...16 Ed Sullivan was one of the first pioneers of music television in the 1950’s. Using his television show, he brought great success to legendary performers such as Elvis Presley and The Beatles by featuring their live music and broadcasting it to America. The first show featuring Elvis on September 9, 1956 had fifty-four million viewers (Szatmary 46). With the creation of MTV in 1981, the medium of sound and visuals now had a place to be combined and broadcasted to the masses with great efficiency. Television would continue to become popular in America, especially among teenagers whom by graduation had spent more time watching TV than sitting in class (Szatmary 279). Television demanded the full attention of its viewers unlike its predeccsor...
Words: 390 - Pages: 2
...Consumerism in the 1950’s The Great Depression in the 1930’s brought the unemployment rate to a staggering 17.9% (Witkowski , 1998). Consumers were forced to ration their spending habits to only include bare necessitates for the home. Aside from the addition of indoor “…flush toilets and electric lighting and appliances” families were not concerned with updating their material lifestyle (Witkowski , 1998). In 1940, 33% of Americans could not afford the luxury of running water and 48% had no refrigerator (Witkowski , 1998). Soldiers returning home after WWII were greeted by a vastly changing market for the American consumer. The war had caused inflation back home. In 1945, “the economy created 17 million new jobs” (Witkowski , 1998). The increase in incomes changed the dynamic of how American families viewed consumerism. Rationing of goods reformed into increased spending habits on recreational goods. Advertising dominated the market encouraging consumers to “keep up with the Jones’s”; a coined phrase that promoted consumers to spend money on material goods and update household appliances in order to maintain their desired social status. After the Depression ended wages more than doubled in 1950 compared to 1935, making consumers eager to spend (The Boom Years, 2012 p 274). Americans wanted to live “the good life” which meant having the latest household appliances like washing machines and refrigerators, a cookie-cutter house in the suburbs, a driveway for the family...
Words: 804 - Pages: 4
...The internet has gone from sole scientific purpose in the 1950’s, to military use in the 1960’s, and now as we approach 2017 the internet is used on a daily basis worldwide. Not only has the internet progressed in a way that changes activities such as shopping, schooling, and more, but of everything the internet has probably had the biggest effect on how we communicate. We have gone from face to face communication, to sending messages through letters, and now we can communicate without leaving the comfort of your own bed. E-mails have allowed us to send messages from one end of the world to another and that was just the begining. Throughout the decades social media has become a big part of the internets technological advancement. It has allowed...
Words: 401 - Pages: 2
...I think the 1950’s were the good old days because anyone could leave their doors open. People would not worry if someone was going to break in or hurt them. Children could play outside after dark. They did not worry the kids might get kidnapped. People had televisions in the fifths. They could see the President or cartoons on the televisions. The fifths was also called the “baby makers”. The Americans were well on the way to becoming a motorized society before the 1950’s. During the fifties the number of cars nearly doubled from 39 million to 74 million. On an average 4.5 million cars were junked every year of the 1950’s. My grandma used to talk about how when she grow up in the 1920’s. The 1950’s were the good old days to her. She used to...
Words: 336 - Pages: 2
...began in the late 1800s due to improved transportation and cheaper construction techniques. * This process propelled after WWII along with the construction of a national highway system. * The Federal Housing Administration’ s insurance program, which made mortgages possible, leaned toward single family homes opposed to apartment complexes. * Beginning in the early 1950s and continuing into the 1970s, white Americans left the cities due to the migration of African Americans from the south and school desegregation efforts. * “Redlining” prevented minorities from moving into suburban areas by discriminatory public and private lending and insurance practices. * By the 1980s older cities had an increase in poverty, crime, and physical deterioration. * A prime example of this is the Dudley Street neighborhood. This area started out filled with wealthy Bostonians’ country estates. It was a thriving working class immigrant community. * During the 1950s suburbanization hit the neighborhood, shifting the population from predominantly white to mostly African American. * Businesses vanished: the number of private enterprises on Dudley Street fell from 129 in 1950 to 26 in 1980: on Blue Hill Avenue the dropped from 210 in 1950 to 47 in 1980. * The 1,300 vacant lots in the 1.5 acre community became dumping grounds for trash from all over the city. * Efforts to clean up the community were ignored by elected officials. The Case (Layzer 2012, 87)...
Words: 449 - Pages: 2
...Wadleigh Prof. Rex US History 27 February 2012 Prosperity and Anxieties1950's In the 1950's, the United States was in fact characterized by conformity and the prosperity of economic growth. But not all was well in the '50s, as there were also underlying anxieties that the citizens were faced with as a result of the Cold War. This can been seen through the massive amounts of consumption, how the society started to conform to what was seen as the idealistic life of the American citizen, and the fear the came through as a result of communism warnings. Though all looked well, there were many underlying conflicts that occured during this decade. The American dream was again starting to shine through. A nice car, the perfect house with a white-painted fence, and a good paying job were all a possibility when there was effort put into it. Commodities were on the rise and there were more things that the people wanted available. The television, new foods, and consumer products began to fill stores, and Americans were surly there to snatch them away and bring them into their households. The growth in urban areas became rapid with the development of suburbs, allowing for the quick and efficient construction of many homes for new families. American's were able to enjoy a much higher standard of living because of higher paying jobs that they could more easily get to with their new cars. "In the late 1950s, the poverty rate for all Americans was 22.4 percent."(npc.edu). Everything was...
Words: 1026 - Pages: 5
...Available: http://www.deepfocusreview.com/reviews/rebelwithoutacause.asp. Last accessed 10th September 2015 Through the film, a division of young adults received a personality and individualism never before represented onscreen, establishing their place within their own unique cultural identity, language, and social rituals, as represented by Ray’s picture and in those which followed to use his film as a benchmark. Ray’s picture was the first to “get” 1950s adolescents with all their conflicts, oblivious parents, sexual confusion, social anxiety, and alienation Keith Grant, B. (2003). Youth In Film History. In: Film Genre Reader, Volume 3. Texas: Texas: University Of Texas Press. 499. However. Hollywood did not suddenly bank on hedonistic teen roles in the early 1950’s: their process of introducing the post-war teenager was careful if not apprehensive, as they gradually exaggerated the ephebiphobia -fear of teenagers- that was seeping into popular culture and politics. After a few notable “clean teen” performances in the 1940’s by Jeanne Crain in Margie (1946) and Elizabeth Taylor in Little Women (1949), the fifties teen...
Words: 633 - Pages: 3
...Large Families Not only did most married women walk down the aisle by age 19; they also tended to start families right away. A majority of brides were pregnant within seven months of their wedding, and they didn't just stop at one child. Large families were typical. From 1940 to 1960, the number of families with three children doubled and the number of families having a fourth child quadrupled. Single and Pregnant If remaining single in American society was considered undesirable, being single and pregnant was totally unacceptable, especially for white women. Girls who "got in trouble" were forced to drop out of school, and often sent away to distant relatives or homes for wayward girls. Shunned by society for the duration of their pregnancy, unwed mothers paid a huge price for premarital sex. In reality young women were engaging in premarital sex in spite of the societal pressure to remain virgins. There was a growing need for easy, safe, effective, reliable and female-controlled contraceptives. Advertisements about women- Many of the advertisements in the magazines and T.V. shows somewhat defined the role of motherhood. They were constantly aimed at feminine concerns because women were normally the ones that were buying the products for the house. T.V. shows such as “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” set an example of how normal “American” life should be. These advertisements often times showed smiling women with their arms loaded with cooked food, or a women cleaning...
Words: 488 - Pages: 2
...today and Society in the 1950’s In the past sixty years are country has seen overwhelming change. Some change has been for the best, while much has been for the worse. We’ve seen amazing advancements in technology and made huge strides in the health field. Unfortunately we’ve also lost a lot of common sense and have a lack of morals and dignity. In the 1950’s family’s usually stayed together. Today a very big percentage of marriages end in divorce. In the fifties families ate dinner around the table together. Today people have such busy, hectic schedules that family meals are rare and often eaten in front of the TV. In the fifties jobs were easy to come by. Factories were everywhere and paid well enough to comfortably support a middle class family. Today good paying jobs are hard to find and most require a big, expensive degree and even then it’s not guarantee a job. In the 1950’s most mothers were able to and chose to stay home and raise their children. Today most mothers either do not want to or cannot afford to stay home, resulting in children spending most of their childhood in daycare while their mothers work. In the 1950’s children usually played outside, and it was safe enough for them to wander all over the neighborhood. Today kids spend most of their time watching TV and playing video games and can’t just roam around with their friends outside anymore. In the 1950s people often left their doors unlocked. Today that’s unthinkable. In the 1950s people felt more involved...
Words: 827 - Pages: 4
...Michael Tarantino Ms. Banks 50’s & 60’s (7) 16 November 2014 1950’s DBQ The 1950s is considered to be the model decade of America. Families were close, children respected their elders, workers worked hard to provide for their families who grew up in nice neighborhoods, and the economy was booming. The forced conformity, neglect of the poor, and segregation are often overlooked when talking about the decade as they were during the time period. The 1950s were a prodigious time period for family life but not for the individual or societal ethics. The ’50s boasted the archetype for the model family. As document H exemplifies, suburban families, coined the nuclear family, resided in ideal neighborhoods for raising the family, were close-knit, and the family was open with each other. These families would discuss any problems in their lives while eating nightly family dinner or sitting around the boob tube. Society dictated the norm for proper family etiquette such as how to behave in order to maintain a perfect household. Document I, “The Good Wife’s Guide”, offers tips on how to be a good wife so that the family machine runs smoothly. This decade received much praise for the development of this era as shown in document L, “With the growth of suburban developments, many families found they needed two cars to transport all members of the family…” This quote shows how the growth of familial development stimulated the economy. The ’50s may have been a great time for families...
Words: 790 - Pages: 4
...social media, greed and getting into other nation’s business, instead of taking care of our own nation. I, as a voter, voted for the politicians who I trust that will honor to serve my nation, state, and city. They are like palm trees, first they grow straight when elected, then they start bending towards the other side, and their palms (hands) are always open, and last their nuts at when their on top. I know I am the oldest in my class, and during my days I was considered the Baby Boomers. People born in the 1950s and early 1960s are Baby Boomers, named because there were so many of us. As we started having children in the 1970s, this was a group who tore away from the traditions of the 50s and 60s, but later found out that they were the first generation to have less than their parents. The children of the Baby Boomers born primarily early 60s to late 70s are called Generation X. If you were born in the 80s you are Generation Y. In today’s society people born in the 1950s and 1960s are so different from those who were born in the 1980s who are the Generation Y, because of how they interact with others. During my days and till now it is more verbal, today’s its more non-verbal, however my generation still...
Words: 287 - Pages: 2
...just food. Waitrose sell a variety of exotic foods and home-grown British food. They also supply products that are from different companies to create a bigger variety of food for the public and cater to suit the public. History- Waitrose appeared on the high-street in1904. Wallace Wyddham Waite, Arthur Rose and David Taylor were the first owners of Waitrose; they created a successful business that sells a range of grocery products. The high standards and prices made the business grow into a well-known shop on the high-street. The shop was able to acquire more grocery shops in the area and continued to created more branches from Windsor to Gerard’s Cross. Waite continued to supply these area’s and traded more with profitable areas. In the 1950s, Waitrose changed their shop to be self-service and in the 1970s, there were 50 branches but were larger in size/grew in a faster rate. In 2004, Waitrose has expanded to have over 200 shops/branches. Function- Waitrose currently offers online shopping, food that is made to order food and do wedding cakes. They separate/organise products towards everyday life e.g. soaps are dedicated to pets. In their branches they have a fresh bakery and people can select what they want unless the product is out of stock. They also provide high standards of service and help the customer if they have any queries or need help when choosing a...
Words: 260 - Pages: 2
...to Chicago with the hopes of ‘making it big’ as a full-time professional musician. Muddy was deeply engrossed in the blues and was excellent at playing the harmonica, and later in his career he became a great electric guitar player. One of the difficulties Muddy Waters faced in the 1950’s was being a black musician in the midst of the racial segregation era. White teenagers became increasingly interested in the rhythm and blues genre in the early 1950’s. This was an issue according to their parents as they sought that it could have many negative impacts on their children. They had the idea that black men were especially defiant, very sexually driven, and they had they were driven towards white women (Covach, John, and Andrew Flory, p. 70). Because of the segregation it was difficult for...
Words: 438 - Pages: 2
...In today society the view of fatherhood has changed in many ways. Fatherhood isn’t what it was back in the late 1950’s. Men in the late 1950’s were head of the house and mainly taking charge of the family roles, they did most of the outside task, disciplinarian in the family. Men in our current society are now stay at home dads, gay or straight, are adoptive or step parent to children. Men in the late 1950’ s had a lot of responsibilities many men would wear their business suites every morning and then come straight home, and be a father figure to their children, and a husband to their wife. During the late 1950’s it was a time where boys were strictly raised as boys and girls were also grown up to only know the roles of women. The expectations of fatherhood was taken vary seriously in the late...
Words: 524 - Pages: 3
...In the year 2013, twenty-five billion songs had been sold on iTunes (“iTunes Store”).The music industry has become a large part of modern day culture. Music is loved by many people and will be for years to come. During the 1920’s thru the 1940’s, Jazz, and the Blues were a big part of the American culture. The 1950’s changed all of that (Vaillancourt 6). Nineteen Fifties music has been affected by the problems of Segregation, Civil Rights, and The Cold War during the decade. The Cold War, the baby boom and the struggle for equality were all a major parts of the 1950’s. During that time the country's economy was limited. When the Cold War hit the American economy grew and consumers were spending great amounts of money. Soldiers returning from...
Words: 648 - Pages: 3
