The Roaring 20s: 20th century trends due to make a return this decade

With the darkest days of the pandemic now behind us, a number of journalists and cultural commentators have predicted that we are on the cusp of the ‘roaring twenties’ for the 21^st century.

Although this might sound like a bizarre, if not outlandish statement to make. There are a number of synergies and similarities between the conditions that gave rise to the ‘roaring twenties’ in the 20^th century and the political and social conditions we now face as a society.

Perhaps most obviously, the original roaring 20s occurred when European and North American society emerged from the dual shocks of the First World War and a devastating global flu pandemic which had gripped the world for much of the preceding decade.

Following this, there was a societal shift towards making up for time lost during these dark years, with a new-found emphasis on the arts, cultural events, joyful hedonism, partying and the pursuit of pleasure.

This gave rise to a number of unique cultural trends, which many commentators are predicting will make a return as we emerge from the pandemic.

One of the trends that looks set to make a strong return are casinos. In the 1920s, casino culture developed rapidly, with many of the casino games we are now familiar with switching from the traditional ‘parlor game’ setting of the preceding decades to the more modern casino game setting we are now familiar with.

A similar trend could occur in coming years, particular as land-based casinos and online casinos experience surges in customer demand. With that said, it is worth keeping an eye out for the best payout online casino Canada as consumer demand begins to rise!

Another trend we could see making an epic come back in the coming years is nightclub culture.

Interestingly, the roaring 20s was when nightclub culture as we now know it first got started. This also had close links to the emergence of jazz and swing music, with late-opening nightclubs providing an outlet for this new and exciting form of music and dancing.

In this history, we can see close parallels to the situation we face today. With nightclubs having spent the majority of the last three years shuttered, we are already beginning to see the signs of a strong resurgence in nightclub attendance.

If the roaring 20s were defined by music, song and dance, this might also prove true for the 2020’s!

When considering some of these cultural outputs, however, we must also realize that they weren’t just the product of pent-up hedonistic desires.

Instead, these changes were reflective of deeper cultural and political shifts underway at the time — particularly as they were related to the war and pandemic taking place in the previous decade.

As part of this, women increasingly fought for and attained more rights and freedoms in society, with the equal voting rights movement both gaining momentum and bringing about actual change during this period.

Similarly, workers’ rights movements became increasingly prominent in this decade, with a range of labor movements taking shape throughout the roaring 20s.

With these political changes in mind, we are arguably beginning to see a similar societal upset progressing in the 2020s. Not only has the pandemic brought about significant changes in how we work — with working from home now quickly becoming the norm — it has also brought into sharp relief many socio-economic inequalities. As such, workers’ rights movements have seen a resurgence in places such as America, with unionization once again becoming a hot button topic.

These synergies and similarities do not seem lost on us. The growing popularity of period dramas set in the 1920s acts as a potential indication of a return to the social, political and cultural momentum of this time.