Final answer:
Silent movies and their stars in the 1920s created an atmosphere of glamour and escapism, leading to a mass culture and significantly influencing consumer behavior with widespread movie attendance.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the 1920s, silent movies and the stars that shined through them not only provided an avenue for escapism but also helped shape the consumer culture of the era. The allure and glamour of movie stars like Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, and Clara Bow captured the nation's imagination.
These actors became icons of a new form of media that reached Americans en masse, creating a mass culture for the first time and uniting people from different backgrounds. The movie industry, centered in Hollywood, capitalized on this cultural shift, developing films that resonated with audiences and were economically viable to produce.
Movies also served as a form of entertainment that allowed Americans to escape from the realities of their daily lives, especially during the tough times of the Depression.
This ethos of escapism, combined with advancements in technology and entertainment, contributed to changing patterns of leisure and consumption, with the rising popularity of movies being a primary example. The movie industry's impact was so profound that it increased weekly movie attendance to ninety million, illustrating a significant effect on consumer behavior and leisure activities.