POST-wWII Canada: suburbia & baby boom

What are the cultural values that characterized the 1950- 1960’s What are the cultural values that characterized the 1950- 1960’s? What values, needs did people think suburbia would fulfill? Did it succeed? How did television and marketing influence consumption patterns and what are the consequences today?

suburbia “The place of wide lawns and narrow minds” (Ernest Hemingway) Stereotypes of Suburbia: Repression Whiteness Patriarchal Conformity Suburbia ‘covering up’ a twisted, dark reality underneath: Edward Scissorhands, American Beauty, The Stepford Wives (1975/2004), Pleasantville, Blue Velvet (minorities excluded from mortgages, housing projects)

Soldiers returning home Strong economy, high consumer confidence POST-WWII CANADA: The “Baby Boom” Soldiers returning home Strong economy, high consumer confidence Family allowances (“baby bonuses”) - 1945 Social security, unemployment insurance act - 1940

12 million in 1946  18 million 1961 (50% growth in 15 years) Population growth 12 million in 1946  18 million 1961 (50% growth in 15 years) Immigration: 1952 limited by ethnic origin Demand for labour  more open policies 2.5 million new immigrants between 1945-1947: many refugees and displaced persons from Europe Pre-WWI immigrants settled in western prairies/farmlands Post-WWII immigrants mostly settling in cities

Construction boom: housing, schools, factories urbanization Construction boom: housing, schools, factories Growth of cities: immigrants, where most new jobs are Urbanization: the movement of people from rural to urban ~1900, 2/3 of people live in rural areas ~1970, 2/3 of people live in urban areas Cities become more crowded, dirty Those who want (need) to work in city, but also want to have more space, a detached single family home, a garden Large housing developments built just outside cities: Suburbs

Traditional family, family focused suburbia Traditional family, family focused Some women lose jobs to returning veterans, some still work Emphasis of traditional femininity, domestic goddess (advertising) Big homes need stuff: household appliances, gadgets, furniture, décor Environment: low density housing, large lots, pesticide use for perfect lawns/gardens, individual automobile commute to work and services Dependency on cars: more affordable, more access made suburbs possible

Optimism, consumer confidence materialism Optimism, consumer confidence The good life = the latest technology and products (status) Competition with neighbours (“Keeping up with the Joneses”) Conspicuous consumption: The spending of money on and the acquiring of luxury goods and services to publicly display economic power Not to satisfy any physical need, but rather to gratify the psychological craving for status or the esteem of others.

Boomer generation: purchasing goods for kids advertising Boomer generation: purchasing goods for kids Shopping as a past time, shopping mall as cultural gathering place 1950’s: most families have a TV in the home Growth of advertising industry Less regulation on truth of claims (safety, health risks, promised results) Increased rate of new products, versions (planned obsolescence)

60’s/70’s: protest generation Echo boom (Gen Y, 1982-1995) Legacy of the baby boom 60’s/70’s: protest generation Echo boom (Gen Y, 1982-1995) Demand for social services as they age through the system

Today: 2/3rds of Canadians live in suburbs Legacy of the suburbs Today: 2/3rds of Canadians live in suburbs How they are known, remembered, parodied in culture – what they have come to symbolize in national memory Environmental impact: patterns that persist today (car culture) Urban sprawl and loss of farmland Building on sensitive lands: erosion, groundwater contamination Consumerism: waste, planned obsolescence Suburbs today: more ethnically diverse