The American Dream in the Fifties

1. The American Dream in the Fifties

2. The Organization • Changes in Business • More white collar jobs • Conglomerates • Franchises • Social Conformity • No creativity or rebellion • The Organization Man

3. Suburban Lifestyle • Represented “American Dream” • Baby Boom • Largest generation in history (1947-1960) • Changes in childcare and advertisements

4. Automobile Culture • Car Ownership • Interstate Highway System • White Flight • Businesses move to suburbs • Leaves cities “Black, Brown, and Broke” • Increased • Suburban growth • Noise, Pollution, Traffic Jams • Vacation and Travel • Gap between rich and poor • Decreased • Public transportation • Railroad use

5. Consumerism Unbound • Planned Obsolescence • Goods designed to be replaced • Ex: New car models each year • Credit Cards Emerge • “Keeping up with the Joneses”

6. Popular Culture of the 1950s

7. New Era of Mass Media • Mass Media • Communication that reaches large audiences • Rise of Television • FCC regulated television broadcasts • “Golden Age of Television” changes culture • Criticisms • Stereotypes of women and minorities • Only portrays ideal, white America

8. New Era of Mass Media • Radio and Movies • Radio covers more local issues • Movies use 3-D and wide screens to compete with TV

9. Subculture Emerges • The Beat Movement • Centered on non-conformity • Very little structure on artistic works

10. Rock ‘N’ Roll • Artists usually black, listeners white • Parents objected • African Americans had separate stations • “Hound Dog” by Elvis Presley: originally by Willie Mae Thornton

11. The Other America

12. The Urban Poor • By 1962, 1 in every 4 Americans below the poverty line • Inner cities • Stricken by poverty, especially minority groups • White flight • Suburbs largely unaware of poverty • Urban Renewal • National Housing Act • Families displaced

13. Was the American Dream actually accomplished?