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History is something remembered through writing and words. Remembering will always be something humanity strives to do -- we've always passed down stories. No one is in the position to say whether or not the 1950s were good or bad. But knowing the story can give us a leg up on understanding it's message...
Explosive relations: business as usual
Explosive relations: business as usual
News and Politics in the 1950s: Skyler
As usual, politics in the 1950s were contentious, especially in relation to international communications. Aren't they always? Harry S. Truman started out the decade and ended his presidency three years after the beginning of the 1950s. Dwight D. Eisenhower took over after winning the election in 1953, ending his presidency about one year after the end of the 1950s. All presidents add their touch to the picture of America; they add to it's history, it's foreign relationships, it's pride and hospitality. And as long as our president tries their best to add to and help America flourish as a whole, as both Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman did*, America will grow into the future as a country to be look upon as a place of opportunity and hope, if not a utopia.
Even though Harry S. Truman only played his role in a fraction of the 1950s, his story still has weight and influence in the weft and warp of this decade. Truman was born in 1884 in Lamar, Missouri. He took up the life of a farmer, and prospered under the Missouri sun. Later in life, Truman acted as a captain of the Field Artillery in WW1. Upon returning, he married Elizabeth Virginia Wallace. Truman's political side was also very busy. As a democrat, he was elected to be a judge, a senator, and head the Senate war investigating committee. Truman served two terms, and though his popularity decreased in his second term due to public suspicions of corruption, he is still ranked by historians as one of the best presidents in America's history. During Truman's presidency, foreign tensions ran high. Before the 1950s, he not only dropped the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending war with Japan, but also signed several peace initiatives in hope to preserve America's international relations. In the June of 1950, Truman decreed that America should step forward and support South Korea after it was attached by the North Korean military. Truman wisely reigned the war back, as not to allow it to become uncontrollable. Harry S. Truman died at age 88 on the 26 of December in 1972 of pneumonia. He fought for his life, but died after a lifetime of noble servitude to politics. His last words are unknown, but his memory is held forever in the history of America. When a president kills approximately 129,000 - 226,000 people in almost a world record time, he is sure to be remembered...
On the 14th day of October in 1890, Dwight D. Eisenhower entered the world. At his school in Texas, young Eisenhower was a very athletic boy. Later in his career, this led him to pursue military positions. Here are a few of his many pre-presidential accomplishments; he commanded military forces landing in North Africa -- and on "D-Day, 1944, he was Supreme Commander of the troops invading France." (https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/dwightdeisenhower). He was persuaded by multiple political figures to run for office, and won the election by a landslide with his slogan "I like Ike" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmCDaXeDRI4). In 1953, during his first term of presidency, he negotiated a truce with South Korea, somewhat if not completely relieving the tensions the Cold War left behind. Eisenhower also neutralized a potential world fatal situation by meeting with Russian authorities to discuss the matter of the recently internationally produced hydrogen bombs. His presidency wasn't all easy -- during the September of 1955, Eisenhower was in Denver when he suffered a heart attack. He was rushed to the hospital, but was thankfully saved. Soon after, Eisenhower was re-elected to serve his second year of presidency. These four years were spent striving for world peace -- in his own words: "There must be no second class citizens in this country." Eisenhower died on March 28th, in 1969. "I've always loved my wife, my children, and my grandchildren, and I've always loved my country. I want to go. God, take me," were his last words. Dwight D. Eisenhower is one of the most popular presidents in American history, and his death was mourned by people all over America. Striving for international peace should be our goal as a growing country, and Eisenhower recognized this.
The 1950's were a decade of change. International change. Political change. Humanitarian change. America is and always has been on the road to the future, and the 1950s were a crucial turn. Towards better or worse -- but who can say?
Stereotypes n' Television
Stereotypes n' Television
Television in the 1950s: Judie
Some television shows in the 1950s include I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, and Father Knows Best. The most popular and well known show was I Love Lucy. I Love Lucy starred Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black and white series originally started at October 15, 1951 and ended on May 6, 1957. I Love Lucy was about a funny woman who wants to become a star with her bandleader husband and manages to get herself into the strangest and funniest situations.
At the time women were usually not stars of shows and were considered to be the sexist version of a woman. A sexist version of a woman is a stay at home mom who doesn't have a job and does all of the housekeeping work, such as cooking and cleaning.
Father Knows Best was another very popular show that was rolling during the 1950s. Father Knows Best was about about a wise father, Jim Anderson, his common-sense wife Margaret and their children Betty, Bud and Kathy. Whenever the kids need advice on anything at all, they can always turn to their father, giving the show the name of, Father Knows Best. This show stars Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray, and Lauren Chapin.
This show was very stereotypical, just like I Love Lucy, and presented woman to not have any knowledge and not have the same privileges as men. I think that this is very stereotypical and the 1950s were generally very stereotypical, because women were treated with misogyny. They weren't allowed to do as many things as men were allowed to do, such as having a job, voting or being involved in any political matters. As you can see, from the name of this show, Father Knows Best, the father; the man was the dominant leader and was the main character from the show.
Gunsmoke was a show ran from 1955 to 1975. It was popular for its ongoing drama. The series was based on a man named Marshall Matt Dillon who tries to keep peace in a rough Dodge City. I personally didn't watch the show, but from what I read and researched I would predict that this show is a mimic of a rough and dangerous neighborhood, that had very bad conditions, and a man named Marshall Matt Dillon tried mitigate the severe conditions of this town. I guess the 1950s wasn't a very rich/equitable decade, and once again, a man was the main character of this show, so this is a piece of evidence that this decade wasn't very equitable.
Make Room for Daddy, is once again based on a man, named Danny Williams, a successful nightclub singer who gets himself into difficult situations, and tries to balance his career and his family. This is a comedy series, and was very funny due to Williams job that requires a lot of dedication and his family that needs a roof over their head and a meal at the dining table. Make Room for Daddy was continued to the 1970s and was retitled Make room for granddaddy. Danny Williams' wife died and not much longer he met another woman who was attractive and seemed to move on very fast. That shows that men looked for attractive woman only.
Last but not least, the DRAGNET was another watched show in the 1950s. It was based on the police term, dragnet. This show was about a man and his partner who investigate in LA crimes. This show is loved for its drama and surprises. The DRAGNET was not very stereotypical but racist because he would arrest or mistreat blacks, which is also wrong on all levels.
Rollin' in the 50s
Rollin' in the 50s
Music in the 1950s: Sonia
The 1950s was famous for Rock'n Roll. Rock & Roll started in the late 1940s and early 1950s in cities like Memphis, New York City, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, and Buffalo. There is no first rock and roll song because the music evolved over time to become rock 'n' roll. There is a specific term for rock in the 50s it is called rockabilly.
There are many singers who wrote rock 'n' roll, but the most famous, the king of rock 'n' roll, Elvis Presley. He made the genre famous. He was loved so much that after he died, a museum was created of his mansion.You can view it in 360. Here is one of his most famous songs, Hound Dog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzQ8GDBA8Is . In 1956, he became the the first artist to have nine singles in the Hot 100.
Another famous artist in the times of rockabilly was Little Richard. He once said "God gave us the ability, but Rock 'n' Roll was created by men. " He was the #2 rock n roll artist. While looking for him I found a lot of images of him, but i had a favorite:
It looks nothing like i expected him to look like so i tried to find another one that was better:
In the end I found a lot about him. His actual name was Richard Wayne Penniman. He has 11 siblings and when he was 19 his father was shot at a bar. He was one of a lot of famous rock and roll artists.
Advertisements: Sexist, racist and so much more
Advertisements: Sexist, racist and so much more
Advertisements in the 1950s: Max
Advertisements in the 50s were sexist, racist, and full of character. Cigarettes, fashion, and cars were popular subjects to advertise because most were new technology and trendy. TV just became popular, and ads/commercials became huge business bonuses. After world war 2, supply was low and demand was high. In the 50s, companies got back there demand and wanted to keep it.
Cars. A brand new technology and the thing to get in the 1950s. Here are some ads that I found interesting:
Only one of these ads don't have information. These cars were all new styles and EVERYONE wanted one. Having a car was more of a luxury than a necessity. Cars didn't go nearly as fast as Cars go now, A new car is like a hoverboard, except it actually had a future. Getting something that's new feels amazing, which is why car ads didn't need to do much advertising work. Cars now have to advertise a heck lot more because they need to prove that there cars are better than older versions, so they need more advertising. Do you remember the first iphone? It was terrible. But back then, it was break through. Car ads were easy and great.
You might recognize this ad. I looked up "1950s ads" and I found it. It was hilarious and the first ad I added to my essay. I showed it to my teacher and (To my dismay) he told me that it was made 5 years ago. I decided to compare this to another ad.
The ads are similar because they both contain woman doing something and they have a yellow background. But, there also very different. The fake one just features a woman drinking coffee, and a funny saying. The saying is not sexist in any way and was a smash hit. The second ad, although I wouldn't know if it was popular, I think it was as well. Both ads have similar styles, while the second one is more sexist and rude. I think the creators in the first ad captured the '50s pretty well. I hope that after you have read this, you know more about ads in the '50s.
Dreaming up the 1950s
Dreaming up the 1950s
Film in the 1950s: Skyler
During this tumultuous time period, there was definitely a wide variety of movies and genre options; films ranged from completely fantastical productions to mysterious and suspenseful productions! Because television was also starting to hit in popular culture -- and hit hard -- filmmakers were playing a sort of tug-of-war with television producers for audience members. As a result, theaters were made to be bigger and better. Even internationally, theaters and cinemas were thriving and growing. And because of this growth in theaters, there was a growth in film production as well!
We'll start out with Alfred J Hitchcock -- famous director and producer. He was renowned for his suspenseful movies and was sometimes referred to as the "Master of suspense". To state it plainly, if you haven't heard of Alfred J Hitchcock you pretty much must have been living under a rock.
Anyway, what does Hitchcock have to do with the 1950s? The 1950s was the prime of his career. Releasing hit after hit, Hitchcock was a movie making machine! He released Strangers on a Train, Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo, and North by Northwest -- just to name a few of them. Looking up the synopsis of each film, one can easily decipher that a lot of Hitchcock's films were about murders, deaths, and crime. And his nickname is definitely a fitting one!
One of my favorite films of the 1950s is Singin' in the Rain, which is basically about Hollywood jealousy and romance. Seriously, if you haven't seen it you definitely should. It has gotten several notable awards such as nominations for the Grammys, the Golden Globe Award, and probably a couple more.
The reason why I want to talk about Singin' in the Rain is because it is about a really important time in film history. This movie musical is about the transition from silent films to filming with sound -- and though sound film had been invented some 20 years earlier, it was taking a little while to transition.
There was another golden era in the 1950s -- this one in the science fiction industry; it peaked with films like Creature from the Black Lagoon. To summarize it, Creature from the Black Lagoon is about a group of scientists exploring a remote jungle in search of a mysterious and potentially dangerous creature -- and at risk of their own life. I think that the reason this film in particular was so popular was because either people wanted an fantastical and thrilling escape from whatever world they were living in then.
But over all, this blossoming of science fiction in the 1950s was due to the fact that everyone was still reeling after atom bombs were dropped on Japan. This spurred an interest in the sciences behind the achievable (and unachievable) miracles and destructive powers we humans are able to harness -- resulting in both good and bad.
As demonstrated in the synopsis of 1950’s films, it is clear to see that films will always reflect the current, "real world" around them. They are almost dreamlike -- not only because in the world of film things can be achieved that normally would not be humanly possible -- but because films reflect the decade they are set in. Our dreams reflect and warp the things that happened during our day; sometimes dreams can take us on a whirlwind of fantasy, and sometimes they twist our fears into monsters beyond control.
The dreamland world of film is and always has been a world of imagination...
Thanks for reading!
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