Setting the mood of the 1920s America

Greeper

Hi, H/A!

I'm soon to be gamemastering a pulp Cthulhu campaign set in 1920s Boston, and am looking for material relating to that time period just to help me

a) Set up the mood, including dress, lingo and so forth
b) Get a feel for technological accuracy

obviously a good start is Lovecraft himself, but if there's any recommendations for literature, movies, or light non-fiction that explores that setting well, I'd like your suggestions.

Casual Eddy

the great gatsby!

also a historical textbook might be a bad idea - http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/america7/

that's a fairly decent book

Jasconius

Lovecraft + 1920's = Bioshock.

It's not a completely faithful rendition of the 1920's, but a heavily stylized version. It probably wouldn't be bad to borrow from it though.

The game itself doesn't take place in the 20's but the city itself is made to appear to be inspired by that 20's-30's era.

Alecthar

Alright, well first of all, Prohibition. Any time you think "this scene should be in a bar" remember that there aren't any. Any legal ones, that is. Speakeasies were the name of the game, and they were often masked by legitimate restaurants, or situated in secret rooms entered via camouflaged doors. Some were mobile, setting up in one empty building, only to move to another for the next night. Cops often raided these establishments, if they weren't working with the mob.

An entire culture of organized crime, bootlegging, and combat between the law and criminals began because of Prohibition.

Jasconius

The movie Untouchables perhaps?

Jokerman

The movie you want is Millers Crossing. Speak easies, gangsters, very noir.

Also it's a great Cohen flick.

Chinatown would be another good one.
Isn't who framed roger rabit set in the 20's too?
Pretty much any film noir movie, from the maltese falcon to double indemnity (my favorite from that era) will give you a good feel for the times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRSCV2qc2IY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aifeXlnoqY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3wjJcuGsVE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukwWY2i7hic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkJIcFMN_pc
That last trailer is a great example of the slang and dress of the time.
"I'm sick of taking a scrap from you leo, and I'm sick of the Hi-Hat!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IEet3GLWzs
This clip is a great example of the dress, and style of the period (Especialy the cars), coupled with the usual weapons (Tommy guns etc etc.)


If you want some written material, i would recomend the work of Dashiell Hammett, who work the novels alot of classic film noir is based off of.

AngelHedgie

In a lot of ways, you can't go wrong with watching Baccano! The 1930 and 1931 arcs would definitely give you some context and ideas for your campaign.

Rethius

There's a group of people who create movies based on Lovecraft stories in the art style of the 20's. The first one they did was Call of Cthulhu as a silent film, and they did an incredible job. Right now they're working on a The Whisperer in Darkness. Here's their site.

Also, I know you didn't ask for it, but they have a bunch of free props (Western Union telegraphs, birth certificates, etc.) from the 1920's. I used them for my campaign, and everybody loved them, definitely worth checking out.

PolloDiablo

I'd give a shaky recommendation to the HBO series "Carnivale."

It's a little after that time period, and it's in rural areas, so it might not be good for specific information, but I'd think it could be good for a general feel. Seeing how people interact, the kind of things that are important to them, maybe things like the technology. Plus it's a good show. There are even some elements you might be able to lift that would fit in with the more supernatural aspects of your campaign.

DarkPrimus

Look into music that was popular in the period. Mainly because jazz is always awesome to listen to.

Aurora Borealis

umm.. istead of watching movies/reading books, etc that are About the 20s- why not watch movies and read books that were, I dunno, Made in the 20s? I'm thinking like old silent films, there ain't no source like a primary source.
Try Der Blue Engel- Marlene Dietrich, a classic. Oh, and the silent horror films would be awesome for your purpose- I'm thinking like the original Nosferatu, and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Get a good sense of how people of that era were thinking about the supernatural.
And some Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd for your populist comedies- there's some really good stuff about everyday life, and also they are often still really funny.

Cervetus

If you don't just want to focus on white people you could read Passing, which is about technically black people passing for whites in 20's Chicago. And it was contemporary, to assuage the above poster.

SniperGuy

Alecthar wrote: »

Alright, well first of all, Prohibition. Any time you think "this scene should be in a bar" remember that there aren't any. Any legal ones, that is. Speakeasies were the name of the game, and they were often masked by legitimate restaurants, or situated in secret rooms entered via camouflaged doors. Some were mobile, setting up in one empty building, only to move to another for the next night. Cops often raided these establishments, if they weren't working with the mob.

An entire culture of organized crime, bootlegging, and combat between the law and criminals began because of Prohibition.

But quite a few places, the cops did not care. Alot of speakeasies ran pretty openly with little worry for police action.

The Road to Perdition is a good movie that might help a little. Don't forget WW1 just ended and people are still a bit racist towards the Germans, and excited it's over.

Madpanda

I played tabletop CoC for a few years. When we did the 1920's one of the props we had was the 1924~ sears catalog. I picked it up on ebay for about $5 shipped and it was used as pretty much the primary price/here is what is available easily item list. Also flapper/jazz era slang was encouraged, you can easily find lists of this online. You can also find templates for old newspapers that are good for mission briefings/handouts.

truck-a-sauras

set in Boston huh.... don't forget the letter R is pronounced "ah" unless it is the first letter of the word.

noir_blood

The Great Gatsby.

Even if you were't running a campaign, everyone should read that book.

mere_immortal

I think Road to Perdition was set in the 20s too, should give a decent look at costumes/music.

A great movie on its own aswell.

Niceguy Myeye

You can also read King in Yellow by Robert Chambers. It's a bunch of short stories that inspired the Hastur part of the Lovecraftian mythos.

Edit: Also, check out the gams on that dame.

Dalboz

I'll third The Great Gatsby.

I don't remember many details about The Untouchables movie, but the TV series from the early '90s would be a good one. It may not be easy to find, though.

dispatch.o

http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/devilinthewhitecity/home.html

This is perhaps one of the coolest books ever. It's about the first Worlds Fair in Chicago. Even though it's not Boston, I think it would help a great deal. It's set in 1893, which is a little earlier than you wanted, but it captures everything perfectly about the period.

Plus it's about a murderer and how women would just go missing all the time and no one cares.

Edit: It would probably provide enough material for it's own campaign entirely after more consideration.

ilmmad

truck-a-sauras wrote: »

set in Boston huh.... don't forget the letter R is pronounced "ah" unless it is the first letter of the word.

Just remember the Boston alphabet:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh S T U V W X Y Z

Wassermelone

a. You shouldn't be advertising your business without asking the mods first

b. This thread is three years old.