Part 1: Summary Stephanie Coontz's essay `What we really miss about the 1950's' is an essay that talks about a poll taken in 1996 by the Knight-Ridder news agency that more Americans preferred 1950's as the best decade for children to grow up. Coontz doesn't believe that it is a decade for people to remember fondly about, except for financial reasons and better communication within families. Coontz doesn't believe in it as the best decade because of the votes, the 50's only won by nine percent, and especially not by African Americans. Examples from family and financial issues in the 50's that makes it better than other decades from 20's to 80's. She doesn't believe that the 50's should be taken `literally' because from 50's there were changes in values that caused racism, sexism discrimination against women. Even though the 50's were good, it didn't lead to a better 60, 70, and 80. Part 2: Question I love Lucy was a very popular sitcom in the 1950s. Through humor and plot it brings out more of positive aspects and less of negative aspects for the 1950's that Coontz described in `What we really missed about the 1950s.' 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. Ricky Ricardo is a Cuban, and with his job, it is probably clear to say that he doesn't have a high education but he can still earn a living to support his family. So in the 50's `there were jobs for people who dropped out of high school' (41) that was also supported by federal assistance programs which helped many families to get through. It seems that in the 50's, wages often increased and there were `corporate pension plans and health benefits' (43) these were maybe why people who were working during the 50's were so in favor of this decade.
From the outside, the 1950’s was a great time for America. Society revolved around the idea of America being a middle-class nation. Americans worshipped conformity, and materialism satisfied the need to conform. However, the prosperity of materialistic America hid the growing, numerous problems. Dissent in any way was not tolerated; all injustice was stifled by a fear of difference. In “Fifties Society,” Alan Brinkley discusses the truth of the era; that the fear of nonconformity was hidden by the seemingly prosperous middle-class nation. Brinkley argues the Beat movement and “feminine mystique” show that the people who did not fit in reveal the true colors of 1950’s society.
As mentioned before, sociologists Coontz and Hochschild further elaborate upon Parsons and Bales’ concepts of the American family, but they mostly critique the idea of the male-breadwinner family. One of the main arguments Coontz and Hochschild present is the decline of the male-breadwinner family due to the economic changes of the United States and the arising social norms of consumerism. Because Parsons and Bales never considered how the changes throughout society would affect family, they believed the male-breadwinner family would continue to be a functional type of family for everyone. However, within her text, “What We Really Miss about the 1950s,” Coontz specifically discusses the major expense of keeping mothers at home as consumption norms...
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.
Since the beginning of time, humans have been changing, developing, and evolving. The 1950s was a fascinating era in American history, and whether its people altered for good or bad is debatable, but one thing is for certain - many drastic changes were made during this time, especially involving teenagers. Juvenile delinquency erupted from the depths of the community, and countless gangs arose. Different genres of music are also emerging. Old perspectives were being replaced with controversial ideas; a lot was about to change.
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.
While the materialism of the 20’s faded into the economic depression that followed, and the glow of the 1950’s was dimmed by the onset of communist fever, both decades proved to be successful and iconic in the way that they brought about massive prosperity, and because youth found new ways of expressing themselves and inviting progress. Unfortunately, not all outcomes were good, and both eras triggered an onslaught of racial tension that would continue well into the future.
This new generation, which would come of age during the 1960’s, grew up with a different perspective for America. In such a prosperous time, more people went to college than ever before. People had more time and money to begin analyzing social issues with a greater sense of criticism.
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...
The 1960’s were a time of change and a time for liberalism. The 60’s have been described by many historians by having the most amount of significant change in American history. It was an era where America shifted from optimism to disillusionment. From blind acceptance to distrust. In ten short years, America’s view of authority has drastically changed. It was a time for violent confrontation. The Vietnam War took place all throughout the 60’s, and changed American history forever. Also, there was a war that was going on within the United States border. The Civil Rights movement was in full force in the South. Both of these conformations put America’s civil loyalty to the test. Politics ruled the land in the 60’s, from the assassination of
The 1950s was a time when conformity held supreme in the culture at large. Issues such as women 's rights were thrown to the back as people tried to remain in the popular form of a family. These issues being put off only caused the prolonging of the tumultuous 1960s that would soon
Television’s rise in popularity throughout the fifties saw the emergence of the situation comedy, a style that captivated audiences by presenting a story with a beginning, a middle, and a happy end. One of the most popular of these shows, I Love Lucy, continues to appeal to both young and old some forty years later -- and counting. For most people, the answer to how I Love Lucy continually and effectively draws viewers to the screen is that "It’s funny." There is more to this funny show than meets the eye.
With the post war baby boom of the 1940s resulting in a huge shift in age demographic, the 60s became a decade belonging to the new wave of youths. Liberated and hedonistic, this affluent generation shunned the values of their parents,
When most people think of the 1950’s or 1960’s, they think of Elvis, Greasers, jukeboxes, Woodstock, and rainbow peace signs and hippie love. Although these symbols are somewhat accurate (and very popular), not many people think about the changes society and culture went through. The 1950’s and 60’s were a time of great change and freedom for many Americans. Everything from World War II, to the gay liberation movement, to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 helped to change society. Many of the views American’s had on topics such as war, gender roles and sexual preference were changed greatly after these events and have led to our culture being what it is today. The 1950’s and 1960’s were a time where great changes took place that helped to shape our nation into what it is today.
Have you ever wondered if the 1960s was a better time period than today? Well you're in luck because in this article it states the many reasons why the 1960s was a better time period. In today's age did you know that the crime rate is way higher than in the 60s? Life in today's society is worse because because the crime rate is very high and more people are getting hurt.
The United States of America in the 1950s was a time of prosper for its citizens (U.S.). Recent wars in Europe made many Europeans want American made goods, which fueled the American economy (U.S.). In the mid-1950s, the new President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a “War Hero”, was elected (U.S.). The booming economy led to new technology, such as the television (U.S.). Media in the 1950s was being consumed by the young adults and teenagers. The new and exciting pastime for teenagers was the new music genre rock and roll (U.S.). Rock and roll artists such as Elvis Presley became the stars of 1950s media (U.S.). Not everyone liked the idea of rock and roll though. The older members of society believed rock and roll to be “Satan’s Music” (U.S.). The joy of living in the U.S.A in the 1950s however; was not shared by...