Commercialization of Leisure

                                                         Everyone is Equal When Having Fun

The social classes in the late 19^th century could be defined based on the amount of time each group had for leisure. The working class Americans had hardly any time, if any, to lie around and relax or be with family. Most of the parents and kids were always at work – 10 hours a day 7 days a week. While the whole family was at work, the upper class would be out on their patio having tea and smoking cigars. However once machinery took over the labor of most jobs this created the middle class and more time for leisure. This machinery also created new places and things for this middle class to utilize for recess. Technological advancements have allowed the commercialization of leisure to take hold in America.

Baseball stadium packed full of people in Boston 1888

Before there was machinery to relieve workers of back breaking jobs for 10 hours a day, the working class had no free time. If they wanted time to relax they would have to put the burden of their job onto someone else while they were gone. Machinery finally began to make for faster production, letting the working class have a little more spare time because they did not have to work as long. The machinery not only helped the pains of working in a factory, it also aided to create new attractions for families and adults. Different places were constructed including: vaudeville houses, amusement parks, arcades, and even dance halls. Though the classes were still separated they each had their own fun that they enjoyed. The working class enjoyed going to baseball games and movie theaters and even joined volunteer fire departments. Conversely, the upper class would still keep their distance from the working class and do the same activities. The advancement in technology did not only allow for more free time and places for people to go, it also removed the working class. It created what is now called the middle class.

Surf Avenue, Coney Island, New York

The middle class was those from the working class and the upper class. The working class transformed from people working all day long to the modern day work hours. This gives them time to be with their families and live life to its fullest. The increase of the advanced technology allowed for the creation of more amusement parks, movie theaters and even urban night clubs. In New York, the new middle class resulted in the construction of Coney Island. Coney Island was the Six Flags of the late nineteenth century. This utopia attracted people of all class. It did not matter how old, gender you were, or even your race or social standing. Commercialized forms of cross class and mixed gender proliferated through the social norm. Coney Island was originally a male vice full of brothels, saloons, and gambling houses. Then with the help of technology such as colored lights, motors, and especially

Gotham City, six flags

electronics, Coney Island transformed. It transformed into a place that is more than lights and sounds, it transformed into a place where people could get away. They could get away from all the oppression in the city and work and walk in on exoticness and excitement. There were Ferris wheels, girls, restaurants, and concert halls. The favorite place for people of any importance to go to was the Nickelodeon. It is a movie theater where the admission was only a nickel and there was only one type of admission, general admission. There was no VIP or anything special for the upper class, this is how the classes changed when technology advanced.

                Through technological advancement, there has been advancement in the commercialization of leisure. This was because of the different machines that were created in this era. This created a large advancement in the merging of classes and leisure as a whole. The merging of classes was what determined whether or not the commercialization of leisure worked. It meant that leisure was a common ideal and regardless of social status, there were affordable options for this new leisure time, regardless of economic circumstances.

Works Cited

Beckman, John. American Fun: Four Centuries of Joyous Revolt. Print.

"About This Collection -- America at Work, America at Leisure: Motion Pictures from 1894-1915 | Collections | Library of Congress." About This Collection -- America at Work, America at Leisure: Motion Pictures from 1894-1915 | Collections | Library of Congress. Library of Congress, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2014.

http://www.loc.gov/collection/america-at-work-and-leisure-1894-to-1915/about-this-collection/

"Digital History." Digital History. Digital History, n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2014.

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3316

"Having Fun: Leisure and Entertainment at the Turn of the Twentieth Century | EDSITEment." Having Fun: Leisure and Entertainment at the Turn of the Twentieth Century | EDSITEment. EDSITEment!, n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2014.

http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/having-fun-leisure-and-entertainment-turn-twentieth-century#sect-resources

Sizer, James P. The Commercialization of Leisure. Vol. 1917.: R. G. Badger, Ebook.

https://play.google.com/books/reader?printsec=frontcover&output=reader&id=Qk8EAAAAYAAJ