The Pre-1960s

1. The Pre-1960s Powerpoint 1

2. Pre-World War II America • 1. International Depression • FDR’s New Deal • 2. U.S. foreign policy relations before WWII • Anticommunist • Fairly isolationist • 3. U.S. domestic policies • Racism, sexism, anti-Semitism and other group superiority values prevailed Poverty was (and is) concentrated in inner city and rural areas. White bigotry contributed to minority group poverty. The Southern Jim Crow system imposed apartheid, promoted bigotry, and locked many minorities members in poverty.

3. The Domestic Scene (1940s-50s) • The politics of anti-communism stifled progressive reform movements. • Many conservatives labeled reformers interested in securing rights for women, blacks, students, or workers as “communist sympathizers.” To hear audio excerpts of Joseph McCarthy go to this site. • A “true American” was patriotic, machismo, believed in a Christian God, was opposed to social agitation, and hated communists. • The Cold War was fed by a moralistic rhetoric – we were “free” and our enemies were tyrants (good versus evil). • A fear culture prevailed and fear of domestic communism meant civil rights could be sacrificed. Joe McCarthy, the infamous red-baiter of the early 1950s, promoted fear from the inside – that there were communists in our own hallowed institutions who were undermining our way of life. McCarthy, a conservative Republican, also singled out homosexuals and other marginal groups as threats to our way of life.

4. Four norms aimed at youth Mattel Corporation offered the Barbie Doll beginning in 1959. Barbie symbolized certain values and behaviors considered “normal” in this era for women, particularly traditional gender roles, and the joys of materialistic consumerism. • 1. obey authority • 2. control your emotions • 3. fit in with the group • 4. don’t even think about sex These messages reveal the desire for normalcy and security in a post-Depression, post-war conservative culture. In the 60s, all four of these norms would be rejected by the youth counterculture.

5. Despite the politics of anticommunism, rapid changes were occurring. • Between 1945-1960, the GNP grew by 250%. • At the start of WWII, only 40% of citizens owned their own home. By 1960 it would be 60%. • By 1960, about 60% of citizens were in the middle class, compared with only 31% before the 1930s. • The rise of television greatly altered leisure time activities. • the home became more privatized. • Less going out to public life activities like the movies, restaurants, the ball game, etc. • Emphasis on the private security of the traditional nuclear family, with traditional gender roles too. Levittown, a suburb in New Jersey, was one of the first modern housing developments after WWII. It was built using the basic ideas of an assembly line. New houses were therefore more affordable, especially given the new GI loans available to returning veterans. Americans were getting more affluent.

6. Economic shifts: rise of a post-industrial economy • White collar workers began to outnumber blue collar workers • A new managerial class was emerging: college trained workers for large corporations who were specialists. • Large corporations promoted a new managerial personality that some called “the organization man.” • Conforms to corporate rules. • Sociable and sharp. Conformity to bureaucratic rules would be rewarded by upward mobility within the system, but at the expense of individual autonomy.

7. Suburbia and Consumerism • Between 1950-60, 18 million people would move to the 11 million homes being built in the suburbs. • By 1960, one-fourth of the U.S. population lived in a suburb. Suburbs represented “the good life.” • relative affluence (had $$) • a materialistic, consumption-oriented lifestyle (spends $$) • stability and community (in a volatile world) • privacy • a nuclear family oriented around the kids Suburbs offered comfort and security, but notice two points: (1) the aerial photo suggests homogenization and (2) the TV enjoys the most attention.

8. Consumerism • The new consumerism focused on recreation and the new expectation that life should be fun, as promoted in corporate TV ads. • Families were encouraged to take vacations. • There were new sources of pleasures, like Disneyland. • The station wagon was the family car - the vacation car. • The rise in motels and food chains like McDonalds catered to this new car culture. • Suburbia was to be fun too.. • These new, high expectations influenced youth . Advertising promoted new values and lifestyles. Television became advertising’s new, powerful tool of persuasion.

9. The Price of Suburbia • Suburbs promoted a form of group living that undermined individualism (a core value). • Too conformist, too bland, too uniform, too plastic, too cookie-cutter, too rationalized. • Who would reject suburbia? Non-conformists, and those concerned about authenticity of self. • Existentialists and radicals • Artists, especially the Beats • Social marginals (delinquents, rockers, and other elements of the emerging youth culture) City Lights, in San Francisco, was a haven for Beats during the 1950s and 60s.

10. Women’s Lives • Traditional gender roles placed women in the home as housewife and mother. • The Feminine Mystique (Betty Friedan, 1963). • Young women were socialized to yearn for marriage and children as the single source of fulfillment. This was “normalcy” for females. • any deviation was improper. • This critical book touched a nerve among women, who began to question the patriarchal system. • Women were in a tug-of-war between traditional family values (patriarchal) versus modern values (equality).

11. Women’s Lives, con’t • Anomic conditions could even be found in the 1950s suburbs: • Rising alcoholism and tranquilizer usage. • What was “Mother’s Little Helper” - that little yellow pill that the Rolling Stones referred to in 1965? • Rising divorce rates. • Millions of women had wage jobs, despite the feminine mystique, and most liked their jobs. • It was clear by the middle of the 1960s that women were ready for a change, and patriarchy would come under attack by these emerging feminists. Corporate advertising generally reaffirmed the feminine mystique notion that a woman’s place was in the home.

12. Popular Culture of the 1950s

13. 1. Growth of television • TV dominated the popular culture of the 50s. • TV encouraged a national shared culture. • The family itself adopted and adapted to TV life and schedules. • TV mainly reinforced conservative values, but also teased with breakthrough programs like Twilight Zone, Kraft Television Theater, Playhouse 90, etc. • Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver, Donna Reed Show, Ozzie and Harriet, etc emphasized importance of suburbia, traditional conservative values, the family. The Lone Ranger symbolized rugged masculinity fighting for right on the rural frontier. Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone remains one of the most creative and humanistic television shows ever shown on TV.

14. 1950s Television, con’t • TV was a commercial tool used to reinforce the dominant values of the era: • Materialism and consumerism as a way of life • Hedonism, as defined by capitalists • Progress (capitalist/technological/bureaucratic growth) • Suburbia and the nuclear family • Traditional gender and race roles (sexism, racism) • Law and order • Conformity to authority and to bureaucratic rules • Patriotism and a strong military • Fear of communism and deviance The Lucy Show, though light on the surface, subtly captured women’s alienation in the form of a character who was trapped in the role of housewife by her loving-but-patriarchal husband. Yet at the same time, Lucy was a “silly girl” not to be taken seriously.

15. 2. Films of the 50s Marilyn Monroe symbolized the sexpot image. She was featured on the cover of the first issue of Playboy Magazine (1953), as well as many movies. • Unlike TV, films had more variation, more substance, and more aesthetic interest. • Gender messages were ambiguous. • Doris Day (clean) versus Marilyn Monroe (saucy) • Women were increasingly sexualized, feeding the emergence of a sexual liberation movement. • The ideal man was a rugged individualist. Marlin Brando, seen here in the movie “The Wild Ones,” epitomized rugged youthful masculinity in this movie. The movie explored youth alienation.

16. Existentialism • Themes supported by existentialism. • 1. Individualism against collective conformity. • 2. Free will against determinism. • Fight the power of the machine/bureaucracy/faceless authority to run your life. • 3. Rebellion against the system. Albert Camus, another founder of modern existentialism.

17. 4. Rise of Youth Culture • Before WWII, the generation gap was not wide, and the popular culture of teens was not that different from their parents. The rise of youth culture radically altered the social landscape of the 50s, and especially the 60s. • The baby boom. • The sheer number of teens gave them a sense of their own identity as teens. • Rising affluence and consumerism. • Teens began to get an allowance and became consumers, allowing them to forge their own consumer styles. • Rise of suburbia. • Suburbs allowed larger families centered around the children. Teens developed high expectations about life and pleasure. U.S. birthrate from 1934 to 2004. Notice the spike just after WWII that continued into the 1960s.

18. Rise of youth culture, con’t • Emphasis on school, a differentiated institution with differentiated statuses. • Institutional differentiation encouraged status differentiation, and the teenager became an age-differentiated status, complete with different role expectations. Teens hung out with each other, fostering their own identities apart from adults. Peer groups of teens were powerful influences. • Schools were becoming rationalized, with obedience to rules required. • Teens began to differentiate themselves from the adult oligarchy, and this fostered rebellion against school rules and authority. By the 1950s, most middle class teens received an allowance. They purchased clothes, music, and other styles that differentiated themselves from adults. Industry encouraged the formation of a youth consumer demographic. The generation gap widened dramatically and contributed to the generational conflicts of the 1960s.

19. Anti-authority Anti-rational Expressive behavior Spontaneous Unconventional Informal and loose Personal freedom Instant gratification Irreverent Openly sexualized and hedonistic Pro-authority Rational Instrumental beh. Calculating Conventional Formal Conformity Delayed gratification Serious minded Less openly sexual and hedonistic Teen traitsAdult traits

20. Rise of youth culture, con’t • Teen Values. • Teens forged their own subculture, complete with its own distinguishing values: hedonism, irreverence (to authority), freedom, rejection of rationality, passionate romanticism. • Rock’n’roll emerged as the voice of teen culture. • Hedonistic, sexualized, individualized, youth oriented. • Irreverent. Chuck Berry is one of the founders of rock n’ roll. His race was a concern to parents more than teens.

21. Sources of Discontent

22. 1. The Existentialists • Intellectuals, college campuses, very influential. • Provided an ideological basis for criticism of Western culture. • Emphasis: • Freedom • The now (live for today, seize the day) • Viewing the system as the root problem • Action, change oriented

23. 2. The Beats • Mainstream America had lost its soul. • Too bland, materialistic, conformist, hypocritical, racist, militant, corporate, bureaucratic • The Beats (late 1940s to mid-1960s) rejected suburbia and prided themselves on non-conformity and living life to the fullest. • Open to new experiences (sex, drugs, and be bop) • They made their own rules (do your own thing) • Bohemian existentialists • Rejected the system but did not try to openly challenge it, preferring to live underground. • Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs. Jack Kerouac was one of the founders of the Beats. His best known novel is “On the Road.” This masterpiece is a celebration of Beat values and lifestyles and a rejection of mainstream Western culture lifestyles. To be “beat” is to be down and out yet deliciously open to life and living it to the fullest in every way. Sensual hedonism is one of the many ways to experience life. Many of the beats were artists, musicians, and writers.

24. 3. Juvenile Delinquents • Rebels without a cause. • Teens and young adults who felt alienated from their parents, the system, and mainstream adult authority. • Rejected the system but offered no constructive alternatives other than living in the now and acting out. • Hollywood’s Rebel Without a cause (James Dean) and The Wild Ones (Marlon Brando) sensationalized the juvenile delinquent. James Dean captured the brooding juvenile delinquent in “Rebel Without a Cause.” His character felt alienated from his materialistic parents but could only voice his alienation in reckless actions. They were not artists (Beats) or intellectuals (existentialists). Authorities were very concerned about rising juvenile delinquency during the 1950s.

25. 4. Rock n’ Roll • Helped galvanize youth culture into their own differentiated identity apart from adult authority. • Rejection of old (parental norms and values). • Fed the growing generation gap. • Crossed the race barrier, bringing changes. • Emphasis on physical sensation, pleasure, soul, expressive behavior (loosen up and be free). • Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and ELVIS (the white version of black soul). Elvis Presley galvanized the emerging youth culture of the mid-1950s around the values of rock n’ roll, and because he was white parents (and industry) were a bit more accepting. With Elvis, rock took off among mainstream teens.

26. 5. Civil Rights Advocates • Criticized the status quo and its injustices. • Early emphasis on the need for racial equality. • Advocated a distinct, constructive ideology that promoted humanism and social justice. • Equality • Freedom • Well organized, strong leaders • Supported by the black church and many white churches • Together with the rise of youth culture, this is the most significant force of change to affect the 1960s. • Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr.

27. End of this section.