The 1920s and the Jazz Singer The Roaring Twenties refer to the decade of the 1920s in which society flourished culturally and economically. It was then that new technologies such as the automobile and the telephone were introduced and that it was booming artistically. Hollywood was growing at a rapid pace because the new art form of entertainment, film, was a huge success. Movies were a respectable mode of entertainment and were relatively cheap. In 1927, Alan Crosland's The Jazz Singer emerged as a trendsetter and the new cinematic paradigm changed forever. The Jazz Singer tells the story of Jackie Robinowitz, the son of a cantor who wants to become a jazz singer. While The Jazz Singer doesn't fit into a specific cinematic movement; However, it significantly marks the period in which it was made. With the success of The Jazz Singer, the film industry saw the emergence of a new genre, the musical, as well as the emergence of sound and look features prominently during the 1920s. , American assimilation. The Roaring Twenties were an extravagant, indulgent time, especially in film and entertainment. The 1920s were the decade of Picture Palaces, large theaters that could hold 100 orchestras, more than 1000 guests and were dressed in the glamor of the decade. At the end of the film, Jack Robin has finally entered the world of entertainment and appears in one of these movie palaces. Modern audiences can see the extravagance of the mansion with its grand architecture and Jack Robin's name written in lights on a billboard the size of a modern Jumbotron. The city is lit up by dozens of billboards flashing bright lights that illuminate the dark sky above. Through this scene, the audience... middle of paper... flocked to the cinema. Works Cited Carringer, Robert, L. The Jazz Singer. Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1979. Green, Stanley. Hollywood musicals year by year. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation, 1990. Kenrick, John. “History of the 1920s Musical Stage: Keep the Sun Smilin’ Through.” Musicals 101. Last modified 2003. http://www.musicals101.com/1920bway.html.Kirle, Bruce. Unfinished Show: Broadway musicals as works in progress. Carbondale, Illinois: The Board of Trustees, Southern Illinois University, 2005. The Jazz Singer. DVD. Directed by Alan Crosland. 1927; Los Angeles, California: Warner Brothers Video, 2007. Thompson, Kristin and David Bordwell. History of Cinema: An Introduction. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Virdi, Jyotika. “The advent of sound”. Classroom lecture, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, October 29, 2013.