Abby Nachtman
Radio and Movies are great new innovations; if you like stereotypes and opinionated people. Radio was meant to be a place to get people the news they need but it has turned into a place where people find empty promises and false advertisements. Instead of getting raw information you get opinionated people trying to persuade you into thinking their opinion is fact. Radio makes people believe they have to have two or three jobs just to be considered successful and as if we didn't have enough people trying to get us to buy their “life changing” product. Now we have the radio where people can make us feel even worse if we don’t have the newest products.
If that wasn’t bad enough we also have movies which create false images of people. The stereotypes created in movies are changing life as we know it. Movies are making all women feel that they aren't good enough if they don't look just like the women they see on the big screen. Movies make “bad and pretty” women more attractive than smart ones. Movies create an image for men and women that makes you think you should look and act a certain way. Movies also create racial stereotypes. Movies are fueling nativism and making people discriminate against people who look different. Someone needs to end all this hate. Stop listening to fake news. Stop believing stereotypes. Start getting real information.
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Gillian Biscupski
Bibliography
Hart, Diane, and Bert Bower. History Alive!: Pursuing American Ideals. Teachers' Curriculum Institute, 2013.
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