Chapter 19: The Postwar Boom Section 3: Pop Culture

Objectives… -Explain how TV, radio, movies & music of the 1950s reflected American society. -Explain how rock ‘n’ roll & the beats clashed with middle class values in the 1950s. -Describe how African American entertainers influenced American music in the 1950s.  

Television Radio Film The Beat Movement Rock ‘n’ Roll What kinds of subjects did TV tend to present? Stereotypes of women & men in socially acceptable roles. (mostly white popular culture). What kinds of subjects did TV tend to avoid? Controversial topics like race relations or the feminist movement. It avoided poverty, diversity and conflict causing social issues. Radio How did radio change to compete with TV? By showing local programming of news, weather & community issues. What role did radio play in popularizing AA music? It played a major role – it show cased the talents of African American composers and musicians making it extremely popular with audiences of all races (“rock and roll”). Film How did movies change to compete with TV? The film industry played up the size, color and stereo sound that movies offered and that TV could not replicate. They produced big budget films that could not be duplicated on TV and audiences happily paid $ to go to see them at the movie theatre. The Beat Movement What were the main characteristics of the beat movement? Followers were called “beatnicks” and were nonconformists who shunned regular work; imposed as little structure as possible to their artistic works; they often sought a higher consciousness through non-main stream religions and drug use. Rock ‘n’ Roll Who helped to popularize rock ‘n’ roll? TV & radio What were the main characteristics of rock ‘n’ roll? Elvis on Milton Berle

Role of the FCC The Federal Communication Commission (“FCC”) is the Federal government agency that regulates and licenses television, telephone, telegraph, radio and other communication industries. The most popular early TV shows were comedies giving rise to new stars like Milton Berle and Lucille Ball; on the radio “on the scene” news broadcasts were pulling in large audiences and the advertising industry scrambled to reach millions using both mediums.

1. The “Golden Age” of TV 1946 -Introduction of TV 1948 -200,000 TVs… 9% of America 1949 -Selling100K a wk. 1955 -32M in US 1956 –FCC licenses 500 stations 1960 -45M TVs… 90% of Americans

Early television sets…

American family watching TV in the 1950s… Columbia Broadcast Stations National Broadcast Company Associated Broadcasting Company

The Economics of Television… TV Net Revenue: 1947 $2M…1957 $1B Advertising $: 1949 $58M…1960 $60B

1a. 1954: Father Knows Best - A TV show promoting the ideal (conservative, rosy and paternalistic) American family of the 1950s. 1952-1966: Ozzie and Harriet -“The ideal American family life” - The longest-running "live”(non-animated) sitcom in TV history; they were a real family! The Nelsons 1957 : Leave it to Beaver http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sam9wP_uMEA

Lucy and the Chocolate factory The Honeymooners: Urban working class people struggling with the issues of a consumer society. Assorted clips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAKSLJySqWI Ralph learns to play golf: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNauilZRzHk I Love Lucy was the most watched show in the US in four of its six seasons. Lucy and the Chocolate factory http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NPzLBSBzPI&feature=related

1950 Sit- coms… 1b. “Ideal” suburban families Mischievous children Kindly “all knowing” dads 1c. No politics or social issues Critics called them: "Aryan melodramas“– Why?

“Television can instruct, inform and inspire, as well as distract, distort and demean” - Bill Moyers How does it distract? How does it distort? How does it demean? Identify the positives and the negatives of the Golden Age of Television. What are some of the positives & negatives of modern TV?

RADIO! 2a. Began to focus on news, weather music Many more radio stations in the 50s! 2b. Stations started playing “rhythm and blue” - which were mostly created by African Americans

Films? 3. Decreased due to TV but… it capacities the advantages that movies held over television – size, color and sound

The Beats… NON-CONFORMITY Express disgust with… - mass culture, conformity, consumerism & militarism The “Beats” believed in… -spontaneity, friendship, jazz, open sexuality, drug use, black culture & music The “Beat” look… -black clothes, sunglasses, berets 1a. Spontaneous prose… “first thought … best thought” 1a. Allen Ginsberg Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac http://www.biography.com/people/groups/beat-writers 1950's Conformity Versus the Beat Generation  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q47ha9_hE8

Traditional Blues + Rhythm & Blues + County + Pop =

Elvis Presley “Don’t Step on My Blue Suede Shoes” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrjbwVhQOAw “Heartbreak Hotel” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KYGdgMggAQ First TV appearance… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1Pv83Xrh80

Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thorton Hound Dog http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=womy8Coyq7Q Elvis Presley “Hound Dog” http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1815255454288225230#

The economics of Rock & Roll… Record Sales 1954 1959 $213M ……. $603M 5a. Radio Stations 1956 - 2,700 radio stations - 70% of all airtime involves music

Chuck Berry Maybelline... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-azvd30UKE Back to the Future… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1i5coU-0_Q The Chicken Walk

American Bandstand with host Dick Clark http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AoAzhCKG XU

Reading Activity: “The Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFtAOltn7iw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZW538daEIw “The Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1i5coU-0_Q Find the Definitions of the “Survival Words.” Read “The Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Complete the handout. -Submit to the teachers when finished. If not finished, it becomes homework due tomorrow at the beginning of class.

Objectives… -Explain how TV, radio, movies & music of the 1950s reflected American society. -Explain how rock ‘n’ roll & the beats clashed with middle class values in the 1950s. -Describe how African American entertainers influenced American music in the 1950s.  

Cold War in Film & TV

The Emergence of the Teenager Read p. 658-659 Objective… Describe the social & economic role teenagers player in post war America . The first “teenagers”…. -Born in late 30s & war years -Born into an affluent society Answer the following questions… 1) Why did teenagers have so much influence?... 2) How did teenage consumerism affect product development?... Teenager were consumers Businesses pursued the teenage market… Cosmetics, clothes, radio, phonograph, music, cars