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Impacts of mass communication to the society
Social changes in the 1960's
Social changes in the 1960's
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As shown in my essay, those who grew up during the 1950s experienced one of the most dominant decades in American history. This is because of the many different types of media that were available to them. The people of the 1950s saw the development of rock and roll music, which helped them escape the seriousness of reality and let loose. Rock and roll music succeeded in appealing to teenagers because of its exciting back beat, its urgent call to dance, and the action of its lyrics. The people of the 1950s also saw the rise of new technology advancements. The introduction of the television was one of the most popular products during this period of time. The aspect of early television that can never be recaptured is the combined sense of astonishment
During the 1950’s the musical genre of rock and roll was becoming vastly popular (Charlton). The television helped increase this genre’s fame by broadcasting new rock and roll music to the country. By 1954 about 83.2 percent of American households owned a television set (Baughman). TV was a fast and effective way of reaching millions of people which became quite useful to up and coming musical artists. Two television shows that dominated the air in the 50 's were, American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show. These two shows greatly influenced rock and roll, because they changed the perception of rock and roll, provided performers with a large TV audience, and left a
During the post WWII period in America, the face of the nation changed greatly under the presidency of Truman and Eisenhower. America underwent another era of good feelings as they thought themselves undefeatable and superior over the rest of the world. Communism was the American enemy and American sought to rid the world of it. Because of the extreme paranoia caused by Communism, conformity became an ideal way to distinguish American Culture from the rest. Conformity became a part of every American Life to a large extent. It became evident through the medium of culture, society and politics throughout the era of the 50s.
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.
Rock and Roll, as a music genre, has evolved greatly with each decade; some of this is attributed to technology. One of the biggest leaps forward made for technology and the music genre is the widespread commercial popularity of the television. Since its introduction, television has caused the growing genre to rapidly reach mainstream audiences. Though it is this day hard to pinpoint the full impact of this invention to Rock n’ Roll, it is hard to argue that it didn’t help shape it into the powerful industry that it is today. From the Rockabilly era, to the British Invasion, all the way to the formation of MTV; television has attributed to these eras and changes seen in this genre. The importance of television is very high as it allowed stars to be made and stars to be pushed aside. Television has also allowed even the most remote people to know what the latest stars were doing. It can be said that Rock n’ Roll would not have gained its social acceptance without television to bring it into the lime light and causing it to rapidly reach the youths of the era.
As this suburban sprawl of the fifties took America by storm, Spiegel discusses how television provided a necessary means of escapism for frustrated families. The first television show, broadcast in 1949, was a very simple program in which a man and woman sit watching and discussing the TV. Although by today's standards this would be seen as unsurpassingly boring to audiences, this simple show provided a stress relief and easy entertainment; it seemed as though audiences enjoyed watching programs which, similar to their own situation, seemed more rewarding.
Epstein, Dan. 20th Century Pop Culture: The Early Years to 1949. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2001. Print.
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.
America in the 1950s is often characterized with many important social, political, cultural, and economic events. Many aspects of life changed in the 1950s with the ending of World War Two causing veterans to return home, but also the country continued some of its long time traditions. As veterans returned home, men returned to their job, the economy began to boom, and large families began to move to the suburbs. Socially, culturally, economically and politically America in the 1950s challenged, more than embraced the status quo.
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...
While the 1950s and 60s were a time of segregation in America. Most Americans, especially older individuals and groups found the beat and lyrics to Rock ‘n’ Roll sickening. It reminded them of a kind of African American type music. They didn’t like the fact that their children were listening to it because “Rock ‘n’ Roll was credited with and criticized for promoting integration and economic opportunity for blacks while bringing to ‘mainstream’ culture black styles and values.” While Americans began to feel that they were beginning to grow closer and closer to the ways of Afr...
As World War Two came to a close, a new American culture was developing all across the United States. Families were moving away from crowded cities into spacious suburban towns to help create a better life for them during and after the baby boom of the post-war era. Teenagers were starting to become independent by listing to their own music and not wearing the same style of clothing as their parents. Aside from the progress of society that was made during this time period, many people still did not discuss controversial issues such as divorce and sexual relations between young people. While many historians regard the 1950s as a time of true conservatism at its finest, it could really be considered a time of true progression in the American way of life.
Life in America in the 1950’s post war had changed drastically as it offered a brighter future. The American people saw new opportunities and a way of life. Many things contributed to this change such as the baby boom, civil rights movement and the Cuban Revolution, the Cold War, and Art Movements. With the difficulties of the war behind them the decade gave birth to what is know as the ‘suburban dream’, it was expressed through cinema, visual arts movements and literature.
The American society in the 1950’s saw tremendous increases in population and affluence. This addition, termed the Baby Boom, expanded the middle class and introduced new ideas of prosperity to the United States. With new conventions, such as bank loans and credit lines, the spirit of American commercialism thrived. The following decade, however, brought about many changes in the nation’s social, political, economic and philosophical way of life. With the push for social programs and greater equality for the disenfranchised, the progressive movement in America thrived.
Media prospects life in the 1950s as fearless and peaceful, but in reality, the fifties were more complicated than they illustrated on television and spoke about on the radio. America started changing more in 1950s culturally, socially, politically, and economically.
The nineteen fifties was a decade of prosperous times in America, but the average lifestyle of an American seemed extremely dull. The average American conformed to social norms, most Americans in the nineteen fifties dressed alike, talked the same way, and seemed to have the same types of personality. Music is what started to change the conformist lifestyle in America. Teenagers started to rebellion against their families by listening to Rock-n-Roll...