Hopefully, in the short amount of time we spent learning about 1950's American culture, you were able to notice many differences between life in the 1950's compared to life in the United States today. From the following list, choose two topics to write on in paragraph form identifying what you have discovered to be different about life in the 1950's and today. Be sure to provide specific examples (from your book or other sources) comparing the two eras.
1. The make-up of the American family (ideal family of the 1950's compared to today).
2. Where and how Americans lived (migration patterns, life in the city).
3. How did Americans obtain consumer goods (how did the purchase goods, where did they get them?).
4. Explain the forms of entertainment (include how the messages/morals of the show create a culture).
5. Explain how the "mood" of the 1950's was different from the "mood" today.
The ideal family was more perfect in the 1950's where a mother and father and acouple of kids, unlike today where the majority of couples end up devorcing and maybe re-marrying. This was probably rare in the 50's.
ReplyDeleteAmerica was becoming more urban as time went on, and then they most likely worked in the city. Now there are even more suburbs and towns outside of a city, like papillion or ralston or lavista.
People bought items on credit and now in this age its even worse, that's pretty much all people buy on.
Music was a big entertainment choice in the 50's and so was tv because it was just becoming popular and there were more tv shows.
The mood seemed more happy and up-beat in the 50's and it was true happiness. Today I feel like the mood for youth is happy because we dont have to worry about the economy just yet, but parents and adults mood is more down and maybe not as happy.
1). The American Family of the 1950s had a wife and a husband, after WWII there were tons of families with kids because of the baby boom. Back then the wife would most likely stay home to take care of the infant or perhaps do some sort of work, while the man provided for the family. In the 50's tons of people were moving into cities, and by doing this, high way systems were developed, new roads, and with those, more cities and houses. Now-a-days it's not that uncommon to find an "incomplete family" where perhaps the wife and husband got a divorce, or the kid is living with his aunt, uncle, grandpa or relative.
Delete5. Back in the 50's they were just introducing Elvis, and his famous hit Jailhouse Rock. That's another thing, the rock music was becomming VERY popular. Lots of new TV shows like Mickey Mouse Club, Adams Family, etc. were being developed in the 50's as well. Today you have a lot of mixed cultures and mixed music. It varies from ACDC Rock, to Blake Shelton Country, to Miley Cyrus and what ever she sings..
-Cole Smith
The ideal family in the 1950's was a happy perfect family with a mom a dad and kids. The kids were well disciplined and would always be playing outside with neighbors. Today there is no real ideal family because there are many different kinds (single couples, foster families, blended etc.). Kids are more involved in technology and not as involved in being outside.
ReplyDeleteThe music industry was just starting in the 1950's like R&B and rock n' roll. The 1950's music was different than todays music because it wasn't about drugs or cuss words and it didn't send a bad message. All their music was happy and sent good messages and it created records and record player so they could listen to whatever music they wanted to.
-Abby Brazeal
4.The forms of entertainment are much different then today. They had movies, new forms of music such as rock and roll, and they also had new t.v shows. The new forms of music included music by the famous Elvis Presley. Elvis, was the dare devil, much how Miley Cyrus is today in our society. Elvis was banned from a lot of homes in America because it wasn't right to families,but actually, it created in a way, a wild society. On the t.v shows, such as I love Lucy, they made sure that nothing was offensive to the audience or inappropriate to whoever was watching. That's why they had separate beds for Lucy and Ricky.(which later in the show they had one bed). This created a safe society and a good culture because you were safe and didn't have to worry about things being said.
ReplyDelete5.The mood in the 1950's was very different then today. Then, it was carefree and a little more protecting. They actually cared about what children were seeing. They made sure that things weren't offensive and so anybody could watch anything. It probably was a little less stressful. The mood today is definitely less carefree and things were probably more stressful. On the t.v these days, people don't necessarily care about the audience and if it's offensive or not.
The ideal family in the 1950's was a mother, a father, and a few children. Today, many families consist of divorced parents, but many also contain a mother, father, and a few children. There is not considered to be an "ideal" family today, though, as there are many different types. In the 50's, many people began to move into suburbs and more rural areas, like the Levittowns. This was mainly because there was a shortage of housing in cities, so people had to move farther out from the city. Today, many people still live in suburbs, as it is often affordable to live in them, rather than in the city. In the 1950's, people still bought goods on credit like in the 1920's, but they did not spend as frivolously as they had before. Today, people buy almost all goods on credit. During the 50's, entertainment was much less profane and very family oriented. Now, there are very shocking things on television and in other areas that would never have been allowed in the 50's. The mood of the 1950's was much more innocent and happy than than today, when people and news sources seem to act much more grim and dreary than necessary.
ReplyDelete-Nate Marshall
Katie McLaughlin
ReplyDeleteAn ideal family in the 1950's consisted of a husband, wife, and kids. The husband is away working all day while the wife stayed at home cleaning and looking after the kids. Today, a lot of married couples become divorced. This causes a home to have one parent and the kids living in 2 houses. In a modern married couple, typically both partners work all day compared to only the man.
In the 1950's many families that live in the cities moved into suburbs due to the overcrowding and shortage of housing. William Levitt made a house affordable to an average American family by mass producing houses in the suburbs. In effect to lots did employees moving outside of the city, interstates were being constructed to connect major cities and transport people in the suburbs to the cities. Also, people began to migrate to sunnier states called sunbelt states. California, Florida, and Texas are examples of sunbelt states. This migration was caused by the invention of air conditioning that made it bearable to live in these States year round. Also, California was booming with jobs that attracted people as well.
The ideal family in the 50's would have been a Mother a Father and about 4-5 were they were resembles the perfect family with all the siblings getting along and the Mother staying at home taking care of the kids and house with the Father bringing home the bacon. Compared today's society where most people only have 2-3 kids where most don't get along and parents get a lot more divorces.
ReplyDeleteThe entertainment in the 50's was way different from what people are entertained by today's technology and media. The entertainment they had was music, of Rock n' Roll and R&B, a limited amount of channels, containg shows like "I like Lucy", and "Davy Crockett". Also motion pictures like The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Thing from Another World, and Creature from the Black Lagoon. These at best in our times are not nearly enough to keep our attention with our life on the internet and phones.
- Will James
Rakchhya Gurung
ReplyDeleteAn ordinary family during the 1950's consisted of a loving mother and father with most likely two or more children. Because of the baby boom (caused by the over joy and welcoming of soldiers from WWII) many family's had many children and it was rare to find a family with one or no children. Today society has changed almost everything. Many parents are divorced and cause their children to suffer and make bad decisions. Also technology has innovated thus complicating teenage choices. Compared to 1950's teens today are very occupied with social media instead of family time. For example during the 1950's many family's spent time together by watching T.V. but today almost all teens avoid family time.
The next topic is the mood of the 1950's. I would say it was a very happy era because many soldiers were returning home and families were reuniting. Also the economy had a boost and many jobs were open in the Sunbelt areas (Los Angeles, Houston). Also many spent money on things for time of leisure or simply to make time for leisure. For example the dishwasher washed your dishes for you. Today we experience the same happiness because we have much more. Such examples maybe apple products, the internet and much more. Much technology does things for us and we get paid more. Plus we also have fair working times and leisure time. So I would say we have a bit more of happiness as a mood but in a way equal because of crimes.
1. During the 1950s, the ideal family was a husband, wife, and kids. Normally the husband would work and make the money while the wife would stay home, take care of the kids, and do housework. Today you see married couples with kids a lot of places but you also see divorce. Also you see more women working today.
ReplyDelete2. During the 1950s, masses of people were moving to California. Some of the reasons many people moved to California was because of the nice climate and job opportunities. Even today California is still highly populated. Also many people were moving from the cities to the suburbs because of overcrowding. The construction of new roads and interstates allowed the people in the suburbs to drive into the city to work. Although, one of the negative of effects of driving is price it takes to travel.
-Stephanie Dashiell
5th hour
Back in the 50s there was a new type of car coming out that everyone that could afford it had as their mode of transportation along with just walking and now there are multiple models of car, bike riding and riding the subway as modes of transportation.
ReplyDeleteIn the 50s there was only one main type of music and that was rock and roll and now in present day there are new types of music along with rock and roll. With tv the shows back then they were more aimed towards one main audience but now there are shows for young kids, teenagers, and adults and in movies there are different ratings for who should actually watch them.
Dillon Petersen
Alexis Paulsen
ReplyDeleteThe make-up of an American family in the 50s consisted of a perfect simple family. Two happily married parents, and two or three kids. Each family had kids and some more than others due to the Baby Boom. This was when the men coming back from war, got married and had many kids with their wifes. This family was modeled by the types of shows that aired in the 1950s. They gave off a perfect contructed image. Some shows listed as; Leave it to Beaver, Mickey Mouse Club, and I Love Lucy. In each of these shows they gave off the impression of happy, perfect, peppy, and all of the siblings helping each other and getting along. This would, of course, influence each of the watchers of those shows.
However, knowing how the media would influence the memebers of society, todays media reflects the American family. Look at the show, Sixteen and Pregnant, Gossip Girl, The Secret Life of an American Teenager, and many more. Each of these promote reckless teen behavior. This alters the outlook of the modern families also. They are broken, fighting, and are most likely don't have a mother and a father. These shows glorify pregnant teens and show that families constantly fight. Thus causing the modern day families to fight and have more conflicts.
However, this may not have all completely due to the over exsagerated unhealthy families. The media does indeed have an impact of the behavior of each person, however, back in the 50s, they may just not have shown the corrupted family life on TV.
1. In the 50s an ideal family had both a mother and father and a hand full of kids. Each person had a specific role in family life and helped out. In today's society some family's have single parents and maybe only 1 child or adopting children has gotten a lot more common. Rather than in the 50s divorce is very common and some people start having kids before they get married.
ReplyDelete5. In the 50s up beat pop music was just being introduced and females were starting to be more involved in society like female comedians. Also the new music made teenagers become more daring and resistant to what their parents said. Today there are a lot of different music genres and you see many femal comedians and other types of unique careers and now a days teenagers are influenced by alcohol and drugs way more than in the past. Also in the 50s people werent really worried about criminals all as much as people are today because it wasn't as common.
Josie Doxzon
1) The ideal family in the 1950's was consisted of a father, wife, and kids. The husband would typically go out to work during the day while the wife would stay home and tend to children and keep the house in good shape. Compared to todays society many parents are getting divorced at a much higher rate than normal and women are also more accepted making it easier for them to find jobs and provide for themselves.
ReplyDelete5) The mood of the 1950's and the mood of the current age are completely different. The people actually made sure what was being aired on television is age appropriate and can be viewed with the entire family, while today the media dosent hesitate at all to put innapropriate things on the air that could corrupt the viewers mind. Overall the 1950's seemed like a much more safer enviornment to grow up in and experience.
-Gage Johnson
1. The ideal family in the 50's consisted of both parents, and at least 2 kids. The wife would stay home to take care of the kids and the father would work full time. Today, more women have jobs and the divorce rate is much higher. Families are expected to have less kids and the parents are more focused on their careers.
ReplyDelete4. In the 50's, t.v. programs had mostly good morals and it shaped the culture to be less corrupt. Today, t.v. doesn't filter out bad messages for any ages, and the media is becoming increasingly inappropriate. Elvis Presley was considered to be a dare devil, but now his music has hardly any bad content compared with what is popular now.
Erin Perez
1. The typical family in the 1950s usually consisted of a happily married husband and wife with many children. The wife would most likely lack education and a steady job, and occupy her time as a homemaker, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the house and family. The husband would have a steady job and have the only source of income in the house. There would usually be a few children, that would be disciplined and take care of chores and learn to take the role of their parents. Today, many women have an equal income with their husband and work instead of being homemakers. The divorce rate is also higher and women have less children because women have a better sense of independence. Men typically have similar roles, but they can switch roles and act as the caretaker of the home while the wife works. Now children try and act more defiant toward their elders and try to be more mature than they actually are, which could be related to our current society and the influences surrounding us.
ReplyDelete5. The mood in the 50's are much different than today due to a lot of reasons. With TV and other social media, kids are able to see and hear things that aren't usually age appropriate causing them to act more or less mature then they truly are, where in the 50's there wasn't access to any of this. More and more parents seem to be less involved with their children's success in life and are passive when it comes to rules and discipline. In the 50's, things that are considered discipline would now be considered child abuse, so parents are becoming less strict as the years go on.
Hayley Moulton 3
Brooke Fleming, 3rd
ReplyDeleteThe ideal family in the 1950's was two parents, a male and a female, with a few children usually not a lot of kids. Now families are completely different, it's typical for parents to divorced or instead of a guy and girl its 2 guys or 2 girls as parents, which nobody would've even tried to do back in the 1950's. Also now people have more kids than they used too.
Entertainment has changed greatly, they would have never put a bedroom scene or nudity or profanity in a 1950's show, but now that makes up most of our shows and movies. And it's not seen as something horrible as it would be in the 50's. People have become more open showing and telling things to others as to in the 1950's they were usually inclusive. Music now talks about sex, drugs, uses profanity and that would have never of been an option in the 50's, people probably wouldn't have even listened to it because they would be disgusted, as for now many people that's all they listen too.
Isaac Theobald
ReplyDelete1. The Ideal family during this part of U.S. history was the "nuclear family". This involved a working father and a mother who has had children and is the housekeeper of the family. The women would have accepted their roles has housekeepers and the family would run smoothly. This was how it was portrayed in magazines and movies. Though women did challenge the fact that they should have a career outside the family.
5. In those times entertainment and media was strict. Only the appropriate was filtered all the way through to the hears and eyes of the American people. This was a significant part of the mood back then. Many movies and shows tried to encourage kids to listen to their mothers and fathers. One such example is Father knows best. Though the mood did have a rebellious swing to it with the upcoming of the new generation. The rock and roll "of the devil" came about. This was dislike by many parents and ministers of that time. Nevertheless, it was a craze of that time. The mood today is much more lax. Nothing is censured to the American public. Anything is available at a click of the button. The songs are suggestive and many are outright dirty. This would have been scoffed at by many people in that time. It is definitely not the same as it was some 60 years ago.
1.the American family now and the American family then, we're very different... families then were mostly made up of a daughter and a son. Now a days families have much more children. In the 50's families would also spend a lot of time togther, having picnics in the back yard and other things. Today you dont see that as much, parents have jobs and children often have things they need to attend every night which makes it hard for family time.
ReplyDelete4. Entertainment in the 50's was very idealistic, tv shows were often sought out to be about the average anerican family. Today you see a total change in culture, shows about murders, sports and anything you could think of. The 50"s tv show culture was much happier and in my opinion better then todays is. Todays culture is very cruel and non forgiving. entertainment was not only tv but also radios. 50's music was very uplifting and just brought you In a good mood and had a very good effect on the people that listened to It.
-Grayson Rogers 3rd hour
1. Ideally the average American household in the 50's was made up of a two parents a Mom and a Dad and their children. Women and men alike both had their gender roles, women were supposed to be homemakers, while the father were supposed to hold a steady (white collared) job to support the family. Today our views are more open and the roles of mothers and fathers are interchangeable. There is even the bringing about of gay rights in some state which would have been scrutinized and looked down upon greatly in the fifties, and is still by some. Overall the ideal family today is two parents one of which is supporting the household financially, while the other is supports the children and family.
ReplyDelete2. Many Americans left to suburban areas because of the shortage of housing in the urban areas of America. William Levitt and the FHA made easy for people to obtain a house in this area with low monthly payments and low interests loans provided by the government. The development of the car that was relatively cheap and reliable paired with interstate highways commissioned by Eisenhower connected the country and made it easy for people to get from place to place such as from the suburbs to urban areas of a person held a job there. This is also the reason many move to the Sunbelt paired with the development of the air-conditioner unit. Life was happy and frivolous for the most part and people were able to consume a lot of pop culture during this time in drive in movies T.V. shows ect.
1.) The average American family in the 1950's was made up of a husband, wife, and kids. The wife was socially pressured to be a stay at home mom but one third of the workforce was women. The husband typically brought in all of the income for the family. A baby boom was a result of returning soldiers and the end of fear to bring children into the world. Many families today suffer from divorce and re-marriage and don't spend as much time together outside like families in the 50's.
ReplyDelete4.) New forms of entertainment shaped the culture of the 50's, such as the birth of rock and the television. Children watched hours of cartoons and shows like Mickey Mouse Club or Howdy Doody Show. Families watched sitcoms like I Love Lucy and Leave it to Beaver. These shows never focused on major issues and only showed small problems that could be easily fixed. Rock music was frowned upon by most parents but the youth loved it. Elvis Presley was very popular and caused controversy because he moved his hips when performing.
-Gina S. 5th period
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away......was the 1950's......
ReplyDelete1. The standard or ideal family of the 1950's was a nuclear style family which was a family consisting of a mom, dad, and an average of 2-3 kids. Divorce was something that happened but it was a very rare occasion and considered unmoral. Teen pregnancies were also something that baffled the americans of the 50's. Of course is did still happen and when it did it was a huge disgrace towards that family, so big that young women would even sometimes be sent away until the baby was born to avoid harassment. Family life in todays society is something very different. Sure you still have your typical nuclear family but now you also add in blended families, adopted children, foster families, single parents, and especially divorce. The divorce rates have soared over what they were in the 50's because morals and faith has somewhat changed.
2. Forms of entertainment in the 1950's introduced new entertainment as well as post-50's entertainment. Lets start with the music. music in the 1950's was mostly jazz and swing music preformed by artists like Frank Sinatra or Cab Calloway (two cool dudes). However a new style of music was introduced in the 50's and that music was rock n' roll led by Elvis Presley. Fast forward 60 years or so and music is now at a catastrophic stage of garbage. Music in present day america consists of hip-hop/rap, rock, heavy medal, classical, jazz, and my personal favorite, country. Other forms of entertainment in the 50's was the introduction of new television shows like Leave it to Beaver or the Mickey Mouse Club. However like music, TV has also gone down the hole with shows like 16 and pregnant or Jersey Shore.
Ryan Martin
-5th period
1. The image of the american family in the 50's was very traditional. Meaning the did what they were told, didn't curse nearly as much as kids do today, parents didn't divorce in any comparison to as much as they do now a days, etc. The parents and kids in 1950's families were closer together and more of an actual family. Where as modern families are as far apart as ever and they spend more time focused on their social image and less on their family relations.
ReplyDelete2. As for the differentiation of where the families lived, its relatively similar and but also somewhat different. The families of the 50's had somewhat of a "migration" if you will, and that migration was a great movement of people from urban to suburban areas. They did this because of all of the soldiers returning from the war and wanting to start their families, also known as the baby boom. So, they figured the best way to do this was to move to the suburbs. As for the families of today, they live in variations of places because its possible to live in many places and still have a family, yet a suburb is still the ideal place to raise a family.