Download The Jazz Age

Associated Teachers’ TV programme
KS3 History: The Jazz Age
Teacher's notes
Curriculum relevance
England
The programme will have relevance to the KS3 History Study Unit "A World
Study after 1900". It will also be of use in GCSE Modern World History
courses
Wales
The programme may be relevant to the KS3 History Study Unit "A World
Study after 1900". It will also be of use in GCSE Modern World History
courses
Scotland
The programme may be relevant to aspects of the 5-14 curriculum,
particularly The Twentieth Century. It is relevant to S Grade History Unit II,
International Cooperation and Conflict (Context B, 1890s-1920s)
Northern Ireland
The programme may be relevant to the KS3 History Study Unit "A World
Study after 1900". It will also be of use in GCSE Modern World History
Syllabuses
Aims of the programme
This programme has a purpose and structure which is slightly different to the
majority of narrative-based schools history TV programmes. Its primary
focus is to get students to look at original archive film in the same way that
they would read an extract from a document written at the time, or study a
photograph, painting or cartoon published at the time. The programme
directs them to use skills of careful observation, inference and deduction to
try and reach reasoned and supported judgements about the events they are
studying but also about the way our perception of those events is shaped by
moving image sources.
Using the programme
The programme is designed to be as flexible as possible. It should be easy to
fit it into any programme of work which covers the USA in the 1920s.
Teachers need to decide on the emphasis they wish to give:
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It can be used as a quarry for interesting clips to exemplify teaching
points or to introduce a lesson.
It can be used to help students grasp the process of source analysis in
one format (moving image) which sometimes makes it easier for many
students to transfer the same processes to different types of sources –
print, photograph etc.
It can be used to provide the stimulus to explore historical
interpretation and representation by getting students to script voice
overs for clips or sequences in different styles or with different
emphases.
Programme outline and commentary
Introduction and titles
This programme is designed to help teachers to help students make effective
use of archive film as an historical source. One of the biggest problems with
this is that early archive film was not generally seen as an historical
document at the time it was shot and placed in the can. As a result, we do
not always know as much about the clips we see as we would like. You will
see this problem as the programme progresses. Where we have detailed
‘biographical’ information about a clip we provide it in the titles. Otherwise
we simply provide any information we have.
There are some features of the introduction which need to be made clear to
teachers, and then the teacher needs to decide what to share with students.
The titles are not original, but they are clearly designed to look as though
they are from the period in order to add atmosphere. This is also true of the
music. The music is very much in the style of the 1920s and might
reasonably be regarded as authentic reconstruction.
So, before the programme even starts you have a potential issue to explore
and discuss with students – should we ignore the titles and turn off the
sound because the footage is ‘genuine’ while the music and titles are not.
Section 1: The Jazz Age
Time
Commentary
Clip 1
Key features of clip(s)
Activity ideas
1.00 – 1.40
Americans often refer to the 1920s as the
Jazz Age – a time of achievement, prosperity
and just plain fun.
Clip 1.1 Retail boom
Clip 1.2 Ticker tap parade for aviator Charles
Lindbergh New York 1927
Clip 1.3 Jazz Club in the 1920s
These three sequences show us tills ringing,
followed quickly by a blizzard of ticker tapes in
Central New York and a parade in an open car for
Linbergh. Finally we see flappers and young
gentlemen living it up in a jazz club.
One way to use this sequence is to ask students
to use this it as a moving image definition of the
term ‘Roaring Twenties’. Ask them to observe as
many features as possible which show why this
was such an exciting and vibrant time. You could
also turn off the sound and ask them to assess its
impact on their reaction to the clip. Finally, they
could script a voice over for the sequence
following on from the presenter’s introduction.
Section 2: Life in 1920s America
Time
Commentary
Clip 2
Key features of clip(s)
Activity ideas
1.40 – 4.38
We’re lucky because it was also the age of
the movie camera. Hollywood studios were
turning out movies, but other film makers
were recording the daily lives of ordinary
Americans, leaving us with a unique record
of the period.
Everyday life in 1920s America
Typical street scenes in small town America. Motor
cars in the high street, and a town looking not
that different from a set from a Wild West movie
(architecturally). A restaurateur stands outside his
business and then we get a shot of the street from
a balcony. We then see men and women getting
haircuts and styling.
This clip is perfect for an activity which might be
called ‘attentive observation’. Get the students to
watch the clip and then ask some questions
afterwards:
 How many cars did you see in the first scene?
 How many men were smoking?
 How much were the meals?
 How many men were having their hair cut?
 How many women?
After this, let the students watch the clip again.
This time, ask them to look for ways in which
1920s America was similar to or different from
their town today. You could prompt them to look
for items like street lighting etc.
Commentary
Clip 3
Key features of clip(s)
Activity ideas
In the 1920s America was ready to party.
The country emerged from the First World
War as the strongest and richest nation in
the world. And the troops were coming
home!
The signing of the Treaty of Versailles, Paris 1919
Leaders stand outside the Versailles palace and
then there is a shot of the Treaty document.
This is an ideal example to try out the basic
principles of getting students to script a voice
over. It is a very short clip – get them to
Commentary
experiment with perspective – make the voice
over upbeat or dubious.
As this clip shows, wealthy Americans went
on cruises, bought cars and generally spent
their money on having a good time. Watch
carefully and look for other examples of
wealth and enjoyment.
Clip 4
Key features of clip(s)
Activity ideas
Commentary
Cruise liner in New York Harbour 1925
Well dressed Americans play deck games, enjoy
the bar and restaurant.
This is another opportunity for attentive
observation and the writing of a commentary. Ask
students who did not get the chance to read out
their voice over for previous clip to do the honours
for this one.
Ordinary Americans were also able to enjoy
themselves. Sport was hugely popular, but
so were movies. Radio programmes also
attracted big audiences.
Clip 5
Key features of clip(s)
Activity ideas
5.1 Motor racing
5.2 Baseball featuring Babe Ruth
5.3 NFL Football including ‘Red Grange’
Range of sporting scenes, but perhaps the most
interesting feature is the numerous crowd shots.
These crowds are enormous, giving some sense of
the disposable income available in the USA and
also the wealth of these sports.
Put the proposition to the students that the 1920s
in the USA were not that different from today. Ask
them to watch the clips and then compare with
modern coverage of sports and sports stars such
as David Beckham or Andrew Flintoff. A web link
to a sports web site or two culd be very
illuminating here.
Section 3: Boom Time USA
Time
Commentary
Clip 6
Key features of clip(s)
Activity ideas
Commentary
Clip 7
Key features of clip(s)
Activity ideas
Commentary
Clip 8
Key features of clip(s)
4.40 – 7.50
Who or what was paying for all of this fun?
The use of modern technology like the Ford
motor assembly line put US industry ahead
of the world.
Ford Motor assembly line at Detroit
Shots of the detail of the process of car making in
Detroit. A number of key features can be
identified such as the moving assembly line, the
specialised jobs of each worker and the use of
technology.
Ask students to see how many different jobs they
can see being done. If possible, show students
clips of a modern assembly line and ask them to
compare the two. The fact that they are basically
similar should help them see how far ahead of the
rest of the world the US companies were in the
1920s.
At the same time, the US stock market
allowed rich and poor Americans could buy
and sell shares in booming US companies
and share in their profits.
Traders on Wall Street, New York 1928
Shots of high rise buildings and impressive
frontages of Wall Street. This is followed by shots
of the trading floor and frantic activity therein.
Ask students to describe the scenes shown here
as though they are commenting for a radio
programme. They will need to add extra points of
information beyond what they can actually see, so
get them to think about how they have added
points to the basic points they can see.
Not all Americans were enjoying the high life
of the Jazz Age. What impression do you get
from this next clip of daily life for ordinary
Americans?
Everyday life in 1920s America
Street scenes followed by work at a garage, a
wedding and then people milling about on street
corners outside shops. Concludes wit a man
returning home after work.
Activity ideas
Commentary
Clip 9
Key features of clip(s)
Activity ideas
Commentary
Clip 10
Key features of clip(s)
Activity ideas
Commentary
Clip 10
Key features of clip(s)
Try and focus students’ minds on the ordinariness
or even drudgery of the daily grind revealed by
this clip.
Try watching that clip again. Compared to
the living standards of other countries
Americans were prosperous and comfortable.
Look for examples of prosperity in the clip.
Everyday life in 1920s America
As above
Now get students to look for evidence which may
have looked humdrum but in the 1920s would
have marked out America from the rest of the
world. The number of cars is an obvious point.
Finally, raise the point about the different music in
each clip – did it influence their reaction to the
clip? You could even try playing the clips in
different orders to different classes and see what
difference this makes to their perception of the
scenes shown.
So was all of America sharing in the fun and
prosperity? Watch these scenes of US troops
guarding American streets with machine
guns. Are we looking at American soldiers in
the First World War? Or are we watching
something else?
US soldiers on guard duties
US troops in guard positions on buildings
Get students to suggest what the US troops are
actually doing. If you get no responses, try some
prompts such as:
Are they guarding something?
Is it valuable?
What or who might they be guarding against?
Are they in America or Europe?
Actually, these troops are here to crush
striking American workers protesting about
low wages and job losses in the early 1920s.
No caption, clip as previous
Laid off or striking workers lying around with
troops in attendance. Machine gun pans in
Activity ideas
threatening fashion.
Ask students whether you think the music on this
clip was the best choice. Replay some of the
earlier clips and see which clips they think might
be more appropriate and why.
Section 4: The Melting Pot
Time
Commentary
7.50 – 10.22
America was a country of immigrants, but if
you held the wrong political views, or simply
came from the wrong part of the world, you
could find that America was not always the
land of opportunity. In the early 1920s there
was a Red Scare. Many immigrants found
themselves accused of holding views which
threatened the United States. What does this
clip reveal about how they were treated?
Clip 11
Immigrants rounded up during the Palmer Raids
1920
Violent scenes as police arrest suspects and drag
them from their homes. Suspects loaded on to
vans. Shots of luggage piled up. Suspects then file
past camera and on to Ellis Island via ferry. From
here they will be deported.
Ask students to write more sensational titles than
the rather sober one which precedes this clip in
this programme. The titles could be hostile or
sympathetic towards the immigrants. Students
could script and add voice overs to the clip as
well, of course.
Jewish, Catholic but above all black
Americans also had many reasons not to
celebrate the 1920s. Watch this next clip Try
playing this clip without sound and see what
it reveals about the power and the threat
posed by the Ku Klux Klan.
Key features of clip(s)
Activity ideas
Commentary
Clip 12
Key features of clip(s)
Activity ideas
Ku Klux Klan – initiation ceremony and rallies
Klansmen marching through woods and then
assembling – including child in Klan uniform.
Leader performs ceremony with US flag. Scenes of
burning cross and large number of men joining
the Klan. Camera pulls back and shows huge scale
of event. Concludes with huge rally in the centre
of Washington DC
Ask students to use the evidence before
them to decide how powerful they think the
threat of the Klan was. Encourage them to
use the visual evidence before them rather
than background knowledge. The scenes in
Washington are particularly important – not
just the numbers but the fact they were
marching down the centre of the nation’s
capital.
The music in this clip creates a threatening
feel to the clip. Try playing it without sound
and then with, and get students to judge on
its effect on them as they try and answer the
question.
Section 5: Freedom & Prohibition
Time
Commentary
10.23-12.48
We don’t always notice the changes
happening around us, it’s often historians
who point them out long afterwards. One
was the new freedom enjoyed by many
young people, especially young women, in
the cities. They were a relatively small
group, but they symbolised the new, free,
fun age. Watch this next clip and see what
evidence you can find of these new
freedoms.
Clip 13
Key features of clip(s)
1920s night club scenes
A range of fairly riotous scenes with female
dancers, musicians, alcohol and partygoers having
a good time.
Students might be surprised at how racy these
images are, given that it is the 1920s. Ask them
to compare the scenes shown here with a modern
night club. They could draw up a 0-10 scale with
the present day at 10 and decide how far up the
scale the film suggests the 1920s were. Ask
students to then look back on previous clips and
see where they would put the mark for the people
shown in those clips.
In 1919 alcohol became illegal in the USA.
Some accounts of Prohibition have been
accused of making it seem exciting or even
romantic. Do you think this account is guilty
of that?
Activity ideas
Commentary
Clip 14
Key features of clip(s)
Activity ideas
14.1 Illicit alcohol clubs
14.2 Bootleg alcohol trade
14.3 Gangsters including Al Capone
The opening clip shows us fund and frolics similar
to the previous clip. We then move to violent
scenes including bombing and murder. Finally we
see gangsters being rounded up and Al Capone
entering a building and then leaving it.
This sequence is ideally suited for students to
write a commentary and read it out as the clip is
playing, or perhaps record it.
Alternatively, ask students to take two sides – pro
and anti Prohibition, and see what use their side
can make of the evidence contained in this film to
further their own argument.
Section 6: Boom to Bust
Time
Commentary
12.48 - end
As the 1920s came to a close new President
Herbert Hoover declared that the future for
America was bright. We now know that
disaster was just around the corner, but is
there evidence in this next clip that people
saw the warning signs?
Clip 15
Herbert Hoover at the 1928 Republican
Convention
Scenes of campaigning for Hoover in New York.
The scene is one of joy and optimism.
Ask students once again to suggest a voice over
for this clip, but for a British audience who might
know little about developments in the US. The
challenge is to interpret the scenes on screen into
a form of words which conveys the optimism
shown.
Key features of clip(s)
Activity ideas
Taking the programme further
The above notes are designed to help make maximum use of the individual
clips within the programmes. They could also be used in conjunction with the
recommended web sites as a resource for research. For example, students
might be asked to play the role of film researchers and assess how useful the
clips in this programme might be in a documentary they are making on some
feature of the 1920s. Students could watch and discuss the programme in
class and then view the programme online to tackle the task as a homework.
Here is a suggested framework to help them.
The USA 1920s – research record
Clip
Brief
Could be used to
description
show …
Comments
Also, you can register free of charge on Teachers TV and download the
programme to your own computer. Students could then take the voice over
exercises to the next level by selecting sequences from the programme and
adding their own voice overs and commentaries.