CULTURE OF THE 1950S MUSIC, TV, AND FADS
TODAY’S OBJECTIVE After today’s lesson, students will be able to… Explain the influence of entertainment on American lives and values Essential Skill: Gather and organize information
REMINDER Introductory paragraph with thesis and works cited due TOMORROW!!! Critics of Conformity Packet and questions due tomorrow.
MUSIC What kind of music do you listen to? Is your taste in music different from the older generations? What is the main idea of the article “Deliver Me From the Days of Old”
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HISTORY &autoplay=0 &autoplay=0 &autoplay=0 &autoplay=0 &autoplay=0 &autoplay=0
LYRICS As the songs play, look over the lyrics Highlight or underline the lyrics you think were offensive or controversial at the time What can you infer from these lyrics about 1950s society and values?
TELEVISION What values did television programs promote during the 1950s? What was the main point of the “I Love Lucy” article? As we watch the “I Love Lucy” clip, see if you can point to anything the article discussed.
CRAZY FADS FROM THE 1950’S!
The candy was created before the 50’s...but the new pocket size dispenser became quite popular in the 1950’s!
These were pistols that would shoot out potatoes. They were also known as potato cannons Spud Guns
Girls would wear their boyfriends letterman jackets and sweaters, to show everyone they were dating a jock. Letter Sweaters
Black licorice flavored gum. Blackjack Chewing Gum
Burger joints and diners. Waitresses would roller- skate to your car and take your order. Car Hops!
“Nothing characterizes the Fifties quite as well as the saddle shoe. We all had them. We all wore them. And I'd be lying if I said I missed them!” The Fifties look was usually achieved by a strenuous process of pin curling and rolling. Remember - no blow dryers in the 50s! As demonstrated by super model Suzy Parker, one pinned the hair and sometimes sprayed it to keep the set. Fifties hairstyles were soft and curly. Straight hair was out. Short hair was in.
....And lets not forget about the men.... The ducktail haircut Also called the D.A. or duck butt, the style requires that you comb the hair back to the middle of the head, then with the end of a rattail comb, make a center part. The crewcut was the hair style of choice for many young men. The Crewcut
Big tickle----Really funny Burn rubber----To accelerate hard and fast (hot-rodders) Circled---- Married Cruisin' for a bruisin‘--- Looking for trouble Dolly--- Cute girl Frosted--- Angry Get with it---- Understand Hopped up---- A car modified for speed (hot-rodders) Jets---- Smarts, brains Passion Pit---- Drive-in movie theatre Square---- A regular, normal person. A conformist. Threads---- Clothes Fifties Slang.... Just to name a few.... Fifties Slang.... Just to name a few....
We all remember the 50’s for the poodle skirt...but it was by no means what all women wore. Skirts
One of the biggest fads of all time is the hula- hoop, invented in 1957, by an Australian. The name "hula hoop" came from the Hawaiian dance its users seemed to imitate. The invention was licensed to Wham-O, who sold 25 million hula-hoops in two months. Boomerang Hula Hoop Ant Farms
Movie studio executives worried that the new medium, television, would steal away their audiences. What was required was a hook to bring people back into the movie theatre. 3-D movies had been around in the 1920’s....but the 50’s brought it back! 3-D Movies
One of the most well known fads of all time was Telephone Booth stuffing. It was started by several college students who would squeeze themselves into a telephone booth until no one else could fit inside. Although the fad was popularized by colleges from the west coast in the U.S., it was actually started in South Africa where twenty-five students packed themselves into a booth and claimed they had set a world record. Soon, many colleges around the world were trying to beat each other's records. The fad died out in 1959, but was reincarnated in the form of Volkswagen stuffing a few years later. Telephone Booth Stuffing
Term coined in the 1950s following the growth in popularity of rock and roll Sock Hops
CONCLUSION How do the images, film clips, music, and yearbooks represent 1950s values? Not everybody was for conformity and materialism!