[[quoteright:306:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/x_112658_Life_Magazine_Roaring_Twenties_3352.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:306:The '20s actually ''were'' just like this.]]
->''"Dudes in hats, machine guns, bullets, booze, and the kind of hot chicks you could still unironically refer to as broads..."''
-->-- '''MovieBob'''

A time of [[SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll bootleg, jazz]] and [[TheFlapper flappers]]. Where coffee costs a dime.

The setting of many an [[GenteelInterbellumSetting Agatha Christie]] mystery, this is one era that absolutely lives up to the stereotypes and then some. The [[WorldWarOne Great War]] was over, (most of) the Western world had never been so prosperous - time to [[ItIsPronouncedTroPAY par-]]''[[ItIsPronouncedTroPAY tay]]''!

Style is almost exclusively ArtDeco ''moderne'', all minimalist lines and coolly fluid shapes. (Side point- Art Deco's fascination with streamlining household objects whose actual wind resistance is irrelevant proved popular because levelling incomes led for the first time to a group of people who could afford good design but not household servants. It seems that a streamlined Art Deco lamp is easier to ''dust'' than a frilly Victorian one...)

Dresses are short and so is ladies' hair. Bobbed hair had actually emerged earlier and was popularized during the earlier 20's, while hemlines gradually rose from ankle-to-calf-length in 1920 to knee-length by 1925. Despite those costumes you buy these days, not all dresses were fringed and figure-hugging, and above-the-knee hemlines were nonexistent at any time. Dresses had boxy and boyish silhouettes, dropped waists and were minimally or highly decorated depending on the occasion.

Characters include gangsters and G-men, flappers and their sheiks (sort of proto-{{metrosexual}} young males), languid white movie idols and jolly black jazz singers and dancers, and lots of cheery collegiate types who wear huge fur coats and play ukuleles while shouting "[[TwentyThree 23]] skidoo!" The basic idea was to shock, amaze and amuse at all costs; there were apparently some women of the era who would greet their guests ''in the bath''.

The fun and excitement is only heightened by the fact that much of it is totally illegal, at least in the USA. There Prohibition is in full swing, so gin is made in bathtubs, smuggled by the likes of Al Capone and served only in 'speakeasies', hole-in-the-wall bars highly prone to raids by stolid, humourless cops, or an ambush by the eccentric IzzyAndMoe prohibition agent team in disguise. Unless you're Eliot Ness or one of his [[Series/TheUntouchables Untouchables]], be extra cautious to never insult a tough-looking Italian in a sharp suit, or you'll find yourself looking down the barrel of a Tommy Gun.

However, this growth of the influence of modern life in urbanized northern states ran headlong into more conservative communities, especially in the south which tried to keep modern influences out like the theory of evolution from their schools. The state of Tennessee tried to do so with the Butler Act, which banned evolution from school curriculums. The small town of Dayton, suffering from an economic slump, took advantage of this and persuaded the local teacher, John Scopes, to be indicted under this law in order to have a big publicity trial to bring in the tourists. The plan worked perfectly and the resulting trial proved to be one of the best covered and dramatic with the noted populist leader and religious conservative William Jennings Bryan facing off against the famed defense lawyer and noted agnostic lawyer being the highlight of the event. As it happens, the prosecution's win was never seriously in doubt, but the victory was Pyrrhic for religious fundamentalists with Bryan being publicly embarrassed by Darrow's questioning that forced him to concede that a literal interpretation the Bible was indefensible and he died less than a week later. The trial would immortalized by the classic play, ''InheritTheWind'', and its subsequent film adaptations.

As for entertainment, [[SilentAgeOfHollywood silent films]] starring the likes of Creator/CharlieChaplin and BusterKeaton gained enormous popularity, though the fact that they didn't have sound meant that movies still hadn't killed off {{Vaudeville}} or MinstrelShows just yet. The advent of sound later in the decade finished the job, however. Radio progressed quickly through the last of its experimental phases and was firmly established as a mass-market medium by the end of the decade, while ultra-low-def mechanical television had brief success with early adopters (essentially beta-testing it) before TheGreatDepression and the advent of (relatively) high-definition all-electronic TV killed it off by the mid-30s.

During all this, of course, the relics of TheGayNineties, now doughty dowagers and grumpy old Colonels, look on disapprovingly, from [[DangerouslyShortSkirt short skirts]] and [[TwentiesBobHaircut hair]], to [[UncannyValleyMakeUp make-up]] and [[BarelyThereSwimwear swimming]] [[RhymesOnADime wear]].

One should also note that while things were just swell in America, Britain and much of Western Europe (where it was dubbed TheGoldenTwenties across ThePond), if you were in an area hard hit by WorldWarI (say, [[WeimarRepublic Germany]], [[UsefulNotes/FascistItaly Italy]], Russia, Turkey or the entire Caucasus Mountains region before the Soviets annexed it) this was ''not'' a fun time. However, it doesn't mean that they didn't try, once they were able to pull themselves together again. But in Germany, there are rightwing paramilitary groups who have some very grand ambitions and there will be a few people who get a chilling feeling that [[AdolfHitler one loudmouth Austrian with a toothbrush mustache]] is going to be very big trouble.

America's booming wealth and newfound importance meant that lots of American writers and intellectuals spent time in Europe during this period, soaking up Europe's old culture even as European thinkers dreamed of wiping it all clean and starting over. The contrast between "naive" Americans and "decadent" Europe set a fictional pattern which has endured nearly a century.

[[TheSovietTwenties Soviet Russia]] (called USSR since 1922), after a devastating civil war, experienced a short period of economic growth thanks to the NEP (new economic policy), a series of reforms that allowed free enterprise and private property. A new Soviet bourgeoisie was born, with a penchant for over-the-top parties and a slavish fascination with American fashion, music and dance. The Soviet NouveauRiche (typically called a ''nepman'') was a stock character in 20's Russian satire. Rather funny, they left behind the most durable heritage in Soviet arts and design, as most Soviet architecture and industrial design from [[TheRoaringTwenties the 1920s]] to [[TheSeventies the 1970s]] [[NotSoDifferent was ludicrously similar to period American design]].

Often a nostalgic setting during TheFifties, TheSixties, and well into TheSeventies. This period lasted sometime after WorldWarI till the [[TheGreatDepression Crash of 1929 or just before the New Deal of 1933]]. Understandably, there was much nostalgia for this period as soon as it ended, and a lot of 1930's movies (especially the gangster ones) were set during this decade.

For the 1939 movie of the same name, click [[Film/TheRoaringTwenties here.]]

Also see: TheGayNineties, TheEdwardianEra, TheGreatDepression, TheForties, TheFifties, TheSixties, TheSeventies, TheEighties, TheNineties, TurnOfTheMillennium, and TheNewTens for more decade nostalgia.

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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Twenties Slang]]
!! This ain't baloney, this is [[SeriousBusiness Serious Beeswax]], as most words and phrases originated from this decade, so here are some examples:
* "Ab-so-lute-ly"
* "And How!" - I agree!
* "Applesauce" - Nonsense!
* "Attaboy!/Attagirl!" - well done, son/lad/lass/boy/girl/kid.
* "Baby" - sweetheart, also a respectable word.
* "Bank's closed" - NoHuggingNoKissing
* "Bearcat" - {{Tsundere}}
* "Beat it" or "23 skidoo" - get lost or GTFO!
* "Bee's knees" or "Cat's meow" - an extraordinarily splendid person, idea or thing.
* "Big cheese" - an important person.
* "Big six" - TheBigGuy
* "Blind date" - dating a stranger
* "Bootleg", "hooch" or "giggle water" - alcoholic beverage
* "Bump off" - to kill
* "Crush" - infatuation
* "Dick" - no, not that dick, a private investigator
* "Doll" or "Dame" - sexy lady
* "Double cross" - [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder backstabbing]]
* "Earful" - enough
* "Egg" - Big cheese living the big life.
* "[[TheFlapper A flapper]]" and her "Dapper" - 20s girl and her dad.
* "Fly boy" - aviator
* "For crying out loud!" - the period's BigOMG
* "Gams" - a lady's legs
* "GoldDigger" - woman who marries a man for his wealth.
* "Goofy" - in love.
* "Hard boiled" or "bimbo" - tough guy. Overlaps with big six.
* "It" - sex appeal
* "Kisser" - mouth
* "Middle aisle" - to marry
* "Pipe down" - shut up
* "Sap" - a fool
* "See?" - Essentially a VerbalTic that came at the end of sentences, see?
* "See a man about a dog" - an old excuse to where he's leaving without any apparent reason
* "Sheik" and "Sheba" - man and woman with sex appeal, respectively
* "Swell" - wonderful
* "Torpedo" - a hired gun.
* "What's eating you?" - What's wrong?
* "Whoopee!" - [[HaveAGayOldTime having a gay old time]]
* "You slay me" - that's funny.

[[hottip:*: Had an earful, sap? I have to see a man about a dog, so pipe down or I'll bump ya off, see?]]
[[/folder]]

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[[folder: Popular tropes]]
[[index]]
* ArtDeco in her full blossomed glory.
* BarelyThereSwimwear: nowadays it's an OldTimeyBathingSuit, but it was completely daring on that era.
* BlackFace: [[ValuesDissonance It was the 20's...]]
* CosmicHorrorStory, if you're Creator/HPLovecraft
* DanceSensation / HappyDance: In prosperous times like these, dances like The Shimmy and The Charleston would set the dance floor ablaze with sensational flappers cutting the rug. The former was banned as bootleg, yet praised as a good aerobic dance; the latter became the rage during the rest of the decade.
* DangerouslyShortSkirt: Despite being knee length due to a flourishing economy, they were scandalous, at the time, according to their Victorian parents.
* DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster
* DieselPunk, just starting out with Creator/FritzLang's ''Film/{{Metropolis}}''
* DryCrusader: to those who supported Prohibition.
* TheFlapper
* TheGenerationGap between flapper girls and their Victorian parents.
* GenteelInterbellumSetting
* JiveTurkey
* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy
* SugarWiki/TheLittleBlackDress: Which Chanel [[TropeMaker first designed during this period]].
* NiceHat: Fedoras, newsboy caps, straw hats and top hats for men; tight-fitting, head-hugging swanky cloche hats for women.
* PetitePride: The "washboard" look of the flappers.
* PimpedOutDress: Perhaps the most prominent decade of the 20th century for this trope. There's the figureless beaded chemise dresses as you see on old photographs and fashion magazines, the little black dresses made by Chanel, and then there's the 1920s alternative dress, the ''robes de style'',.
* PrettyInMink: Dyeing furs different colors became popular.
* The end of the Silent Age of [[SilentAgeOfHollywood film]] and [[TheSilentAgeOfAnimation animation]].
* ShesGotLegs: For the first time since antiquity. Whether she had KneeSocks or none.
* ShortSkirtAndKneeSocks: Flappers often had grade A or B.
* TheNewRockAndRoll: Jazz is really the TropeMaker.
* TwentiesBobHaircut: from the classic IreneCastle bob to JosephineBaker's boyish Eton Crop, from the sleek LouiseBrooks cut to the ClaraBow puff and to the wavy Creator/JoanCrawford perm; different styles, same cut.

[[/folder]]

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!!Works set in this time peroid:
[[folder:Anime]]
* ''Manga/ChronoCrusade''
* ''Manga/FushigiYuugiGenbuKaiden'' - The prequel to FushigiYuugi, featuring Takiko aka Genbu No Miko, who lived in this decade's ImperialJapan before being TrappedInAnotherWorld.
* ''Manga/GoldenDays''
* ''Manga/SakuraGari''
* ''Manga/SakuraNoIchiban''
* ''VideoGame/SakuraWars''
* ''Anime/SteelAngelKurumi''
* ''Anime/TaishouYakyuuMusume''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Franchise/{{Tintin}}. First appeared in January, 1929.
** Recap/TintinTintinInTheLandOfTheSoviets (1929-1930).
* The {{Necronauts}} comic is set during this period, and involves several celebrities of the time.
* King Mob of ''Comicbook/TheInvisibles'' gets to travel back in time to the Roaring Twenties.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* ''Film/DickTracy''
* ''Film/TheUntouchables''
* ''Film/{{Chicago}}'' (based on a 1926 play)
* ''Film/SomeLikeItHot''
* ''Film/SinginInTheRain''
* ''Film/MillersCrossing''
* ''Film/TheRoaringTwenties''
* ''The Public Enemy''
* ''The St. Valentine's Day Massacre''
* ''Robin and the 7 Hoods''
* ''Film/{{Leatherheads}}''
* ''Film/{{Metropolis}}'' was released in 1927 and features a futuristic dystopia version of the era.
* Creator/CharlieChaplin movies such as ''TheKid''
* ''Film/OurDancingDaughters''
* ''Lucky Lady''
* ''Film/ThoroughlyModernMillie''
* Creator/DonBluth's ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}''
* ''Film/{{Changeling}}''
* ''Film/TheJazzSinger''
* ''Splendor in the Grass''
* Some of ''Film/MidnightInParis''
* ''The Great Waldo Pepper''
* ''Film/JohnnyDangerously''
* ''[[Film/TheMummyTrilogy The Mummy]]''
* ''[[Theatre/{{Oscar}} Oscar (Film)]]''
* ''Film/BulletsOverBroadway''
* ''SilentMovie''
* ''TheArtist''
* ''Film/TheCatsMeow''
* ''Film/{{Sunset}}''
* ''Film/TheLastGangster'' (the first half takes place in 1927, then there's a ten-year TimeSkip)
* ''Film/OnceUponATimeInAmerica''
* ''Film/TheGreatGatsby''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Most works of Creator/HPLovecraft (1890-1937) not set in a DreamWorld.
* Several ''Literature/JeevesAndWooster'' stories (1917-1966) by Creator/PGWodehouse, and a decent number of his many other ones, too.
* The first published works by Creator/AgathaChristie appeared in this decade.
** ''Literature/HerculePoirot''. The novel series started in 1920.
** ''Literature/TommyAndTuppence''. The series started in 1922.
** ''Literature/MissMarple''. First appeared in December, 1927. Starred in a number of short stories.
* ''Literature/BulldogDrummond''. The novel series started in 1920.
* ''Literature/LordPeterWimsey''. The novel series started in 1923.
* ''Literature/TheMostDangerousGame''. First published in January 1924.
* ''Franchise/CharlieChan''. The franchise began with a series of novels that started in 1925.
* ''Literature/GentlemenPreferBlondes'' (the novel first published in 1925 and the musical later based on it, but not, however, the movie musical)
* ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby'' (1925) is probably the best-known novel set in the 1920s. It features a number of classic elements of the era, including the Depression-era dust bowl, Jazz Age parties, and wealthy bootleggers. For that matter, much of Creator/FScottFitzgerald oeuvre was produced in the 1920s and set there.
* ''Literature/SannikovLand'' (1926)
* Some of Creator/ErnestHemingway's work.
** Including his (actual) debut novel, ''Literature/TheSunAlsoRises'' (1926). ''The Torrents of Spring'' being a blatant SpringtimeForHitler.
* ''Literature/TheHardyBoys''. Series started in June, 1927.
* ''Literature/ElmerGantry'' (1927)
* ''Literature/LadyChatterleysLover'' (1928)
* ''Literature/TheTwelveChairs'' (1928) is a famous depictions of the Soviet 20's culture.
* ''Literature/AlbertCampion''. This series of novels started in 1929.
* ''Literature/{{Bony}}''. This series of novels started in 1929.
* ''Literature/TheLittleGoldenCalf'' (1931) is also set in this era.
* ''Literature/TenderIsTheNight'' (1934) is set in France, but mostly portrays Americans of the era.
* Practically the entire published output of Creator/EdwardGorey (1925-2000).
* The Literature/PhryneFisher mysteries (1989-) are set in 1928 and 1929, in Melbourne, Australia.
* ''TheFullMatilda'' (2004) has events starting in this period. Matilda's main storyline starts here, and she continues to live this lifestyle until the day she dies.
* ''Literature/ThePrincess99'' (c. 2009) takes place in 1924, in New Orleans... but with wizards!
* ''Literature/BrideOfTheRatGod'' takes place in the Hollywood silent film era.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/DoctorWho'', episodes "Black Orchid" and "The Unicorn and the Wasp".
* ''Series/{{Poirot}}'', the TV series; the books actually span a much longer period. (The ''Miss Marple'' series, meanwhile, is set in a different version of this trope - what might be called the suburban one. Middle-aged housewives sit around musing how hard it is to get good help since The War gave the rabble ideas.)
* ''UpstairsDownstairs'' (seasons 3-5)
* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire''
* In the ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' episode "Pardon My Past", Prue, Piper and Phoebe time-travel back to the Twenties.
* ''The House of Eliott''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Magazines]]
* ''Magazine/WeirdTales'' began its original run in 1923.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* Music/LouisArmstrong rose to fame in this decade.
* Al Jolson was really big during this era.
* Music/GeorgeGershwin wrote two of his most popular works, "Rhapsody In Blue" and "An American In Paris", during this decade.
* Music/IrvingBerlin with his musicals and individual songs was rising to fame during this time.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ComicStrip/RupertBear''. First appeared in November 1920.
* ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}''. First appeared in January 1929.
* ''ComicStrip/LittleOrphanAnnie''- First appeared in August 5, 1924.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* The ''TabletopGame/SpiritOfTheCentury'' RPG is TheThemeParkVersion of this decade.
* So too its spiritual ancestor, ''[[TabletopGame/TrinityUniverse Adventure!]]''.
* ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu''
* ''TabletopGame/WraithTheOblivion'''s historical supplement, ''Wraith: The Great War'', is set in this time period, as WorldWarOne triggers upheaval and devastation in the realms of the dead.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: VideoGames]]
* ''VideoGame/RollercoasterTycoon 2'', in the 'Time Twisters' expansion pack, provides a ''lot'' of iconic Roaring Twenties art deco architecture and memorabillia to create a park themed around it. (Literally an ExpansionPackPast?)
* ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy'', set in year 20 of the Taisho era (think ''TaishouYakyuuMusume'').
* Ditto with the sequel, ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon''.
* ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts: From the New World'' is set in the mid-twenties, and one plot thread involves the Chicago mob war.
* ''DangerousHighSchoolGirlsInTrouble''.
* The ''VideoGame/PennyArcadeAdventures'' series
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''LackadaisyCats'', whose only inaccuracy is that the world is populated by [[TalkingAnimal anthropomorphic felines]].
** And the presence of a cathedral radio, and a few anachronistic cars (by ''one year''). And, maybe, checkbooks.
* ''Webcomic/ChessPiece'' takes place at the near end of this decade. Of course, it being an alternate universe, some things are very, very different. Like ghosts inhabiting Antarctica, demons ruling Australia (no, really), and America being ruled by a [[NobleDemon kindly]] [[DarkIsNotEvil demonic-looking]] king.
* ''ProblemSleuth'', save for the occasional AnachronismStew.
* ''[[http://www.allegedwhiskey.com/ Alleged Whiskey]]'' is set in 1928 California, just before talking motion pictures became popular.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* TheSilentAgeOfAnimation was still ongoing, until ''WesternAnimation/SteamboatWillie'' debuted.
* The FleischerStudios produced its first hit series
** ''WesternAnimation/OutOfTheInkwell'' series (1918-1929).
*** ''WesternAnimation/KokosEarthControl'' (1928).
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Talkartoons}}'' (1929-1932)
** ''WesternAnimation/ScreenSongs'' (1929-1938).
* Debuting in 1919, ''WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat'' was arguably the first famous cartoon character.
** ''WesternAnimation/FelixInHollywood''(1923)
* The ''ComicStrip/KrazyKat'' comic strip received several animated adaptations (1920-1921, 1925-1929, 1929-1939).
* WaltDisney got his start in this decade with his company {{Disney}}. His first notable works were:
** the ''WesternAnimation/AliceComedies'' (1923-1927)
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Pete}}'' debuted in 1925.
** ''WesternAnimation/OswaldTheLuckyRabbit'' (debuting in 1927).
** WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts. They start with the Mickey Mouse shorts of 1928.
** MickeyMouse got his start in 1928, at the end of this decade.
** MinnieMouse debuted in 1928.
*** ''WesternAnimation/PlaneCrazy'' (1928)
*** ''WesternAnimation/SteamboatWillie'' (1928)
** The first few ''WesternAnimation/SillySymphonies'' in 1929.
*** ''WesternAnimation/TheSkeletonDance'' (1929).
* WalterLantz got his start in this decade.
** ''WesternAnimation/DinkyDoodle'' (1924-1926).
* ''WesternAnimation/BoskoTheTalkInkKid'' by HarmanAndIsing and his film were both created in 1929. Though the character only got his public debut in 1930.
* ''Disney/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' by Disney is set in 1926, with a prologue set in November, 1912.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' is set in the universe's version of this time period, and the soundtrack shows the influence, with WordOfGod describing it as "If Jazz was invented in China during the 20s."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other]]
* At Knotts Berry Farm, the "Boardwalk" area, which now holds most of the park's thrill rides, was previously called "The Roaring 20s," a literal [[TheThemeParkVersion theme park version]] of the era.
[[/folder]]
[[/index]]

!!Works made in, but not set during the twenties:

[[index]]
* See FilmsOfThe1920s
* See LiteratureOfThe1920s
[[/index]]

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