the roaring 20's

There is a lot of organized crime in this picture. The picture is busy and doesn't have anything you immediately focus on. it draws your eye more in a circle around the table, making the viewer scan the number of people drinking alcohol and involving themselves in illegal activities. The crime in this picture is rampant, nearly every person is drinking alcohol. The picture shows how normalized it is to be drinking in the 1920's, even though there is prohibition and alcohol is illegal. The picture also emphasizes the glamour of drinking in the 1920's. because it was so expensive, due to being illegal, only the wealthy could drink alcohol creating a glamorous feel to breaking the law and it brought along an uprising of organized crime and glorification of it. 

Though the 1920's are portrayed as glamorous and roaring, it didn't roar for the minority. The minority classes were excluded in aspect of life, jobs, restaurants, living spaces. This picture draws a divide between the life white people get to live and the lives minorities live. The fence is symbolic of this divide, as it divides the black man from a job. At first the picture looks normal, like someone looking at a help wanted sign, but then the eye is drawn to the racial discrimination and the fact that theirs a person who has to live on the other side of the divide. 

Culture boomed in the 1920's with new music and art. Jazz music became incredibly popular at time. Because it stemmed from the black culture it created a feeling of pride among the black communities. Jazz tied the culture of the 1920's together, and it became the music of the era. Jazz brought the nation together and broke down barriers between black and white. The picture emphasizes black pride. The eye is first drawn to the drum in the center advertising themselves. The advertising itself shows black pride in their knowledge of being good enough to be advertised. The people are posed in fun, jazzy poses, as if ready for a fun night out. The suits show class and elevation in who they are as people.