tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042506089535638301.post8848418801372418592..comments2023-12-06T21:01:37.782-08:00Comments on Darwination Scans: Have You Ever Been Experienced? / Flapper's Experience, October 1925darwinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601838758695937728noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042506089535638301.post-30699261457208858192012-05-07T09:39:13.874-07:002012-05-07T09:39:13.874-07:00The Ngram for usage of the term "flapper"...The Ngram for usage of the term "flapper" in Google Books from 1910-1940. Not an exact science, but always a neat tool for seeing trends in word usage over time:<br /><br />http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=flapper&year_start=1910&year_end=1940&corpus=0&smoothing=1<br /><br />It shows a big jump in prevalence starting in about 1921 and then a gradual petering-off beginning in 1927.darwinationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01601838758695937728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042506089535638301.post-80629846764099435952012-05-07T07:16:27.510-07:002012-05-07T07:16:27.510-07:00Yeah, DS, it's definitely fair to say the flap...Yeah, DS, it's definitely fair to say the flapper phenomenon strictly speaking did not survive in full force the entire decade. The 20s were a time of ballyhoo, the next "new thing", and a roving public eye - the public attention span was very short. <br /><br />You can see in the first incarnation of the magazine the will to capitalize on a surging fad just as the title change to Experience was likely an attempt to cash in on the True Story explosion. In the change of the title back to Flapper's Experience from just Experience two years later maybe there is a move to re-appeal specifically to an established, if forgotten by the mainstream, niche fan base, the mag's bread and butter.<br /><br />The flapper as a character in the girlie pulps, though, even specifically described as such, was still going strong by the birth of the girlie pulp in the last half of the 20s and would continue to decorate the girlie pulps until these pulps died out in the late 30s (long after you see the character being used by Hollywood). Maybe this has to do with the "girl next door" quality of the flapper, her adventuresome and vivacious nature, her sex appeal, or her ability to encompass both manipulating and naive feminine traits (notice you might find all of these qualities in a Playboy model). Labeling a character a flapper was an easy way to bring all of these qualities to bear very quickly, a useful economy in a short story. As a type in the girlie pulp stories, the flapper had a long run.<br /><br />Serendipitously, I've just last night purchased what I think is the first issue of Experience (though I hesitate to mention until the magazine is actually in my hand), so I'll scan it in short order to complete this trio of titles, very exciting. I'll scan that one before I go on to SEX and the subject of sex in the 20s and might meander off to an entirely different subject or two in the interim.darwinationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01601838758695937728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4042506089535638301.post-40990539531017378832012-05-07T01:35:41.074-07:002012-05-07T01:35:41.074-07:00Fascinating article, Darwin, as always.
I wonder ...Fascinating article, Darwin, as always.<br /><br />I wonder if the idea of the flapper wasn't over before the end of the 1920's. Looking back, we associate the concept with the whole of the decade, but did flappers exist until December 31st, 1929? Highly doubtful. Just as today, I suspect that the notion died out slowly and on its own. Maybe that's why the magazine changed its name: "flapper" was already sounding dated.Dad's Stashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15883752456436211178noreply@blogger.com