Anna Gassett

History 1320
17 October 2021
Modern Times

What in this video particularly surprised or interested you?

I was interested in learning about the Harlem Renaissance. Being a musical
theatre major, I love being educated on the roots of art and where it started. The
Harlem Renaissance was a celebration of African heritage and gave many black
people a haven to express themselves freely. Specifically, something that shocked
me was the point in the video about jazz music and how it had negative
connotations (information found at 22:35). Music evolves and becomes popular
because it pushes boundaries. This was the case with jazz music in the 1920s.

Did the book and the video treat the topic(s) similarly, or differently? How so?
The video emphasized how the invention of the radio was so imperative to
the life of women specifically. Women who worked in the home became the
primary buyers of radios as they were a medium for the expression of women’s
needs, wants, and aspirations (information found at 12:50.) The radio was very
influential with the advocacy for the evolution of gender roles. Women were
becoming more liberated and freer from the constraints that society had place on
them in the past (information found at 15:25). The invention of the radio and its
importance in American society in the 20s was emphasized in the video but not as
much in the textbook.

Did you enjoy the video? Why or why not?

I enjoyed the video in the sense that I drew many parallels between the
1920s and modern day. The 20s introduced Fordism and mass production of cars
which requires a whole lot of workers doing the same factory job day after day
(information found at 5:50). Although factory line jobs are not as prevalent today
because of the high technology machinery we have, the aspect of Fordism is still
alive as we see economic life in America developing around mass production of
goods.