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How Did I Really Worshiped Films Influence The Culture Of The 1920's

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How Did I Really Worshiped Films Influence The Culture Of The 1920's
The Roaring Twenties was a time period in which an influx of leisure and individuality freedom ran rampant. Enjoying the fruits of their labor, Americans spent more on recreational activities like the theater, arts and especially on the golden screen cinema. The rise of entertainment innovation and technology paved the way for the American film industry. As Hollywood influence proliferated on the global cinematic marketplace; conservative Americans feared the moral implications that movies would inflict on the younger generation. The primary source is of a teenage girl Mary, who shares her experiences of motion pictures as a frequent customer. The source is based on her outlook and beliefs which can be interpreted as bias.
“I really worshiped
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“Norma Shearer wears the kind of clothes I like” utilizing the power of celebrity culture to define fashion, Mary like many women were exposed to the most current up-to-date styles. Films gave an outlet to discover and to emulate the actresses vogue. City fashion became accessible to all, spreading its wings into the most rural parts of the country. Which gave rise to a new society under the premises of consumer culture; which is the proliferation of goods that is not based on necessity, but rather based on wants and desires. Through the guise of enterminetain, consumerism increased; “the day-dreams instigated by the movies consist of clothes, ideas on furnishings, and manners. I don’t day-dream much. I am more concerned with materialistic things and realisms.” Mary’s tone in this passage portrays her to be extremely mature young women. Her sensible and enlightened viewpoints grabs the attention of the reader. The film industry tried to bridge the gap between the two worlds of the fictitious realm and reality together through extravagant material goods, giving the illusion that these grand things are obtainable. The wordage that Mary's uses to describe the new phenomenon as a daydream, which perfectly translate the outcome of striving to base a life around a movie. However, Mary also mentions “it is hard for any girl not to imagine herself …show more content…
“I’m always at the mercy of the actor at a movie. I feel nearly every emotion he portrays and forget that anything else is on earth”, which conveys Mary’s experiences of entertainment, enjoyment and thrills of the cinema. Her immersion into the movie is to a point where she is able to forget everything else around her, losing her earthly shackles and fully enthralls herself into the movies. As Mary state in her autobiography “I stayed to see it over four times. I forgot home, dinner, and everything. About eight o’clock mother came after me—frantically searching the theater.” The 1920s brought on a new phenomena of immersion through the motion picture realm. Movies has a way to resonate with its audience even after it finishes; “ I remember one time seeing a movie about an awful fire. I was terrified by the reality of it and for several nights I was afraid to go to sleep for fear of a fire and even placed my hat and coat near by in case it was necessary to make a hasty exit. Pictures of robbery and floods have affected my behavior the same way.” Mary reflects on her first handed experience on the impact and influence a movie has over an individual. She effectively used imagery when recounting her experience. Mary gives the reader a vivid mental image of the long-lasting effect the movie had on her. As Mary states “movies do change my moods, but they

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