1950s culture and society. did you know that this came out in the 1950s? silly putty
TRANSCRIPT
1950s Culture and Society
Did you know that this came out in the 1950s?
Silly putty
TV Changes American Life
Scientists worked on TV since 1920s
By end of WWII, ready for home use
Between 1945-1950, 5 million TV’s were sold
In 1959, 40 million were sold
Use of TV
Politics– V.P. Candidate Nixon
used TV to appeal to public
Checkers Speech
– 1954 Senate-Army Hearings
Altered career of Senator Joe McCarthy
Advertising – Combination of
picture & sound had more persuasive potential than radio
– By 1960, TV = major method of advertising
– Commercials developed
Programming
I Love Lucy Texaco Star Theater with
comedian Milton Berle = 1st big hit
– Nicknamed “Mr TV”
American Bandstand appeal from cultural movement of 1950s
– Rock & roll– Hosted by Dick Clark >
forum for artists but also showed fashion/trends
– On TV until 1987
Programming Continued…
Introduction of Daytime dramas (soaps), crime drama, game show
TV guide helped keep track
Some questioned effects on kids
Scandal in 1950s with rigged games (Quiz Show)
1954 CBS & NBC begin color broadcast
Technology
Computer – 1951 available for
commercial use– Called UNIVAC
(universal automatic computer)
– Weighed 30,000 lbs– Cost: $50,000– International Business
Market (IBM)
Polio -Most contagious disease– Worst year on record
1952 with 57,000 cases
– Scientist Jonas Salk developed vaccine
Children
Baby Boom– Peak in 1957– Baby born every 7 seconds
Extra-curricular– Additional opportunities in
Boy/Girl Scouts, music lessons, toys
– 1st generation raised with TV
Dr. Benjamin Spock– Child Care: women stay at home– Not spoil, use discipline– Family dynamics
“Boom”
Economically– Threats of nuclear war but
economic success– World’s greatest economic
power (yet just 67% of world’s population)
Socially– Baby boom– William Levitt created
community of homes (Levittowns)
– Stocked with appliances
New Communities
Levittowns affordable > GI Bill– Not diverse (wouldn’t sell to African Americans)– “Cookie cutter”– Suburbs because crowding in cities
Sunbelt: warmer S.W. part of US– Air conditioning – CA = major destination
Highways – Ike favored highway development– 1956 Congress approved funding for 40,000 miles of
highway system
1950s Rebellion
Many rebelled against sameness & conformity
– Marlon Brando & James Dean (actors)
– Jack Kerouac & Beat Generation took position of outsiders > borrowed language from jazz music & rejected social norms
’50s Music
Music = rebellion of youth
– Rock ‘n’ Roll: combo of bluegrass & rhythm & blues
Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis
– Doo-Wop: “bubble gum” music Angels: “My Boyfriend’s Back” The Penguins: “Earth Angel” The Five Stains: “In The Still of
the Night”
Women
In general, maintained a traditional role Marriage
– Average age for women to marry in 1940= 21.5, drops to 20.1 in 1950
– 1950: 60% of women 18-24 are married Working
– Women = 50% of workforce but earn only 60% of what men do; jobs are temporary & few in upper-management
Rights– Betty Friedan begins women’s rights movement– Activist vs. Housewife (June Cleaver)