Transcript 50s Culture - WordPress.com

50s Culture
Conformity on the
outside but rebellion
lies beneath
Typical view of 50’s Culture is of
conservative, family values
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Much conformity
Standard values
Dad worked, mom stayed at home,
cooked/cleaned.
It was a very “swell” era
THE BABY BOOM
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HOW DOES THIS
AFFECT AMERICAN
SOCIETY???
Rise of the suburbs
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From 1946 through the
fifties, birth rates rise
dramatically
Started with Levittowns
Formerly a housing
shortage—now people
could have own homes
Critics say they bred
conformity
Most people quite
happy with them.
DOWNSIDE OF THE SUBURBS:
White Flight
TAKE NOTES ON DRAWING ON WHITE
BOARD
Overall, Family Values Rule
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“Leave it To Beaver”
America
Underneath the Conformity,
Rebellion is Brewing
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Many problems not addressed
Many historians now look at the seemingly
uptight 50s as being a breeding ground for the
rebellion that would bloom in the 60s.
Rise of New Youth Culture
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Emphasizes rebellion, alienation,
dissatisfaction with 50’s material culture.
Partially a function of the large youth market
By mid/late 1950s, the average teen had as
much disposable income as the average family
had in the mid-30s.
MOVIES
ROCK AND ROLL
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Marketed to youth
Started as “underground
music” on black R&B
stations
Erupts in 1956 when
Elvis goes on the Ed
Sullivan Show
Literature
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Many books start to deal
with alienated youth who
dissatisfied with
“phonyness” of American
culture
The Beats
Loose Collective of Writers who celebrated underground
culture (Jazz, drugs, hitchhiking, Bhuddism, casual sex
etc)
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Most famous is Jack Kerouac
(“On the Road,” “The Dharma
Bums”)
Criticized by many for
content, substance (“That’s
not writing—that’s just typing”)
However, many critics see
them squarely in a tradition
that extends back to other
non-conformists like the
TRANSCENDENTALISTS
Big influence on 60s
counterculture.
Keroac: On The Road
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One of the most famous,
influential, controversial
novels of all time
Originally written/typed on a
roll of industrial paper in one
unbrokensentencethatwenton
forseveralfeetwithoutpunctuati
on.
Tells sorta true tale of
Kerouac’s life on the road.
Another On the Road quote
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At lilac evening I walked with every muscle
aching among the lights of 27th and Welton in
the Denver colored section, wishing I were a
Negro, feeling that the best the white world had
offered was not enough ecstasy for me, not
enough life, joy, kicks, darkness, music, not
enough night."
- Jack Kerouac, On the Road, Part 3, Ch. 1
Impact of the Beats
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Practically create
“alternative culture”
They are like Johnny
Appleseeds of the Freak
Movement.
The Roots of “THE 60s”
lie with them.
Women’s Issues
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After WWII ends, women go back into the
kitchen
Trained basically for roles as wives and
mothers, not much else.
Check this stuff out from a 1950s
Women’s Magazine
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Have dinner ready—Plan ahead, even the night
before, to have a delicious meal—on time. This is a
way of letting your husband know that you have been
thinking about him and are concerned about his
needs. Most men are hungry when they come home
and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm
welcome needed.
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Minimize all noise—At the time of his arrival, eliminate all
noise of the washer, dryer, dishwasher or vacuum. Try to
encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him.
Greet him with a warm smile and be glad to see him.
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Some DON’Ts—Don’t greet him with problems or
complaints. Don’t complain if he’s late for dinner. Count
this as minor as compared with what HE might have gone
through that day. Make him comfortable. Have him lean
back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the
bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.
Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in
a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to
relax and unwind.
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Listen to him—You may have a dozen things to tell him,
but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk
first.
Make the evening his—Never complain if he does not
take you out to dinner or to other places of
entertainment. Instead, try to understand his world of
strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax.
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Prepare yourself—Take 15 minutes to rest so that you’ll
be refreshed when your husband arrives home. Touch
up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh
looking. He has just been with a lot of world-weary
people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His
boring day may need a lift.
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Clear away the clutter—Make one last trip through the
main part of the house just before your husband
arrives, gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper, etc. Then
run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband feels he
has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give
you a lift too.
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Prepare the children—Take a few minutes to wash the
children’s hands and faces (if they are small), comb
their hair and if necessary, change their clothes. They
are little treasures and he would like to see them
playing their part.
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The goal—Try to make your home a place of peace and
order where your husband can renew himself in body and
spirit.
Women increasingly dissatisfied w/
this role
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In the 1950s, Milltown, an antidepressant,
prescribed for the “housewife’s blight” was one
of the most prescribed drugs in America.
This tells us something and leads us to . . .
Betty Friedan
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A book describing the
dissatisfaction women
felt
Received like a “clarion
call” to women
everywhere
Almost single-handedly
kickstarts the women’s
movement.
Overall. . .
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Much of what happens in the 60s has roots in
fifties.