The world has seen periods of wonders so great that they have eclipsed our own 21st Century: the emergence of Egypt, Athens under Pericles and Rome ruled by Augustus, da Vinci's Renaissance and, on the cusp of our own times, a period of intense sexual revival and creativity known as the Roaring Twenties, when theaters and cinemas were palaces that venerated the likes of Valentino and Garbo, undreamed of speed in the forms of automobiles and airplanes, speakeasies where flappers gained the foothold that would eventually give women the vote, industry that brought workers unheard-of prosperity and the homeowner laborsaving appliances, instant communication through the telephone and nightly entertainment by way of the radio. Skirts got shorter, women smoked in public, illegal champagne was swilled in quantity and cocaine made its appearance, along with other drugs. Gigantic sports arenas shot up and the first sports heroes worshipped, cigarettes were shared on-screen between men and women during scenes of the most daring sensuality, languid looks across cabaret tables while listening to jazz, the corruption of the word jasm, meaning spirit, energy and vigor, itself derived from jism: spunk/semen, ground zero of all life, the embodiment of the Roaring Twenties.