1950’s Conformity and Rebellion

RG Questions Describe the postwar affluence of the United States and what caused it.

Affluent Society Economic growth came out of massive government spending during the New Deal and World War II Two Forces dominate the nations economy Strong labor unions (35% in 1953), up to 60 percent in some cities The United Autoworkers and Steelworkers especially strong Massive Government military spending

Baby Boomers United States birth rate (births per 1000 population)

RG Questions What is the service industry? How does this sector confuse the issue of class ?

RG Outline the consequences of the growth of suburbs? What is a Levittown? What is its significance to the affluent society?

National Highway Act of 1956 Authorized $25 billion dollars to build 41,000 miles of public roads Originally intended for defense purposes Funds originally diverted from Defense funds Most Military bases linked to the system Aids in evacuation/ moving troops in the event of a nuclear attack/ invasion Federal Government pays 90% of the cost states 10% Federal Portion funded through a gasoline tax

Growth of the Suburbs Between 1948-1958, some 13 million homes were built in the United States; 11 million (85 percent) were built in the suburbs. Levitttown, NY Little Boxes

Growth of the Suburbs

Growth of the Sunbelt

RG Questions What trends led to the homogenizing of American society? How does television play a role in creating and reflecting 50’s culture?

Consumerism, Mass Culture and conformity Father knows Best I Love Lucy TV Advertising Fast Food

The Beatniks What are the Beatniks? What stereotypes describe them? Where did the name come from? Interview with Allen Ginsberg

The Beats Central elements of Beat culture are: rejection of standard values the spiritual quest exploration of Eastern religions, rejection of materialism explicit portrayals of the human condition experimentation with psychedelic drugs, and sexual liberation

The Beats Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation" in 1948, Anti-conformist youth Allen Ginsberg's Howl (1956)  William S. Burroughs's Naked Lunch (1959)  Jack Kerouac's On the Road (1957)  Howl and Naked Lunch were the focus of obscenity trials that they won

Howl "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked,/ dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix. …” Howl Contained an explicitly homoerotic passage considered “Obscene” (self censuring in the original): "who let themselves be f ….. in the a … by saintly motorcyclists, and screamed with joy."

Howl Obscenity Case 1957 Justice Horn found that that Howl and Other Poems was not obscene but contained “redeeming social importance” and was therefore protected by the First Amendment. “The authors of the First Amendment knew that novel and unconventional ideas might disturb the complacent, but they chose to encourage a freedom which they believed essential if vigorous enlightenment was ever to triumph over slothful ignorance,”

Answer parts a, b, and c. a)  New forms of mass culture emerged in the United States in the 1920s and in the 1950s. Briefly explain ONE important similarity in the reasons why new forms of mass culture emerged in these two time periods. b)  Briefly explain ONE important similarity in the effects of new forms of mass culture in these two time periods. c)  Briefly explain ONE way in which some Americans responded critically to new forms of mass culture in either period.