spectratg
Senior Member
- Location
- Adamstown, MD
Back in those olden days (the 2010’s) I kept having this this recurring thought, that when 2020 came, we would start talking about a revival of The Roaring Twenties. There would be so much in the way of wild parties, flapper girls, bathtub gin, and just all sort of fun and games, nostalgia galore! I thought that this revival would grab hold of America and be all over the news and entertainment. But alas, nary a peep.
So what is the problem? Well of course we were immediately hit with the world-wide, Covid-19 pandemic. So maybe that should have just delayed the start of the 21st Century version of the Roaring Twenties? After all, 100 years ago America and much of the world was just coming off of their own pandemic, the Spanish flu.
Let’s look at a few parallels (there are many more) between then (1920’s), features of Western society and culture courtesy of Wiki, and now (2020’s the beginning):
Economic prosperity—the stock market did quite well in 2020 and 2021, although we are off to a bad start this year and there is talk about a possible recession.
Social, artistic, and cultural dynamism—I’m certainly no expert, but I think we can check the box of favorable comparison in those categories.
A return to normalcy after the World War 1 and the Spanish flu; unfortunately, with political upheavals at home and wars in Ukraine and elsewhere, I don’t think that anyone of us can claim an acceptable affirmative.
The United States gained dominance in world finance in the 1920’s; now China is giving us a run for our money.
Large-scale technological developments, for the 1920’s automobiles, telephone, films, radio and electrical appliances; for the 2020’s, we have been and are experiencing mind-blowing technological innovations and advances, at least since the 1990’s with computers and cell phones! Just one example--my 12-year old granddaughter was skiing yesterday in the Grand Canyon, courtesy of augmented reality!
Large scale growth in the media including advertising driving consumer demand and focus on celebrities; I think social media (and television of course) is the modern day version of that.
1920’s—aviation; 2020’s—space.
Charleston anyone?
So what is the problem? Well of course we were immediately hit with the world-wide, Covid-19 pandemic. So maybe that should have just delayed the start of the 21st Century version of the Roaring Twenties? After all, 100 years ago America and much of the world was just coming off of their own pandemic, the Spanish flu.
Let’s look at a few parallels (there are many more) between then (1920’s), features of Western society and culture courtesy of Wiki, and now (2020’s the beginning):
Economic prosperity—the stock market did quite well in 2020 and 2021, although we are off to a bad start this year and there is talk about a possible recession.
Social, artistic, and cultural dynamism—I’m certainly no expert, but I think we can check the box of favorable comparison in those categories.
A return to normalcy after the World War 1 and the Spanish flu; unfortunately, with political upheavals at home and wars in Ukraine and elsewhere, I don’t think that anyone of us can claim an acceptable affirmative.
The United States gained dominance in world finance in the 1920’s; now China is giving us a run for our money.
Large-scale technological developments, for the 1920’s automobiles, telephone, films, radio and electrical appliances; for the 2020’s, we have been and are experiencing mind-blowing technological innovations and advances, at least since the 1990’s with computers and cell phones! Just one example--my 12-year old granddaughter was skiing yesterday in the Grand Canyon, courtesy of augmented reality!
Large scale growth in the media including advertising driving consumer demand and focus on celebrities; I think social media (and television of course) is the modern day version of that.
1920’s—aviation; 2020’s—space.
Charleston anyone?
