A Nation of Hypocrites. Prohibition - A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick

Description

Somehow, even though the sale of alcohol is outlawed, by the late 1920s America has become the world's largest importer of cocktail shakers. As the Jazz Age rallies on, buoyed by an unprecedented winning streak on Wall Street, it seems the party will never end. A new generation of women join the nightclub whirl, and Hollywood and songwriters alike glamorize their drinking, smoking, and dating. The hypocrisies and unintended consequences of Prohibition have become impossible to ignore. Chicago gangs fight brutal beer wars on city streets, unlucky drinkers are poisoned by adulterated liquor, and government agents routinely violate civil rights just to make a bust. To many, including millions of women who once supported Prohibition, the law itself has come to be the greatest threat to American families. By the early 1930s, with the nation now mired in the Great Depression, few care to spend precious resources on Prohibition enforcement. In 1933, the country has finally had enough and repeals the 18th Amendment; for the first time in 13 years, Americans can legally buy a drink.

Runtime

120 min

Series

Subjects

Geography

Genre

Date of Publication

[2013], c2011

Database

Films on Demand

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