Through the Picture Window: Society and Culture

1. 1945-1960 Through the Picture Window: Society and Culture

2. Unprecedented prosperity • The GNP soared from $200 billion in 1945 to $500 billion in 1960 • With just 6% of the world’s pop, Americans drove 75% of the world’s autos, consumed ½ of its energy, and produced almost ½ of its manufactured products • Several factors combined to produce this remarkable econ boom • Cold War defense spending represented the single most important catalyst • America’s commitment to contain C in Europe and fight the KW in Asia pushed the defense budget from $13 billion in 1949 to over $50 billion in 1953 • At the same time, WWII rationing created a pent-up consumer demand for cars, appliances, and most of all new homes in the suburbs Key Economic and Social Trends

3. Suburbanization • Robust econ growth sparked a strong demand for new homes • William Levitt successfully applied assembly-line production techniques to building homes • Levitt’s affordable mass-produced homes provided a model for builders across the country • Of the 13 million new homes constructed in the 1950s, 11 million sprung up in the burbs • G.I. Bill enabled veterans to buy new homes with little or no down payments and then make modest monthly payments for 20-30 yrs • A system of new highways also promoted suburban growth • The Federal Highway Act of 1956 appropriated $25 billion for a 10-yr project to construct a 40,000 mile system of 4-lane interstate highways • The new interstates accelerated suburbanization by enabling people to work in the cities and commute to their homes in the burbs Key Economic and Social Trends

4. The baby boom • The thriving econ provided jobs and incomes that renewed people’s faith in the future • More and more Americans married at an ever younger age • By 1956 the average age of marriage for men dropped to 22 and just 20 for women • The marriage boom triggered a postwar baby boom • The 1950s witnessed 40 million births • They were part of a huge baby boom generation that included 76 million people born from 1946-1964 Key Economic and Social Trends

5. The new cult of domesticity • By 1960 nearly ¾ of all women ages 20-24 were married • The soaring marriage and birth rates encouraged a return to traditional gender roles in which men were breadwinners and women were housewives • The mass media reinforced and idealized the new cult of domesticity • In the popular TV show Leave it to Beaver, June Cleaver is a middle-class housewife who is dedicated to her family • When her kids get home from school, June is usually preparing dinner in her immaculate kitchen • A special issue of Life magazine featured “ideal” suburban housewives who, like June Cleaver, were dedicated to their husbands and children and yet still found time to attend PTA meetings Key Economic and Social Trends

6. Consumerism • The spreading affluence promoted a zeal for consumerism and shopping became a major recreational activity as suburban families drove to the new shopping centers mushrooming across the country • Nothing seemed to occupy more leisure time than television • In 1946 there were just 7,000 TV sets and 6 TV stations in the entire country • By 1953 ½ of all homes had a TV set • Many people rescheduled social engagements so they could be home to watch such favorite shows as TheHoneymooners, Father Knows Best, and I Love Lucy2-1, 5-3 • On January 19, 1953, a record audience turned on over 70% of America’s TV sets to watch an episode featuring the birth of Lucy’s baby Key Economic and Social Trends

7. Social critics • The new suburban lifestyle did not enjoy unanimous approval • Social critics decried mass-production Levittowns filled with endless rows of identical box houses • To these critics the burbs created a superficial lifestyle and a generation of spoiled children • Influential social commentators extended their criticism to the large corporations where many suburbanites worked • In 1960, 38% of the nation’s workforce was employed by organizations with 500+ employees • In his book The Organization Man, William H. Whyte described how the corporate emphasis upon “the Team” created stifling conformity that squelched personal identity • Harvard sociologist David Riesman also studied alienation and conformity in large corporations • In his bestselling book, The Lonely Crowd, Riesman argued that the corporate culture produced other-directed employees who prized getting along above individual risks Social Critics and Nonconformists

8. Social critics • Criticism of the suburban lifestyle was not limited to sociologists • Novelists also joined the chorus of critics who found cracks in the suburban picture windows • For example, Sloan Wilson’s novel The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit tells the story of a young couple, Tom and Betsy Rath, who struggle against the pervasive pressures of middle-class conformity • The book’s title comes from Tom’s sudden realization that “all I could see was a lot of bright young men in gray flannel suits rushing around New York in a frantic parade to nowhere” • Tom then looks at himself and is aghast to discover that he too is wearing a gray flannel suit Social Critics and Nonconformists

9. The Beat Generation • A small but culturally influential group of self-described “beats” also rejected middle America’s carefree consumption and mindless conformity • The beats congregated in SF and NY’s Greenwich Village where they could avoid the “square” world • Beats often met in small bookshops where they listened to jazz, discussed Buddhist philosophy, and read works by popular Beat Generation poets • Jack Kerouac was the best-known Beat Generation author • His autobiographical novel On the Road describes the eclectic mix of people he met on spontaneous road trips across America Social Critics and Nonconformists

10. Artistic rebels • Edward Hopper • Continued to paint in the realistic tradition • His paintings capture the loneliness and alienation of American life • Jackson Pollock • Refused to portray specific subject matter • Instead he created Abstract Expressionist paintings by spontaneously dripping oil on a canvas spread across the floor Social Critics and Nonconformists

11. Office in a Small City – Edward Hopper

12. Nighthawks – Edward Hopper

13. Hotel Lobby – Edward Hopper

14. Automat – Edward Hopper

15. Autumn Rhythm – Jackson Pollack

16. The Succulent Wife – Jackson Pollack

17. Number 5 – Jackson Pollack

18. Blue Poles – Jackson Pollack

19. Rock and Roll • Few Americans read Beat Generation poems or visited trendy art galleries but most Americans did listen to music on their radios • The pop sound that dominated the early 1950s was typically emotionless, cute, and bland • For example, in one hit song a perky Patti Page hopefully asked, “How much is that doggy in the window?” • While white Americans listened to pop music, black musicians combined gospel, blues, and jazz into a new sound called rhythm and blues • Within a short time an increasing number of young white music fans began to buy rhythm and blues records and attend concerts by black performers • A Cleveland disc jockey named Alan Freed renamed the new sound “rock and roll” Social Critics and Nonconformists

20. Rock and Roll • In the Spring of 1953 a poor truck driver dropped into Sun Records in Memphis and politely introduced himself: “My name is Elvis Presley and I want to make a record” • The head of the studio, Sam Philips, soon realized that Elvis was “a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel” • Elvis soon became the best-selling recording artist in America • His songs and sexually suggestive onstage gyrations thrilled teenagers and horrified their parents • In the beginning, rock and roll was the music of teenagers who brought 70% of all released albums • Rock and roll proved to be more than just a passing fad • Like Beat Generation writers, rock and roll singers challenged accepted beliefs about sex, race, and work • Rock and roll soon became the sound that helped shape and define the new teenage culture Social Critics and Nonconformists

22. Elvis Songs • All Shook Up • Return to Sender • Blue Suede Shoes • Heartbreak Hotel • I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You Social Critics and Nonconformists

23. Historically, the 1950s are seen as some of the best times in U.S. History. Discuss the reactions to this time period, both then and now. Prompt #10