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Dissent and Discontent

Dissent and Discontent. What lies beneath the prosperity?. Many people were critical of the 1950s lifestyle Although many people had more , was life better ? What is the American Dream?. Quantity vs. Quality. “Fitting in” came at the cost of individuality Power of advertising

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Dissent and Discontent

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  1. Dissent and Discontent What lies beneath the prosperity?

  2. Many people were critical of the 1950s lifestyle • Although many people had more, was life better? • What is the American Dream? Quantity vs. Quality

  3. “Fitting in” came at the cost of individuality • Power of advertising • Power of television • Was it really a “vast wasteland”? • Which is better: to be like everyone else or alienated? • Catcher in the Rye Conformity

  4. Beat Generation Writers and artists who rejected societal norms Anti-conformity and materialism of middle class life in America Their individuality and creativity lead to the hippies of the 1960s

  5. Allen Ginsberg “Howl” Anti-capitalism, militarism, conformity Free speech advocate Vietnam War protestor

  6. William S Burroughs Novelist, poet, spoken word performer Naked Lunch Junkie Lifelong drug addict

  7. Not all of America saw the gains of the suburban middle-class • Cycle of poverty • African Americans in inner cities, whites in rural parts of the country, and Latinos in both Poverty

  8. Cities hit hardest w/ rise of suburbs • As many minorities moved to cities for jobs, many whites fled to suburbs • Took income, wealth, and tax revenue to suburbs with them • Shift in political power hurt cities • Fewer services and increased crime rates Urban living in decline

  9. Sounds good…mixed results • Greater concentration of poverty • Can the cycle be broken? Urban Renewal

  10. Those who didn’t move toward cities never felt the decade’s prosperity. • Black, White, Latino…it didn’t matter • Large scale farming became cheaper • Few jobs • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMfWSPVzIls Rural Poor

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