About Mitzi:

Mitzi March Mogul was born and raised in West Hollywood, California. She is a historian and Historic Preservation Consultant, specializing in the architecture and social history of the 19th and 20th Centuries. She writes, lectures, and lends her considerable experience to preservation causes at home and abroad. Mitzi has worked for a number of organizations both locally and abroad, including the Community Redevelopment Agency, Los Angeles Conservancy, Heritage Square Museum, Victorian Society of Great Britain and the Prince of Wales’ Foundation for Architecture. Among the preservation projects she has worked on locally are the Max Factor Building/Hollywood Museum, Mel’s Drive-In, Dominguez Wilshire Building, Desmond’s/Wilshire Tower, Hermosa Beach Community Center, Café Club Fais Do Do, and many others. Organizations for which she has lectured include the Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio Foundation, Society of Architectural Historians, Friends of Hollyhock House, Fresno Museum of Art, Pierce College, Philbrook Museum, American Institute of Architects, and her work has been published in a variety of publications: L.A. Architect, American Bungalow, Collector Magazine, to name a few. She has served on the Board of Directors for Heritage Square Museum in Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation. Mitzi has been featured on radio and television shows discussing historic preservation and architectural history. She has traveled extensively exploring the world of Art Deco. During her 15 year tenure as President of the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles, Mitzi chaired the host committee for the Fourth World Congress on Art Deco in 1997 and served for two years as Facilitator for the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies. In what passes for her spare time, she is a singer/songwriter with a CD to her credit.

Funnies & Flappers

Everyone is familiar with the image of the flapper–the modern, carefree woman who embodied the spirit of the Jazz Age. The flapper seized the opportunities which presented themselves after World War I, the better to demonstrate her new political, social, and economic freedom. She was young and brash, uninhibited, sometimes impudent. She behaved with abandon, knowing that her youth alone would absolve her of any lasting censure. This privilege allowed her to try all manner of pursuits in search of a new feminine identity. The character of the flapper became a useful vehicle for socio-political commentary: films, literature, and music all used the flapper as an artistic device. There were also the expected socio-political cartoons, which either portrayed the flapper in a derogatory way (representing the downfall of civilization) or as a positive influence (the “old” ways hamper progress). These appeared as political cartoons do: in magazines and newspaper opinion pages, but there was another medium in which commentary was secondary. It combined entertainment with simple chronicle–a humorous record of social changes, human foibles, and everyday life: the funny papers. The funnies, the comics, took all sorts of characters and put them into serialized stories which reflected life the way it was or the way it could or should be. Many of these characters and stories became as important to readers as the hard news. They assumed a place in popular culture that influenced people’s real behaviors, attitudes, language–a little bit of art imitating life imitating art. One of those character types is the flapper–so overlooked in the pantheon of the comics. This presentation will explore the role of the flapper in the funny papers. How many different ways was she portrayed–in other words, how was the flapper seen as part of modern society? Was she capable or silly, hardworking or lucky, a modern original or quickly passé? Who was this “new” woman? What did she say about society? Was she here to stay or simply a novelty? These comics reflected the changing roles of women and the ways in which they asserted their independence. From hair and clothing styles to making their way in the world, the choices they made changed history. Just as millions of women in America identified with “Cathy” throughout the 1980’s and 90’s, readers in the 1920’s and 30’s recognized themselves and their friends in “Tillie the Toiler,” “Winnie Winkle,” and “Polly and Her Pals.” “Blondie” celebrated her 86th Anniversary in 2016 (although she doesn’t look a day older than she did in 1930!). If Blondie doesn’t fit your image of a flapper, think again (and come hear the rest of the story!). Some of the artists who created the strips were women, which is another aspect to the story. This is a fun presentation, but it also offers a new perspective on one of the most enduring (and endearing) icons of the Art Deco era. It is always difficult to determine how conditions coalesced to create a style or to what extent style influenced conditions, but it’s probably fair to say that the flapper was a singular sensation at a moment in time that cannot be retrieved. Examining the flapper in this medium may be seriously funny.