Another avenue of entertainment in the 1950s, was the beginning of rock and roll. 'Rock Around the Clock' by Bill Haley, came out in 1954 and was seen as the end of civilization. Most parents saw this form of music as immoral and rebellious. Young women twirled around in their poodle skirts and pinch-waist dresses to this new era of music, while young men wore slacks and suits with their slicked back hair. Jukeboxes, diners, and ice cream shops, were the hang out places for teenagers. Pick the song you want and dance the day away. Entertainment in the 1950s was engaging, energetic, and exciting. Education in the 1950s was also a healthy balance. Creationism was taught in the schools with everything linking back to how God had 'planned' things …show more content…
to be. Because of the 'Red Scare,' math and science were very much stressed during this time. Congress has also passed the "National Defense Education Act," which gave more money to scientific equipment, both private and public. It also provided scholarships and students loan to graduating students. This was in addition to the GI Bill that had just been passed, giving free college degrees out to veterans who had fought in World War II. Obviously, this was a time of intelligent, educated people. High school students and veterans alike were getting government aid to go to college. With God still taught, children being told that a creator had created them, and a bright future ahead of them, the American society had reached its pinnacle. The 1950s were a time of prosperity and peace. The world had been saved from Hitler, the Great Depression had finally ended, and men were returning home to their families, girlfriends, and wives. Optimism was the general feeling, and America as a whole felt like they could accomplish anything and everything. God was the center of most families and greatly stressed in almost all areas of life. Success, winning the war, and love, were all a reflection of God's grace on their lives. If only we still thought like that in present day America. Summation: The 21st Century and 1950s are drastically different in their ideologies, principles, and worldviews. One favors Secular Humanism, while the other takes pride in "One Nation, Under God". What caused this inexplicable gap? Was it the baby boomers, who grew up in a time of great prosperity that their parents had built, thus seeing no need for the Lord? Or was it something much simpler, like the rise of pornography, or the depreciation of the family? Possibly, the former explained the later. A comparison of the two opposing ways of life may shed light on how we should approach our society today. When it comes to the Government of today, versus the 1950s, the Bourgeois culture that predominantly reigned in the 1950s is all but gone.
Socialism has crept in and slowly begun the process of centering the economy's values around equality and safety, aka a Welfare State. This has created laziness and reliance on government funds. In comparison, the 1950s had no Welfare State, and fostered an atmosphere of hard work. 1 Timothy 5:18b says, "The laborer is worthy of his wages." The government is also no longer trusted or relied upon by the American people. The general consensus when it comes to the government is a doomsday mentality in the 21st century. Why the shift from the 1950s to now? If the president is assuring the less fortunate that they will get food, insurance, and housing, than why is there not more trust? Mostly likely, all of the secrets surrounding president after president built up over time and now we are paying the cost. One things for sure though, the government of the United States of America in the 1950s versus today, was more reliable, trustworthy, and …show more content…
moral. The same can be said about the family. The bonds between mother and father were more reliable, trustworthy, and moral during the 1950s. How disgusted people would be in the 1950s if they could see us today, divorcing left and right and abortions by the hour. The gender role confusion in present day has probably been the main killer of the family. In the 1950s there was no 'confusion.' A man knew his place and a woman knew hers. It was a much simpler time. The American 'traditional family' was thriving and for the most part, was a healthy environment for children to grow up in. Today, mommy and daddy issues are the norm. If children are the hope for the future, and their growing up already impeded by their familial issues, then shouldn't we as a society be doing our best to change that? The negative societal switch between today and the 50s can be traced back to the faith of the nation.
Atheism in our culture today has disrupted the government, family, entertainment and the education system. Selflessness was highly esteemed in the 50s, but today, being selfish is your 'human right.' Saying that America is founded on everyone's 'pursuit of happiness', does not give a person the right to leave behind responsibilities, and family for the sake of pursuing their whims. God calls us to serve others, be there for our family, and perform our responsibilities with a joyful heart. The answer in the 21st century is too often found within ourselves. We are the cause of our happiness. We are the cause of our success. We are the solution to other's problems. Although in the 1950s, God was the reason for the nations success. God was the reason they had won World War II. God brought them out of the Great Depression. When man takes what is rightfully God's glory, and steals it, the results are devastating. Therefore, the government, family, entertainment and education system of today are suffering because of our inability to look beyond ourselves and point to
Him. Trying to steal God's glory is apparent in the educational system of present day America. Creationism, the belief that a higher being (God) created life, was the modus operandi in the 1950s. Not many people deterred from this dogmatic belief. Fast forward 50 years, and life began with a spark. An accidental spark, no less, just appeared somehow, somewhere, and BOOM, human beings came forth from monkeys. Once again, individuals are stealing God's glory! They simply cannot give praise to some higher being than themselves. The inability to look beyond one's self, even in the educational system, is ignorance. Perhaps the most debated topic in current Christian churches, is entertainment. Entertainment is a conglomeration of a society's beliefs and principles, played out in everyday fun activities, movies, music, and books. For the church today, all areas of entertainment go against God's holy word. In addition, the internet has to be thrown in there which brings a whole other slew of morally corrupt ways to entertain oneself. Pornography has blown up with the legalization of it in the 1960s and with the widespread use of the internet. Hanging outside with family or heading down to the local diner is no longer qualified as entertainment, but a chore. Entertainment has to be fast paced, loud, and up in your face. Movies spew gore left and right, while sexual innuendos and partial nude scenes are the norm in all PG-13 movies. In the 1950s the only icon who exuded "look at my body," was Marilyn Monroe, and she's more iconic now, then she was then! The entertainment industry caters to what the people want, and in the 50s, that was mainly a healthy, moral, and communal, desire. Once again, to state what Amy Wax wrote about the dominate Bourgeois culture in the 1950s, "[…] Would the re-embrace of bourgeois norms by the ordinary Americans who have abandoned them significantly reduce society's pathologies? There is every reason to believe so. Among those who currently follow the old precepts, regardless of their level of education or affluence, the homicide rate is tiny, opioid addiction is rare, and poverty rates are low. Those who live by the simple rules that most people used to accept may not end up rich or hold elite jobs, but their lives will go far better than they do now. All schools and neighborhoods would be much safer and more pleasant. More students from all walks of life would be educated for constructive employment and democratic participation." While the American people spewed hate speech about this article and ideal, it needs to be indoctrinated back into society if we expect things to get better. In the past, people were much more content with their wages, housing, transportation, and family. Today we must risk it all and gain everything, or risk it all and lose nothing. We always expect the first to happen though, therefore, people continue to take risk after risk. Maybe if the generations in the 21st century would learn to be happy with what they do have like in the 1950s, then maybe the American economy would begin to improve. The two opposing eras, the 1950s and present day, formed people with entirely different worldviews. The same country, only fifty years apart, and the two generations have barely any similarities. One upholds freedom, Christ, optimism, and strong Biblical morals, while the other misinterprets the 'pursuit of happiness,' thrives on selfishness, has settled in a constant state of depression, and does not uphold Christ or his precepts. The two eras couldn't be more different. Although, the one thing that will always tie generations, families, eras, and people together, is the Gospel. Through Christ we are all forever linked in an unbreakable bond. No matter the mistakes of the 1950s, or our mistakes today, God still forgives our iniquities. No generation is hopeless, even if the 21st century looks God forsaken. There is always hope in Him.
Good evening and welcome to The History of Television. On tonight’s show we will focus on how and
How many people today watch family sitcoms to imitate or compare values with their own? Probably not as many as there were in the 1950s. In Stephanie Coontz's "What We Really Miss about the 1950s", she discusses why people feel more nostalgic towards growing up in the 1950s, and how she disagrees that 1950s wasn't the decade that we really should like or remember best. Apart from economic stability, family values played an important part then. Through television sitcoms, such as "Leave it to Beaver", "Father knows Best", families watched them to make sure they were living correctly. It was like guidance and somewhat reassurance. However, values of families have changed, and this is shown on sitcoms today. We watch sitcoms today for entertainment, and sometimes we can relate to them because the setting is realistic. In the modern sitcom, "Gilmore Girls" characters and plot are used to demonstrate family values such as gender roles, children roles, economic status, morals, ethics and general organization of a family that differ from the values shown in the 1950s sitcoms.
Technology in the 1950s started with many great innovations that shape the way we live now. Probably the most important innovation of television was the introduction of cable T.V., television broadcasting, sitcoms and talk shows. Television went though many changes in its younger years. The way T.V. Developed in the early years is the foundation for what we watched now days. Transitory radios became very popular in the fact that Music could be heard in any location because it was now portable. Still T.V. Innovations were what the 1950s were all about from a technology and the birth of the T.V. show.
Stephanie Coontz raises a lot of controversial issues about the 1950s in her essay “What We Really Miss About the 1950s”. She talks about the widely held belief that life in the 1950s was much better than it is today, and contradicts these myths, sometimes using her personal experiences while growing up to illustrate what it means to live in the 1950s. She talks about the Pros and Cons of life in the 1950s and argues that things aren’t always what they seem to be.
Although its initial peak of success occurred in 1956, rock and roll had been developing since 1951. The introduction of the 45 rpm disc, transistor radio, and television; and finally, its lively, upbeat sound all contributed to the success of rock and roll(Peterson, 102- 104). The “baby boomer” generation after the Second World War, was a major influence on the success of rock and roll. Unlike their parents, this g...
A family has always been expected to be a loving and caring environment with support and communication, but this sometimes does not come naturally to soon to be parents. Some get caught up specifically in bad things, perhaps their upbringings are to blame or maybe the individual could take all of the responsibility. When a society chooses what is to be socially acceptable, that limits relatives to only one kind of family and the object becomes destroying all other kinds. The 1950s was a time when technology wasn’t a big distraction from loved ones. Joyin Shih feels her true self being targeted by others, even her own family, in attempt to destroy her true self in her article, “Chyna and Me”. Alex Williams may also be missing the 1950s an article by Stephanie Coontz called “What We Really Miss About The 1950s” because he finds that families may not be as caring as they used to be in fact he argues that families are becoming more isolated than ever in his article “Quality Time, Redefined”. Good gives people a lot of frustration, more the division than the “good” because not all families coming from different cultures, different religions, and different ideas can fit into one mold that is called “acceptable”. The more connected individuals are to the Internet the fewer individuals are connected to each other. Technology should not be the biggest tool of communication in a family.
The 1950s seemed like a perfect decade. The rise of suburbs outside cities led to an expansion of the middle class, thus allowing more Americans to enjoy the luxuries of life. The rise of these suburbs also allowed the middle class to buy houses with land that used to only be owned by more wealthy inhabitants. Towns like Levittown-one of the first suburbs- were divided in such a way that every house looked the same (“Family Structures”). Any imperfections were looked upon as unfavorable to the community as a whole. Due to these values, people today think of the 1950s as a clean cut and model decade. This is a simplistic perception because underneath the surface, events that took place outside the United States actually had a direct effect on our own country’s history. The rise of Communism in Russia struck fear into the hearts of the American people because it seemed to challenge their supposedly superior way of life.
The rise of rock and roll into the limelight is to a large extent attributed to the teenagers of the 1950’s. Early rock music listened to by teenagers during the 1950’s was formed by blending together Rhythm and blues with country music. This kind of ...
In the late 1800's, American society began to burst with cultural activity. After the Civil War and the Reconstruction, Americans were eager to return to their normal lifestyles. The period that followed, however, was quite different from what the country was used to. During the war, many pushed hard for a rise in industry, leading to an explosive industrial revolution far beyond what people had expected. America's business and economy had boomed, and, as the new century approached, many had a new outlook on life. They were eager to escape the dull regiments of both the past Victorian era and the new urban lifestyle. This was easy for the upper and middle classes, both of which were growing due to the rapid increase in industry. It was great news for entrepreneurs and business people of the time, because there was money to be made in this desire for amusement. Of course, this was not the whole story of the new Gilded Age, but it was definitely an era of growing leisure time and the business that came along with it.
The Fifties were a good time to be a white middle class American These years brought an UN-thought of prosperity and confidence to Americans who barely remembered the Great Depression. Popular music of the early fifties mirrored the life of mainstream America: bland predictable and reassuring. Which didn't seem bad after the depre...
Rock and Roll was the start of a new revolution in America. It introduced the world to many of the famous artists that continue to be a part of our lives today. "Artists who became popular in the 1950s such as Elvis, began to pave the way for others such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly" (The History of Rock 'n' Roll until 1960). With the introduction of rock 'n' roll, there came many new changes to the lives of many Americans. Rock and Roll was a major contributor for the change in teens' behavior in the 1950s because it encouraged new freedoms for teenagers, encouraged new fads among teenagers, and caused a generation gap.
Powers , Richard . "1950s Teenagers." Social Dance at Stanford. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. .
The ‘Golden Age of Television’ is what many refer to as the period between the 1950s and 60s when the television began to establish itself as a prevalent medium in the United States. In 1947, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), and the Du Mont Network were the four main television networks that ran stations with regular programming taking place. (Television, 2003) While regular television programming was a new innovation, the television itself had been commercially available for over twenty years prior to the 50s. It was conceived by many worldly innovators and went through several testing stages before it was finally completed in the late twenties. The three main innovators were Niplow - who first developed a rotating disk with small holes arranged in a spiral pattern in 1884, Zworykin - who developed the Iconoscope which could scan pictures and break them into electronic signals (a primitive form of the Cathode Ray Tube) in 1923, and lastly Fansworth - who demonstrated for the first time that it was possible to transmit an electrical image in 1927. (Rollo, 2011) However, one of the many reasons why this medium was successful in the 50s was due to the fact that it became more accessible to the public. Television sets were more affordable to middle class citizens which created further interest in the new technology. Through an historical account of the medium, the spread of television across America throughout this particular decade will be examined.
The 50's marked a beginning for a new era of music to be known as Rock &
Atheism is a touchy subject, this paper does not seek to answer whether a God exists, but rather the misconceptions people might hold over nonbelievers. There are misconceptions surrounding atheism due to its connotation, the misunderstanding of their morals, and how they view religion(s). According to pewresearch.org the people who identified as atheists in the united states doubled from 2007-2014 in the United States. Since being a secularist can get you killed in 13 countries currently, we should do our best to educate ourselves to avoid being ignorant or bring discrimination to these people. Although the United States allows for religious freedom, a 2012 Gallup poll shows voters in America are least likely to vote for an atheist president than anyone else.