This collection examines the screen decade of the 1920s. Each chapter examines one year of American filmmaking, identifying major themes, stars, cultural shifts etc. My chapter focuses on 1925, arguing that some of the decade's key debates and themes (tradition vs progressive values; youth culture and beauty culture; debates on gender roles) are evident in a selection of that year's major films.
From the book:
In ten original essays, American Cinema of the 1920s examines the film industry’s continued growth and prosperity while focusing on important themes of the era that witnessed the birth of the star system that supported the meteoric rise and celebrity status of actors including Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, and Rudolph Valentino while black performers (relegated to “race films”) appeared infrequently in mainstream movies