The Impact Of Consumerism After World War II

In Western Europe, after World War II, there was an economic boom due to the baby boomers and the need to advance the welfare of the countries that were affected by war. This caused a rift between the middle and lower class. Consumerism played an important role in the cultural and political changes after World War II.

Politically, the Soviet Union and the United States were in an arms race as well as a space race which impacted the two countries greatly(413). After the USSR launched Sputnik, U.S. tried make more advancements in the space race. Meanwhile, Russia’s dive into creating the intercontinental ballistic missile put America in a tight spot. America however countered ICBM with its own version. Because of the arms race between the

These leaders were John F. Kennedy and Fidel Castro, an ally of the Soviet Union. The powers struggle between these two nations led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. (417)

After the Second World War, the Soviet system revolted and reformed due to the population’s need for a change from the violence attached with communism. While rehabilitation occurred, every act was criticized or revised and many criminals reentered society. Due to the increase in crime rates, the general population 's faith in communism dwindled and the idea of Stalin was less supported. This was a change from the beginning of World War II, where the population thought that communism was the only way out of the bad economy then.

America wanted to spread the Cold War culturally, and thus relied on the arts and the radio network in order to do so. Using literature as a main mode of propaganda, the CIA financed musicians and art exhibitions that were anti- communist and promote the United Stated among the western European readers. The Soviet Union on the other hand, worked actively to spread the support of communism.

Culturally, new literary styles emerged. New Wave cinema and novel were consumer items that were increasing in popularity. This can be seen in the pictures of advertisements during that period. They all revolve around the newest and most popular appliances, clothes, and food. Also, film and novels were being used to resexualize the population after war. With this movement came the distinct line between masculinity and femininity. The growth of television was also a big deal. There was a major jump in the use of it between 1950 and the 1970’s.