50s Culture

Conformity on the outside but rebellion lies beneath

Typical view of 50’s Culture is of conservative, family values

Much conformity Standard values Dad worked, mom stayed at home,

cooked/cleaned. It was a very “swell” era

THE BABY BOOM

HOW DOES THIS AFFECT AMERICAN SOCIETY???

Rise of the suburbs

From 1946 through the fifties, birth rates rise dramatically

Started with Levittowns Formerly a housing

shortage—now people could have own homes

Critics say they bred conformity

Most people quite happy with them.

DOWNSIDE OF THE SUBURBS: White Flight

TAKE NOTES ON DRAWING ON WHITE BOARD

Overall, Family Values Rule

“Leave it To Beaver” America

Underneath the Conformity, Rebellion is Brewing

Many problems not addressed Many historians now look at the seemingly

uptight 50s as being a breeding ground for the rebellion that would bloom in the 60s.

Rise of New Youth Culture

Emphasizes rebellion, alienation, dissatisfaction with 50’s material culture.

Partially a function of the large youth market By mid/late 1950s, the average teen had as

much disposable income as the average family had in the mid-30s.

MOVIES

ROCK AND ROLL

Marketed to youth Started as “underground

music” on black R&B stations

Erupts in 1956 when Elvis goes on the Ed Sullivan Show

Literature

Many books start to deal with alienated youth who dissatisfied with “phonyness” of American culture

The Beats

Most famous is Jack Kerouac (“On the Road,” “The Dharma Bums”)

Criticized by many for content, substance (“That’s not writing—that’s just typing”)

However, many critics see them squarely in a tradition that extends back to other non-conformists like the TRANSCENDENTALISTS

Big influence on 60s counterculture.

Loose Collective of Writers who celebrated underground culture (Jazz, drugs, hitchhiking, Bhuddism, casual sex etc)

Keroac: On The Road

One of the most famous, influential, controversial novels of all time

Originally written/typed on a roll of industrial paper in one unbrokensentencethatwentonforseveralfeetwithoutpunctuation.

Tells sorta true tale of Kerouac’s life on the road.

Another On the Road quote

At lilac evening I walked with every muscle aching among the lights of 27th and Welton in the Denver colored section, wishing I were a Negro, feeling that the best the white world had offered was not enough ecstasy for me, not enough life, joy, kicks, darkness, music, not enough night."- Jack Kerouac, On the Road, Part 3, Ch. 1

Impact of the Beats

Practically create “alternative culture”

They are like Johnny Appleseeds of the Freak Movement.

The Roots of “THE 60s” lie with them.

Women’s Issues

After WWII ends, women go back into the kitchen

Trained basically for roles as wives and mothers, not much else.

Check this stuff out from a 1950s Women’s Magazine

Have dinner ready—Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal—on time. This is a way of letting your husband know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.

  Prepare yourself—Take 15 minutes to rest so that

you’ll be refreshed when your husband arrives home. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. He has just been with a lot of world-weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.

  Clear away the clutter—Make one last trip through

the main part of the house just before your husband arrives, gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband feels he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too.

  Prepare the children—Take a few minutes to wash

the children’s hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair and if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing their part.

Minimize all noise—At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer, dishwasher or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad to see him.

  Some DON’Ts—Don’t greet him with problems or

complaints. Don’t complain if he’s late for dinner. Count this as minor as compared with what HE might have gone through that day. Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind.

  Listen to him—You may have a dozen things to tell him,

but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first. 

Make the evening his—Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax.

The goal—Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can renew himself in body and

spirit.

Women increasingly dissatisfied w/ this role

In the 1950s, Milltown, an antidepressant, prescribed for the “housewife’s blight” was one of the most prescribed drugs in America.

This tells us something and leads us to . . .

Betty Friedan

A book describing the dissatisfaction women felt

Received like a “clarion call” to women everywhere

Almost single-handedly kickstarts the women’s movement.

Overall. . .

Much of what happens in the 60s has roots in fifties.