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There’s a reason why the 1950s are so memorable : It is a decade where a huge amount of noteworthy and life-changing things happened. This is the decade that the King, Prince, and the future King of Pop were born. While Elvis Presley was singing “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, Marilyn Monroe was actually falling in love with Joe DiMaggio. The 1950s was the most influential decade due to the developments in the fields of inventions, entertainment & celebrities, and historical events. Throughout the years, as innovation was improving, a wide variety of useless and important everyday items were created. This was around the time that the television had started becoming popular, 1954, so naturally TV dinners were created to allow people to eat dinner
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.
Hey there grandson! I’ve noticed a lot of unusual and crazy event taking place in our society, and most of these events can be confusing to understand. I am writing you to insure that when you get older and go through society as an American citizen, you can fully understand the nation that you came from and form an economic and political opinion about your nation. And what better way to give you advice about your future than to reflect on part of our nation’s past.
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.
Life in the 1950’s was a time of prosperity for the United States of America. This was the time of baby boomers, many civil rights movements, the terrifying cold war, as well as a much improved economy due to the outcomes of World War II. An incredible innovation was introduced in 1951, the color television;
Because of the development of popular culture. This led to the many subcultures being created, such as the Mods, Rockers, hippies and beatniks so this was great for them. teenagers now have freedom of expression which they didn’t have before. Women also had great sixties as well because of the creation and changes to the contraceptive pill, abortion and divorce laws. education, jobs and pay.
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 1950’s was a time in history when America began to flourish, through its advancements in music, technology, and its emphasis on the individual. The emergence of Rock and Roll contributed to the birth of the ‘rebel’ by giving teenagers an excuse to disobey their parents through the expression of music. Adults of the 1950’s insisted that Rock and Roll corrupted the minds of the youth. This revolution in music not only affected the decade from an entertainment standpoint, but also from a fashion perspective. Teenagers wore leather jackets, poodle skirts, slicked back hair, and beehive hairdos. Through sports and the civil rights act, blacks began to be more accepted into the 1950’s society. Although segregation was still alive, many blacks swore they could see freedom in the near future. Black athletes, like Jackie Robinson, proved that talent outweighed skin color. Existentialism became a popular philosophy during the 1950’s, which emphasized the individual. The true meaning of this movement was vague, but followers believed that society was trying to control their every action. Many authors and philosophers of this decade wrote on the subject of existentialism, including Flannery O’Connor. Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “Good Country People,” was published in 1955 and demonstrates the 1950’s view of existentialism through the use of symbolism and irony.
Society in America during the 1950’s was one that portrayed men and women in very different, but rigid roles. Women were housewives, secretaries, and mothers. Men were providers, war heroes, and businessmen. Television, newspapers and magazines played an important role as well in determining ways men and women should behave. Advertisements for real estate were designed to sell to the “All-American” family. For example; Dad would be the returned home veteran who is now running the company, Mom is an ideal housewife who works a couple days a week for extra vacation cash, little Billy likes baseball and his sister Susie plays with dolls. Houses designed with this type of family in mind would prove very effective in luring away many from the city to live in suburbs like this at a rapid pace. Most jobs in the work place were gender divided. Help-wanted ads placed in newspapers in the 1950’s were very gender biased as well. Some ads with attention getting headlines could have read: “Sales Girl,” and “Brides! Housewives!” Occupations offered to women at this time were very limiting.
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...
One of the major strong points of The Fifties is the author's ostensible need to include every detail that could have impacted the formation of any aspects that pertain to the developments that shaped the fifties. This is most notable in the characterization of major figures of the time such as Marlon Brando and Elvis Presley. For example, in reference to Brando, Halberstam (1993)
The decade of the Fifties gave birth to Rock and Roll. When Bill Haley's Rock Around The Clock became popular in 1952, the nation learned to swing to a whole new sound. But, Rock wasn't the only music of the Fifties. (Rewind the fifties jukebox) Other artists with other songs had folks humming' for much of the decade. Pat Boone, Perry Como and Patti Page - just to mention the "Ps". (Fifties Web) The feel-good innocence of a lot of the Fifties music reflects on the post World War II optimism in America. The young people of the time, an emerging force called teenagers, hadn't struggled through the war years. They were looking for something more exciting. They discovered that vitality in Rock and Roll. During the Fifties both styles of music co-existed quite nicely. Some of the music you associate with the Fifties was actually recorded in the Sixties.
Music has continued to change throughout each decade, but the 1960s was the most influential decade in the history of music. Starting in the early 1950s, rock music was first introduced. Major record labels were releasing new “cover songs” which were originally made by black artist, but now by white artist (Rock and Roll). These cover songs changed a few lyrics from the original songs to avoid copyright issues and to also make the song more appropriate for the white listeners. The biggest star of the 1950s was Elvis Presley, who was known as the “King of rock n’ roll”.