PARIS FRANCE IN THE 1920s AFTERMATH OF WORLD WAR I / LOST GENERATION 52214

Paris in the 1920s

After World War I, Paris offered a creative refuge for American writers and artists seeking an alternative to the speed and commercialism of industrialized America. The city’s beauty, tolerance, lively cafés, and relatively affordable living drew expatriates. Janet Flanner recalls the era’s bohemian social life, including a memorable late-night dinner with Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce.

Artists and Expatriates

Paris became a center for the so-called Lost Generation. Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Joyce, and other expatriates worked amid a wider artistic ferment that included Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, and avant-garde movements such as Dada.

Flanner describes Stein’s salon as a gathering place and reflects on how Stein’s distinctive way of speaking influenced the rhythms of writers such as Hemingway. Man Ray recalls creating an experimental film by placing objects directly on film stock; its screening provoked a riotous audience reaction.

Nightlife and American Influence

Paris’s nightlife and growing tourist trade catered to Americans, with attractions ranging from music-hall performers such as Josephine Baker to tours seeking the city’s latest sensations. American influence was not always welcomed: crowds in Paris protested the planned execution of Sacco and Vanzetti in the United States.

The period’s glamour extended beyond Paris to the Riviera, where artists, performers, and wealthy international society gathered.

Legacy

The documentary concludes that the era’s frivolity and freedom faded with the Depression and World War II, but Paris’s lasting role as a haven for artistic rebellion endured.

Presenters and Contributors

• Walter Cronkite
• Janet Flanner
• Man Ray
• F. Scott Fitzgerald (remarks quoted in the program)