Anglo-American popular culture

What was the impact of Anglo-American popular
culture on America and Europe, 1918-1945?
During the 1920s the United States enjoyed a period of unprecedented prosperity, which
facilitated the widespread growth of the entertainment industry and the birth of a new, youth
based, popular culture. However these new dances, media crazes and sports were not confined
to the US. Popular culture spread across the Atlantic and had a large effect on the daily lives
of people in Europe. Other factors, such as the growth of the automobile industry and the
general rise in wages also contributed to the spread of Anglo American pop culture in the
inter-war years.
One of the most noticeable changes to occur in the e 1920’s was the sudden proliferation of
radios. People wanted to hear the latest songs from stars like Marlene Dietrich and Bing
Crosby. For example, by 1939, 75% of British households had a TV and in 1926 the BBC got a
monopoly on radio broadcasting. This new form of mass entertainment prompted a media
revolution. Newspapers were forced to become more scandalous and visually orientated to
compete with the radio. The advent of the radio also had the effect of linking far flung places
together, and facilitating the fast movement of information. This was especially apparent
during WW2, when people tuned in to hear the outcome of decisive battles such as El
Alamein and Stalingrad. As a result of this transfer of information, people also become more
politically aware. 

The music industry quickly realised the potential of radio and moved to capitalise on its
popularity. The latest songs from America were now broadcast in Europe, opening up an
entirely new and lucrative market. Songs such as ‘Swanee’, ‘My Blue Heaven’ and ‘T for Texas’
became hits on both sides of the ocean. The growth of jazz illustrates perfectly the power and
potency of radio. This genre grew from humble beginnings in the slums of New Orleans to
become an integral part of popular culture. Another phenomenon of twentieth century was
the ‘music star’. For the first time singers became as important as the songs and people like Al
Jolson and Louis Armstrong became household names.
Cinema was the other dominant medium of the inter war period which helped propagate
Anglo-American pop culture. With increased wages and more leisure time, people began to
attend cinemas more regularly, sometimes as much as two or three times a week. In Europe
‘super-cinemas’, holding up to 3000 people, were constructed in the major cities while in
Britain small cinemas known as ‘flea pits’ were popular with the ordinary proletariat.  However
the film-making industry in Europe did not receive any major boost and most cinemas relied
heavily on Hollywood for the newest releases. A numbers of revolutions in cinematography
such as the first ‘talkies’ (films with sound) and films in colour (such as ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and
‘Gone with the Wind’) added to the popularity of cinema.
Like the music industry, the film industry also developed around big-name stars of the silver
screen. Prominent among them were Charlie Chaplin, Al Jolson and Clarke Gable. These stars
were idolised and became the role models of young people. The led trends in fashion and
were highly influential. Female stars such as ‘America’s Sweetheart’ Mary Pickford and Greta
Garbo introduced new hairstyles and ways of dressing, while men looked up to stars such as
Rudolf Valentino and idolised their glamorous lives. In this way, cinema was a form of

escapism for the lower classes. When war came to Europe in the 1940s, stars such as Bob
Hope visited troops to raise morale. 
Another major effect of the growth of Anglo American pop culture was the rise of interest in
sport. The 20s and 30s were the decades of mass spectator sport. In Britain soccer became a
part of the national identity and match attendance soared. For example, in 1929 200000
peopled attended the cup final in Wembley. The celebrity culture bloomed in the world of
competitive sport as well, and people like Jesse Owens and Babe Ruth became just as famous
as the movie stars. However, unlike in the music and film industries, sports did not travel
seamlessly across the water. For example, sports such as baseball, basketball and American
football never really established themselves in Europe.
Anglo-American pop culture also had the effect of highlighting the differences between the
youth of the day and the elder generations. Young people became increasingly Americanised
as slang terms such as ‘sez you’ entered the vernacular. There was also a growing division
between urban and rural communities. People in the big cities quickly became engrossed in
the latest news and fashions, while their counterparts in the lagged behind and were more
insulated from foreign influences. By far the biggest division was between the ‘bright young
things’ and their parent’s generation. These young women were influenced by the flappers in
America and by female film stars such as Claudette Colbert and Clara Bow, who portrayed
successful career women in the movies and thereby accelerated female empowerment. They
dressed radically, smoked, went out without chaperones and danced to new crazes such as the
‘black bottom’ and the ‘Charlestown’.

Governments also recognised the raw power of these new mediums of popular culture. Fascist
dictators such as Hitler and Mussolini exploited them for their own benefit. For example, Hitler
commissioned acclaimed film director Leni Riefenstahl to produce propaganda masterpieces
like ‘Olympia’, ’Jud Seuss’ and ‘The triumph of the will’. But governments in America and
Britain also used these instruments to spread the allied message. For example, Franklin Delano
Roosevelt addressed the American people directly in his famous ‘Fireside chats’ on the state of
the national, while Winston Churchill gave stirring speeches over the radio to maintain national
unity and morale during the Second World War.
From 1918 to 1945, Anglo-American popular culture had a major impact on the societies of
both America and Europe. It produced the first celebrities, introduced people to different
cultures and radical ideas, and provided light entertainment for the masses. It changed forever
how people absorbed information and spent their leisure time.