[ad_1]
Will the corona pandemic lead to a new edition of the “happy 20s”, the legendary era in Europe and America 100 years ago?
We can experience the same as after the Spanish flu, the pandemic that shocked countries after its outbreaks from 1918 to 1920.
The Spanish flu killed 50 to 100 million people, infected a quarter of the world’s population, and is often considered the worst pandemic since the Black Death in the Middle Ages.
Decades of brilliance
But soon after, a rare flowering period began in many lands. The 1920s were often called “the happy 20s” with us.
The Americans had their “Roaring Twenties”, the Germans their “Golden Zwanziger Jahre”, and in Paris the period was often known by the nickname of the Roaring Twenties, “les Années folles”.
Everywhere, bubbling optimism and cultural creativity surfaced after World War I, and not least after the Spanish flu.
This melting pot of culture is the backdrop for the German television series Babylon Berlin, which takes its action from the metropolis of the 1920s.
There are researchers and economic analysts who believe that the Spanish flu had essential part of the credit that the 1920s became so creative and unbridled.
They believe that we have so much energy left over through the social straitjacket that we all experience during the pandemic that everything points to an increase in the rare when we have seriously cracked Covid-19.
Psychological reaction
The corona pandemic creates the same excess of optimism, creativity and innovation in many of those who cope relatively well during outbreaks.
One of the most prominent commentators is the renowned American physician and sociologist Nicholas Christakis, who works at Yale University, among others.
He has written the book “Apollo’s Arrow” on the effects of the corona epidemic, and believes that it may be appropriate to recall how the Spanish flu from 1918 to 1920 affected society in both the United States and Europe in subsequent years.
Enthusiastic Rus
Christakis believes that an important explanation for the “happy 20s” is how the positive mood at the beginning of the decade emerged from a kind of intoxication of enthusiasm in many of those who survived the Spanish flu. It asks the question if something similar can happen this time as well.
Another commentator, Rayan Rafay, believes that we are already seeing some of the same dynamics in our day that were observed after the Spanish flu.
After the Spanish flu came a decade of innovations: radio became popular, we got a boost in new aviation and car transport. Cinemas celebrated his entry into popular culture. Women took jobs seriously.
Descriptions of the mood after the Black Death in the Middle Ages say that the upswing also occurred after the pandemic had devastated. Monks, priests and nuns went for pleasure, according to contemporary witnesses. Nobody cared about consumption or games.
They all perceived themselves as rich because they had escaped and taken the world back.
The corona pandemic is already having an effect on social changes that we do not fully anticipate today.
Changes come
Many believe that the housing market is about to change because of the pandemic. Watch the debate on home offices, which can become a more important part of work life after the crown.
Social distance also forces many of us to a large digital learning process. We use technology platforms to meet and keep in touch.
Jobs and teaching will not be like before. And maybe our social gatherings are a little different.
There are parallels with the advances of 100 years ago. Today we see the outlines of enormous change through digital innovations that many of us barely understand.
The “happy 20s” also brought about major changes, such as the culture of mass production (radio, cinema) and the introduction of assembly lines in a big way.
Although metropolises are becoming our cultural beacons, cities will also change after the pandemic. Perhaps the tourist flows will weaken and the forces for a simpler life will be stronger than before the crown.
No one knows how far the pendulum reverses after the pandemic. 2021 will be the year of vaccines itself, at least in our part of the world, as it looks now.
We see opportunities, but also the risk of increasing differences. The distance between those who keep their jobs and the growing queue of people who are out of work has increased until 2020. And we see that dissatisfaction has good conditions for growth among the people of our time, just as it did 100 years ago.
He wonders how long young people can tolerate being excluded from the search for homes because prices go up and up.
And the consumption? It can be a real pickup when the wheels really get started again in 2021-2022.
Still, many of us will want a reprise of the Happy 20s.
It is tempting to think that we can look forward to years of optimism and innovation, especially while we are in the celebration of a holiday in which many have to do without a good dose of socializing with family and friends.
The crown is holding us back, but that will soon be the end. Let’s live with the hope of repeating the happy 20’s.
Cabaret and optimism!
