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1950s families vs today
The influence of television 1950s
Family life during the 1950s
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In the 1950s, family dynamics in post war period of WWII embodied the relationship between children and their parents. The suburban family lifestyle in the community centered on conformity –family togetherness involved parents taking interest in their child’s life. The coexistence of Americans in the Fifties perceived the relationship between children and adolescents to their parents as rebelling against parent authority. Such scenarios such as, “Live My Own Life,” an episode on a TV shows Father Knows Best, Bud Anderson feeling resentment toward his parents, because his dad disapproves of the activities he wants to enjoy. The episode shows that Bud wants to grow up even though his parents continuously treat him like a kid. Another distant relationship between children and parent is the literary text, “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury. In Bradbury’s text, the children’s self refinance on technology replaced the parents absent role in the family. The theme of depending on technology, abandonment, and man versus machine justify the parents’ blind sight, enabling technology to supply happiness in the children’s lives. The discourse in the Fifties was self-reliance, where children persuaded with their parents to give in their every whim.
The episode “Live My Own Life” on Father Knows Best, Bud feels that he has reached the end boyhood and is ready to become a man. For instance, Bud uses his dad’s shaver and begins to shave before school starts. The main concern is Bud’s dad, Jim Anderson, who disapproves of his ideas, which include Bud motor scooting with his friends at the stone quarry. Jim condemns the idea without raising his voice or emoting anger, but stating his reason that he is concerned for Bud’s safety; since, the stone quarry i...
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...nt, and children begin to defy their parents. Children in the Fifties growing up expected their parents to set the example by not being rigid or setting a standard to live by. The Fifties introduced children independency by living on their own and making their parents appease their every need. The mother was always the concerned parent looking out for their children, while the father handled disciplinary actions and tried to resolve conflicts. In both, “Live My Own Life” and “The Veldt” the parents were not able to handle their situation attentively, resulted in their child’s opposition. Child development of the Fifties existed with defying their parents and rebelling, which led to juvenile delinquency. The American Fifties emerged with children’s subjective view against their parent, and retaliating caused middle class children seen as “good kids” behaving badly.
After viewing an episode of I Love Lucy, positive aspects of family and financial issues can be clearly seen in the 1950s. The Ricardo's are middle class, Ricky works as a club band leader and Lucy stays home and `poured all her energies into their nuclear family.' (37) This is a positive side of the 1950s because compared to a few decades before, `women quit their jobs as soon as they became pregnant,' (36) and concentrated more on raising children. These families were much more stable and made almost `60 percent of kids were born into male breadwinner-female homemaker families,' (37) which is a important factor for children to have a good childhood.
Elaine Tyler May's Homeward Bound weaves two traditional narratives of the fifties -- suburban domesticity and rampant anticommunism -- into one compelling historical argument. Aiming to ascertain why, unlike both their parents and children, postwar Americans turned to marriage and parenthood with such enthusiasm and commitment, May discovers that cold war ideology and the domestic revival [were] two sides of the same coin: postwar Americans' intense need to feel liberated from the past and secure in the future. (May, p. 5-6, 10) According to May, "domestic containment" was an outgrowth of the fears and aspirations unleashed after the war -- Within the home, potentially dangerous social forces of the new age might be tamed, where they could contribute to the secure and fulfilling life to which postwar women and men aspired.(May, p. 14) Moreover, the therapeutic emphases of fifties psychologists and intellectuals offered private and personal solutions to social problems. The family was the arena in which that adaptation was expected to occur; the home was the environment in which people could feel good about themselves. In this way, domestic containment and its therapeutic corollary undermined the potential for political activism and reinforced the chilling effects of anticommunism and the cold war consensus.(May, p.14)
During the 1960s many people who could not have children turned to adoption. Some women were persuaded to give up their children even though they were capable of take care of the child. The social, economic and religious pressures help women make the decision for them. Sometimes they were pressured to give up their child because they were not married and adoption was better than abortion.
...parents were much more successful in the working world encouraged him to complete many daily activities such as choir and piano lessons. His parents engaged him in conversations that promoted reasoning and negotiation and they showed interest in his daily life. Harold’s mother joked around with the children, simply asking them questions about television, but never engaged them in conversations that drew them out. She wasn’t aware of Harold’s education habits and was oblivious to his dropping grades because of his missing assignments. Instead of telling one of the children to seek help for a bullying problem she told them to simply beat up the child that was bothering them until they stopped. Alex’s parents on the other hand were very involved in his schooling and in turn he scored very well in his classes. Like Lareau suspected, growing up
“To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today,” states Barbara Johnson, an award-winning Christian author. Parents have natural laws for caring for their children and protecting their youth as a family. Examples of this are supporting children throughout their lives, teaching kids the basic principles of life, and giving the youth restraint and control to expand safety. But, as many kids have experienced, some parents definitely are unable to follow these rules. The narrative The Veldt by Ray Bradbury not only places the reader into a house of the future, but also demonstrates how parents overlook their children when their lives are so far apart. This story puts our minds into the character George Hadley as he and his wife start to become suspicious of their children’s thoughts coming true in the mysterious, active nursery of the future-like home. After finally realizing what their kids have become, the parents finally recognize how little concern they have for their youth. Generally,
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.
Oftentimes, children who don’t take accountability for their actions become spoiled and despotic. Many of these children are unsupervised by their parents, giving them total freedom. Author Ray Bradbury acknowledges this sentiment and incorporates it into his work in literature. Bradbury expresses the notion that spoiled children are largely influenced through technology and neglect from his use of foreshadowing, allusions and symbolism in “The Veldt.”
The 1950s was a time when American life seemed to be in an ideal model for what family should be. People were portrayed as being happy and content with their lives by the meadia. Women and children were seen as being kind and courteous to the other members of society while when the day ended they were all there to support the man of the house. All of this was just a mirage for what was happening under the surface in the minds of everyone during that time as seen through the women, children, and men of this time struggled to fit into the mold that society had made for them.
The father’s upbringing was such that financial stability was the priority. The child learned that dads are busy and do not have time to spend with their children. What a devastating realization for a child to conclude. Yet like most little boys, this one wanted to grow up to be like his role model, no matter the example. During the time from childhood to adolescent, parental influence can be either beneficial or detrimental. If the parents have a stable home, clear boundaries and open communications with their teens, the transition could flow easier. The perfect father does not guarantee the child will not rebel.
THOSE OF US WHO grew up in the 1950s got an image of the American family that was not, shall we say, accurate. We were told, Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver, and Ozzie and Harriet were not just the way things were supposed to be—but the way things were
The text depicts a historical perspective on Middle Childhood, as during the twentieth century, children were viewed primarily as an economic source of income, in terms of providing for the family. According to the text this happens often in European counties and in parts of the United States. Elizabeth D. Hutchinson, Dimensions of Human Behavior The Changing Life Course 3rd, 2008. In this short review we will look at how this historical perspective in itself is not a question to how, but when these individual give.
Growing and developing into contributing adults is a difficult but necessary part of life. In Ray Bradbury's short story “The Veldt” George and Lydia are the parents of Peter and Wendy, two spoiled kids who are dependent on a technology driven house. In a house that does everything for them, the parents forget to provide them with the one thing they actually need, nurturing. George and Lydia crossed the line between nurturing and spoiling resulting in both kids having no affection towards them.
Rosen, Christine. "The Parents Who Don't Want To Be Adults." Commentary 127.7 (2009): 31. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
The definitions of a family today and a family in the past are far from similar. The definitions may have some similarities but they have changed dramatically in many more ways. 50 years ago, families had rules that were stricter and families were closer in the sense of a relationship. Although some families today are more distant from each other and have fewer rules to maintain order, there are still some that maintain the same styles of the families 50 years ago. Families have changed a lot but still have some similarities depending on their home-life.
In America, the society runs on what teenagers want. From Nicki Minaj to the junior section at Sears, most of what the people see, hear, or touch is aimed at the teenagers. Being an adolescent is probably the most exciting and most popular time period in a person’s life. The teens seem to have it all, but what about the parents who raise them? The parents of the teenagers never get any credit during this time period, although they have every right to. Parents and teenagers should strive for a strong, lasting relationship for these years, though most times there isn’t one. The relationship between teenagers and parents is the most vital bond in the family because this relationship should and will prepare them for the next step in life.