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1950s Culture and Society

Discover the significant influence of television on 1950s culture and society through advancements, political uses, entertainment programs, and societal impacts.

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1950s Culture and Society

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  1. 1950s Culture and Society

  2. Did you know that this came out in the 1950s? Silly putty

  3. 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

  4. Politics V.P. Candidate Nixon used TV to appeal to public Checkers Speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjHoH2m3iKA 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 Use of TV

  5. 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 • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdSGjmhtaL0

  6. 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

  7. 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 Technology

  8. 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

  9. “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

  10. 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

  11. 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

  12. ’50s Music • Music = rebellion of youth • Rock ‘n’ Roll: combo of bluegrass & rhythm & blues • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XLYBkPTUM0 • 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”

  13. 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)

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