American Culture In The 1920's

901 Words2 Pages

“Citius, Altius, Fortius,” meaning, “Faster, Higher, Strong,” is the Olympic Motto. From the 1920s to modern day, this motto still holds true. While the motto is still the same, there are many other aspects of American culture that have changed. The 1920’s were characterized by flappers, automobiles, nightclubs, and jazz. Today modern culture is labeled as the technology age, and our obsession for celebrities, including Olympic athletes, is seen through social media and television. Women have taken on more of a leadership role in today’s society, advertisement and broadcasting have had an enormous influence on audiences, and amateurism of the Olympic Games has since phased out, there are still various similarities and differences between the …show more content…

Advertising today compared to the 1920’s has increased dramatically, but the goals have stayed the same. For the first time, the 1920 Antwerp Olympics programme was filled with a large amount of corporate advertising. Coca-Cola in 1928 began its partnership with the Olympic Games, and concessionaries were allowed to operate restaurants within the stadium. (100 Years of Olympic Marketing , 2017) Companies still try to have brand loyalty and advertise to gain a profit through recognition. The difference from the 1920’s is through the technological advancements todays culture has gone through. In the 1920s advertising was mostly done through radio and billboards. Today, we are reminded of different brands through television and constantly see companies endorse different athletes on …show more content…

The sense of amateurism in the modern Olympic games has been lost. Today, we see professionals from basketball teams across the world, NHL players, and other sports compete in the games. Most athletes that compete in the games receive money from the federal government for representing their country, while some receive lucrative sponsorship deals through fortune 500 companies. (Deidra, 2015) By allowing professional athletes to compete, the level of competition and difficulty has increased. In 1928, Percy Williams won gold with a time of 10.8 seconds in the 100-metre sprint (100M Men , 2017), while Usain Bolt won gold in 2016 with a time of 9.81 seconds. Athletes today begin training as kids and dream of one day competing in the games, most never get the opportunity, but those that do are immortalized in their country. Most notably for the United States, Johnny Weissmuller. Weismsmuller won three gold medals in 1924 and two in 1928. He went on to play Tarzan in several movies after his Olympic career. Today, Olympians such as Michael Phelps and Steven Lopez, 2004 and 2008 taekwondo gold medalist, can be seen on various television shows, proving Americas love for winners and Olympic

More about American Culture In The 1920's

Open Document