I Love Lucy, one of the famous television shows of the 1950’s, depicted a zany housewife balancing chores and a growing family intermingled with a series of continuous mishaps. Aside from the show’s entertainment value, the setting provided a sense of cultural critique. In this paper, I explain the presence of patriarchal norms and degradation of female characters in the show in addition to the breaking of societal taboos brought about by the driven post-war era. A key part in understanding the setting of I Love Lucy is to understand what the values were key in 1950 American society. This post-war era was filled with a rise in suburban living.
The 1950’s was characterized as a prosperous and conformity for various reasons. One of the main reasons was the development of the suburbs. Since a lot of the black people migrated to the big cities there was rich and middle class families left to live in the suburbs areas to escape the crime of the cities. This mass migration later became known as the “white flight” (Document A). The 1950’s was the times when the American soldiers were coming back home from WWII and many new babies were born.
With the dropping of the Atomic bomb that ended WWII and the beginning of the Cold War, the United states was in distress. The start of the 1950s brought about many changes to American society, from the Red Scare and threat of the possible spread of communism in America, to changes in political movements, civil rights movements, and another possible war. The political climate in the 1950s was a period when people made judgement without proof based on people’s occupations, it instilled a fear that anyone could be a communist and pushed McCarthy to find and dispose of them. Factors that influenced this political crisis and fear go back years to 1917 when communism was recognized as a political force. It was known as the last red scare.
Decade’s Impact On Our Society: 1950s The 1950s was a decade full of music and entertainment. Entertainers like Marilyn Monroe and types of music like jazz. Even kids are having fun playing with their newly made, Mr. Potato Head toys. So many new entertainers, musicians, and inventions are becoming such a huge hit.
The 1950’s in the United States was a very conflicting time in the country’s history. On one hand there was much economic prosperity, but on the other there was still massive amounts of segregation, discrimination, and the urge to conform to the idealistic “all American family”. The term that historians use when describing the 1950’s is an age of “consensus and conformity”. This means that due to the innovations of the time such as television, the consumer was told what they should buy, and how they should live their life. This restricted society by putting standards at which society should meet, and if they did not meet those standards they were considered odd, or out of place.
Unfortunately when there are changes made anywhere there may be resistance. Massive resistance is what it was called in the 1950’s which was a movement to resist the new racial laws like the Civil Rights Act that outlawed discrimination against color, race and sex. It was evident that changes were implemented by our president and congress that not only allowed African Americans freedom but the rights to be treated equally. They were now able to dine at a restaurant, attend schools with individuals of a different race. Unfortunately this caused a disturbance among the opposing parties which were mainly Caucasian individuals.
America experienced a sudden disregard of Victorian values following World War I, causing the generation of the 1920s to dramatically contrast the previous. This severe degree of change produced three major manifestations of the contradictions in the twenties. There were massive conflicts to the Jazz Age, technological advancements, and Black Migration. The contradictions of the 1920s reflect America’s conflicted state between advancement and convention, as the cultural and technological developments of the era coincide with the inability of individuals to stray from traditional norms and racist attitudes.
Coronet Instructional Films, also known as social guidance films, were created from the 1940s through the 1980s in order to teach American teenagers the proper way to behave. They modeled recommended habits and attitudes in a somewhat outdated and clichéd way, demonstrating to their impressionable audience what an ideal US citizen resembles. As a result, whether consciously or not, the illustration of a perfect US citizen that Coronet Films attempted to build in its works depicted the role of genders in the old society. This topic raises the line of inquiry: “How is the role of gender portrayed through character development in Coronet Instructional Films?” Through the process of character development of different character traits such as physical
The question of whether or not peaceful resistance toward the law impacts society in a positive way is really a question of circumstance. If I were to refer back to the historical aspects of the subject, then my immediate answer would be yes, it does; peaceful resistance has often prevailed in situations that required immediate attention, yet were simply overlooked by the general public, despite their importance. One extremely important example of this would be the many boycotts during the civil rights movements of the 60's. Civil disobedience was a way to communicate the true inequality represented by the phrase, ''separate but equal'' by peacefully marching for their beliefs. For example, many white officials used various schemes to prevent
Racism and segregation has a mass history in the United States which impacted our society greatly. There were many riots, boycotts, and strikes which occurred throughout the 1900’s. Many people simply wanted peace and to bring everyone together no matter what race or color and others wanted to be separated from people with a different skin color and race. Whites and blacks were being separated from bathrooms and even restaurants. This resulted in conflict between our society which left many killed and injured.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the youth in America started engaging in leisure activities and immersing themselves in the popular culture of the time, including rock & roll music, movies, and television. Television, which was a relatively novel medium at the time, emerged as a prominent form of entertainment, even competing with motion pictures. Thanks to the global reach of cable companies, American television coverage of wars, political events, natural disasters, and even music and cartoons drew international attention, bringing a sense of connection and shared experiences among young Americans. In the aftermath of World War II, television emerged as the dominant medium, surpassing cinema in terms of influence and popularity.
In the 1960s and early 1970s, the United States was in constant conflict. Despite the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which technically prohibited racial discrimination in public places, it took multiple years of court cases to fully implement the act. Many police departments in the South were also politically motivated and racist towards black Americans, making life in the South difficult and dangerous for them, despite the protections of the Civil Rights Act. Even in the North, racism and discrimination made everyday life difficult for black people. In 1968, Martin Luther King was murdered, leading to riots all across the country as millions of infuriated Americans took to the streets to protest the injustices seen all around them.
Our society today has been impacted by many events throughout history. If some of these events had not happened our world would be different today. These events have made the world/society what it is today. These events include: the roaring twenties, the Great Depression, etc. The roaring twenties was a period in American history of economical, social and political change.
CA-3. Comparison of two sources. The rise of the Beat Generation: The Howl by Allen Ginsberg.
When a new year starts people set goals for that year; Some decide to get new habits others decide to get rid of old ones, some people decide to accomplish old goals and other only to get better. From 1946 to 1959 America pass for several changes. People were fearless and more modern, and start to accept things such as birth-control, fast foods, and had the culture emerge. In a mix of good and bad choices America saw itself gaining a new face and becoming a different country.
