People started to get very interested in the new popular culture. The 1920's was one of the most active and important periods in the more serious arts. Writers, painters, and other artists produced some of the greatest work in the nation's history.
Many of the nation's serious artists had a different and darker view of society. They were troubled deeply by the changes they saw in the country. They started to believe that the Americans had become too interested in money and wealth. Artists rejected the new business society and they also questioned the value of politics. A lot of them believed that the first Word War in Europe had been a mistake to fight in. These artists had little faith in the political leaders who came to power after the war. They felt like they had to protest changing of the world. A lot of serious artists hated the new business culture in this period. One of the writers was Sinclair Lewis. He was the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Lewis wrote about Americans living in the towns and villages in the central part of the US. The men and women in his books were foolish people with empty values and would chase money and popularity. In his famous book, "Main Street," Lewis joked about and criticized small-town business owners.
Social criticism was also central to the writing of the newspaper H.L. Mencken. Mencken considered most Americans to be stupid and violent fool. He would attack their values without mercy.
