fabricated pasts

8/21/2019 Fabricated Pasts

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FABRICATED PASTS



For some, the idea of

the past is grand and

romantic. People often

feel nostalgic about

a decade they never lived in

latching on to the notion thatthe past is always somehow

better than the present. Why

is that? The media is a huge

inuence in American culture.

We are exposed to so many

media portrayals of things

like people and culture that

those portrayals eventually

become how people percieve

and remember them, no

matter how stereotypical or

far off those representations

are. People are nostalgic

about the past because often

times the media portrays an

idealized version of it. As a

result, people forget about thestruggles of those decades

and yearn for those “better

times”. The 1920s, 1950s, and

the 1980s are three different

eras that have a lot of these

types stereotypes associated

with them. The following

pages compare the media

representations of these

decades to the realities of

those times.



s1920

The



in the media When I asked a group of people whatcomes to mind when they thinkof the 1920’s, the most commonanswers were alcohol, partying,

wealth and flappers. In the mediaand popular culture the 1920’s isoften portrayed as a time of greathwealth and lavishness. One of themost well known media portrayalsof the 1920’s is F. Scott Fitzgerald’sThe Great Gatsby. The book as wellas the 2013 movie paint an idealizedand nostalgic version of The RoaringTwenties complete with flappers,parties, jazz, and money.

IN reality Although The Roaring Twenties isoften portrayed as a time of greatprosperity, the reality was thatonly 58% of the population was

above the poverty line. This createdtension between the wealthy andworking class people (farmers,factory workers etc.). Prohibition inthe 1920’s, the law that banned thesale of alcohol, also led to a spike inorganized crime. Another glaring

reality of Americn culture in the1920’s was the revival of the Ku KluxKlan. The 1920’s marked a wave ofracism and violence that started asocial conflict that would last fordecades after.



T h e

5 0 s

1 9



When people think of the 1950s they usually

think of “perfect”, white, suburban families,

diners, poodle skirts and leather jackets as

well as the idea of the “obedient housewife”.

Some well known media portrayals of the

1950s are the TV show, Leave It To Beaver,

and Johnn Depp's movie Cry Baby. Leave It To

Beaver, particularly, emphasizes the “stay at

home mom” and reinforces those stereotypes

of 1950s suburban life. Cry Baby reinforces

stereotypes of greasers and straight edge

suburbians. It has everything from the typical

rebellious guy and girl greasers to innocentsuburban girls in big, long skirts. These and the

majority of other movies and TV shows that

are set in the 1950s depict that decade as

a suburban paradise where nothing bad ever

happens.

IN THE MEDIA IN REALITYThe 1950s was not as perfect as the media so

often portrays it. One part of the 1950s that is

often overlooked is the reinforcement of gender

roles and sexism. The wife was expected to

care for the home while the husband had a

real job and provided for the family. The men

were treated as superior to women. Anything

that upset this idea of “perfect”, like interracial

relationships and homosexuality, was intensly

frowned upon. Homophobia was extremely

prevalent during these times. Homosexuals had

to hide their real selves in order to avoid violence,

discrimination and humiliation. The biggestpolitical issue during that time was The Cold

War and the after effects of World War II. As a

result, the 1950s saw an increased paranoia of

communism and nuclear warfare.



1980sthe



Some words, I discovered, that

people associate the 80s with are

“big hair”, “glam” and “neon”. All

of these words having to do with

the aesthetics of the 80s. The

1980s is often portrayed in the

media as a decade of crazy, colorful

fashion and aesthetics, originality

and the “more is better” mentality.

The movie, Hot Tub Time Machine,

has a number of 1980s stereotypes

including cassette tapes,

multicolored spandex, shoulder pads,

gerri curls and the idea that the

80s was a better time than the

present. In popular culture, the 80s

is also often associated with thegreat technological developments

with 80s movies like Tron and

Back To The Future supporting

those tropes. These portrayals

have greatly infuenced how people

perceive the decade and why people

think “everything was better in the

80s”.

IN THEIN REALITYMEDIADespite its colorful media portrayals,

the 80s still had a lot problems

that are not usually adressed when

discussing this decade. The 80s is

known as “The Reagan Era”. President

Reagan’s conservative ideoligies sought

to restore “traditional American

conservatism”. There were a lot of

budget cuts under Reagan which caused

an even bigger divide between the

rich and the poor in addition to

worsening race relations. Drug culture

was also gaining popularity among the

youth. It was prevalent in a lot inner

city neighborhoods and many became

addicted with little to no treatment

available in that time. The 1980s alsosaw a rapid increase in AIDS victims.

During this time AIDS was associated

with being homosexual. Those who

were open about their sexuality were

ostracized and those with the disease

were treated like lepers.

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