1940's Pop Culture

Throughout time there are some periods that are distinct in hindsight. The fashion, ideas, historical events and lives of people in the past vary between the decades. The 1940’s mark a decade where peace was declared and old norms and values were shed to make room for popular culture and the ‘wild teenagers’. Finding a soulmate was more important than ever as a new world rose up and needed to be enjoyed by as many as possible after the decades of war. Dating was part of the rise of pop culture in the 1940’s. Women and girls were given more importance in society because of their involvement in the war effort and so were continually given more importance outside of the home. But this also proved difficult in some aspects of a woman’s life, such

This is reflected in the questionnaire as none of the respondents who identified as gay, lesbian or undefined revealed non-acceptance as a reason for their relationship to dissolve. "Up to the middle 60s, most Americans had spouses, children and acquaintances made and unmade rather easily and painlessly. The husband had careers that required (their wives) to move frequently with their families and there was no place for close friendships which were considered to be threatening marital intimacy.” (Safilios‐Rothschild, 1981) Interviewee Indijit Singh believes, “Dating in the past was much more about going out and hanging out properly rather than just watching a movie together and sex.” Indijit’s observation is more or less accurate. Indeed dating was considerably more conservative and polite than what is generally involved in dating today. An instructional video from the 1940’s uploaded by Val73TV4 (2012) to YouTube portrays the process of dating at this time. The video describes the manners of choosing a date, asking for a date, how to prepare for a date and how to behave on a date. Politeness, dressing appropriately, finding a compatible person and behaving appropriately are the basic trends that appear in the video.The media portrays the 1940’s as a time of newfound freedom. An image of a boy and girl at the movies leave much to be interpreted but by the intimate interpersonal distance it can be assumed that they are romantically involved and are on a date. In the instructional video it is asked, “A date, huh? What’ll you do? You going to some fancy place for dinner?” This reveals that, much like today, a romantic dinner is an appropriate activity for a date. “I think the important thing about a date is to have a good time and you don’t need to spend a lot of money to do that. Just to enjoy whatever it is you’re doing. Whether it’s