Dissent and Discontent What lies beneath the prosperity?

Quantity vs. Quality Many people were critical of the 1950s lifestyle Although many people had more, was life better? What is the American Dream? Quantity vs. Quality

Conformity “Fitting in” came at the cost of individuality Power of advertising Power of television Was it really a “vast wasteland”? Which is better: to be like everyone else or alienated? Catcher in the Rye Conformity

Beat Generation Writers and artists who rejected societal norms Anti-conformity and materialism of middle class life in America Their individuality and creativity lead to the hippies of the 1960s

Jack Kerouac On The Road Stream of consciousness prose Page-long paragraphs Revolutionary style Poet, journalist, novelist Interested in Eastern religions Heavy drinker

Allen Ginsberg “Howl” Opposed economic capitalism, militarism, sexual repression Free speech advocate Vietnam War protestor

William S Burroughs Novelist, poet, spoken word performer Naked Lunch Junkie Lifelong drug addict

Poverty Not all of America saw the gains of the suburban middle-class Cycle of poverty African Americans in inner cities, whites in rural parts of the country, and Latinos in both Poverty

Urban living in decline Cities hit hardest w/ rise of suburbs As many minorities moved to cities for jobs, many whites fled to suburbs Took income, wealth, and tax revenue to suburbs with them Shift in political power hurt cities Fewer services and increased crime rates Urban living in decline

Urban Renewal Sounds good…mixed results Greater concentration of poverty Can the cycle be broken? Urban Renewal

Those who didn’t move toward cities never felt the decade’s prosperity. Black, White, Latino…it didn’t matter Large scale farming became cheaper Few jobs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMfW SPVzIls Rural Poor