French Culture During The 1920s Essay

5.To what extent was French culture during 1920s influenced by the experiences of the first world war? The beautiful era, the 1920s and the roaring twenties. To France, these all refer to the same period of time that followed the first world war. One in which people were trying to find happiness again and dream of a better future. Surrealist movements had led to changes in views and values which were followed by the emergence of a popular culture that attracted people from all over the English-speaking world. With priorities shifting around, a gap had appeared between those who were adapted to change and those who weren’t.
The most obvious change after WWI within the French culture can be seen in the Dada movement and other surrealist movements. The Dada is an artistic and literary movement that began in Zurich and spread to other cities including Paris, it basically sprouted from the anti-war feelings people had after the events of WWI. The Dada encouraged artists and writers to go against nationalist and bourgeois conventions, it mocked nationalism and materialism which many believed had led to the war. Surrealism was also influenced by the Dada movement. Its founder, André Breton who experienced working with shell-shocked war patients as a medical student, abandoned medicine …show more content…
There were far too many prohibitions in America and African Americans had little to no rights there. African American musicians who took advantage of this and made it successful, had a powerful impact on the development of a jazz culture in Paris. The popularity of cinemas increased and along with radios and gramophone records it helped in spreading the new trends in popular culture in Paris to a wider audience. The search for freedom and inner peace in addition to the recklessness of wanting to have “some good time” had made the jump between pre and post war time rather