In the prosperous years after World War II, American society endured an era of unprecedented consumerism, conformity and artistic expression. There were exceptions. The innovational time of the 1950s was known for the uprising of mass culture within America. I was only a small child during the 1950’s. And during these times, the United States was the world's strongest military power. If you’re name had two M’s in it you were a guaranteed star. . Richie Dixon. Along with marriage and the family, religion experienced a revival in the postwar United States. – Farm: 15.3% The article has truly peaked my interest. Television also helped spread religiosity into millions of homes. The Reverend Billy Graham, a preacher from Charlotte, North Carolina, who became the greatest evangelist of his era, was a traveling minister who blended his call for Americans to accept Jesus Christ into their hearts with fervent anticommunism. Color TV was finally starting to gain some traction. Felix the Cat Dick Tracy Little Lulu and Baby Huey Clyde Crashcup David Seville and the 3 chipmunks Alvin Simon and Theodore. Don’t believe me? In the '60s, radio, film, television, and books carry the essence of American pop culture. ICONS: Rock & Roll, Civil Rights Movement, Television. In Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953), Kinsey revealed that many women rejected the double standard that allowed men, but not women, to lose their virginity before marriage. Movies were still popular, but television was starting to take a chunk out of the film industry’s revenue. Black artists such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Antoine “Fats” Domino and groups such as the Platters, the Channels, the Chords, the Chantels, and the Teenagers popularized the sound of classic, up-tempo rock and its soaring, harmonic variation known as doo-wop. Describe popular culture in America in the 1950s. [when] I felt I belonged some place.” After making only three films, Dean died in a car crash, further enhancing his mystique among young people. Advances in technology, communication, knowledge, and ability created a new culture. Alongside articles about and advertisements directed at stay-at-home mothers, these periodicals profiled career women who served in politics, such as Maine senator Margaret Chase Smith, the African American educator Mary McLeod Bethune, and sports figures such as the golf and tennis great Babe (Mildred) Didrikson Zaharias. Eggs: 72 cents per dozen Butter: 60 cents per pound In 1956 teenage boys were estimated to have a weekly income from family allowances or part-time jobs of $8.96 a week, up from $2.41 in 1944. There was a noticeable broadening of the taste of listeners from Elvis to Bach. If you were around in 1950s America, you probably remember the Korean War and McCarthyism.But that's not the fun stuff to visit on Memory Lane. Journalists and scholars joined. », 1950s Sports: History, Facts, MVPs & Champions », On October 3, 1951, New York Giants player Bobby Thomson hit a pennant-winning home run often called the “shot heard ’round the world.”. . The Adventures of Jamie McPheters Huntley Brinkley evening news telephones were black and heavy. All images, videos and any other multimedia shown on RetroWaste is in fair use context. Wherever they lived, they provided a lifestyle that a younger generation of political and cultural rebels would adopt in the 1960s. Sports were very popular in the 1950s. Like Metalious, many writers denounced the conformity and shallowness they found in suburban America. I’ve been researching the 50’s since I am coordinating our high school’s 62nd reunion (a bit late for the 60th). Music in the early 1950s was much like the 1940s: crooners everywhere. When asked by a local resident, “What are you rebelling against?” Strabler coolly replies, “Whaddya got?” Real gangs did exist on the streets of New York and other major cities. In the 1950s, people started to use the shortened form for popular - “pop.” The Definitions Of Pop Culture. Popular Culture in the 1950s Rock 'n' Roll Rock 'n' roll grew out of rhythm and blues and country and pop. A sensitive but misunderstood young man, Stark muses that he wants “just one day when I wasn’t all confused . My sister’s favorite song Wake up Little Susie. Through a combination of serious articles and photographs of nude women, the magazine provided its chiefly male readers with a guide to pursuing sexual pleasure and a sophisticated lifestyle. ^3 3 The norms of consumer culture and domesticity were disseminated via new and popular forms of entertainment – not just the television, which became a fixture in middle-class American households during the 1950s, but also women’s magazines, popular psychology, and cinema. The first reason that this mass market developed was the spread of television. It Came From the 1950s! – Cancer: 139 Sort by: Top Voted. By the mid-1950s marketers spent $10 billion annually to advertise their goods or services on television. Tonto, the Lone Ranger’s sidekick, was played by Jay Silverheels, a Canadian Mohawk; he offered a sympathetic character, mainly because he grunted his approval and showed his loyalty to his kimosabe (trusty scout). If many Americans recall the 1950s as a time of innocence, they have in mind television shows aimed at children, such as Howdy Doody, Superman, Hopalong Cassidy, The Cisco Kid, and The Lone Ranger. The bebop rhythms of trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and alto saxophonist Charlie Parker revolutionized jazz and reflected the accompanying black rebellion against white supremacy. . Between 1940 and 1950, church and synagogue membership rose by 78 percent, and more than 95 percent of the population professed a belief in God. Bread: 14 cents per loaf But that's not the fun stuff to visit on Memory Lane. Willie Mays and Hank Aaron were two African American baseball players that, at times, completely owned the sport. Share ... Also popular was the poodle cut -- … More than anything else, rock ’n’ roll music set teenagers apart from their elders. 1950 was the start of the fast changes that would be seen in the next 2 decades, the great depression was becoming a faint memory and families were moving out to the suburbs, kids watched howdy doody on 12 inch black and white TV sets and spent Saturday afternoons watching cartoons at Cinema matinees, times were gentler with little violence and the consumer revolution was about to start in a … Following World War II, high school attendance grew. In the 1950s, popular culture developed as the United States confronted difficult political, diplomatic, and social issues. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. (consumerism, music, mobility, etc.) The Cold War had set the stage for an especially competitive period that was fueled by the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union to prove their superiority. Archives/The Granger Collection, New York, Like Metalious, many writers denounced the conformity and shallowness they found in suburban America. Few postwar developments had a greater impact on American society and politics than the advent of television. Another of their favorites was The Lawrence Welk show. Racism was rampant in many parts of the country, but especially in the south. Far from satisfied, these women suffered from what the social critic Betty Friedan would later call “a problem that has no name,” a malady that derived not from any personal failing but from the unrewarding roles women were expected to play. Similar to visual arts and literature, popular culture of the era focused on emphasizing what was presented as uniquely American experiences and contributions. Popular culture and mass media in the 1950s. More people watching your movies=more money=more fame. 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