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Technology through the decades from 1950
Technology through the decades from 1950
1950 s pop culture
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The 1950s was the time period after World War II, where America was victorious and had a stable economy. Now that troubles international was settling down, issues back at home arose. Shifting gender roles, anti-communism, and racial tension was the topic of interest instead of war. In 1950s, the movies were characterized by new technology, post-war affluence, and a non-traditional defiance.
In the 1950s, new technology and effects were introduced into the film industry. In the 1950s, many Americans had owned a television and had no reason to go to movie theaters. Therefore, the movie industry had to come with new ideas on how to bring back the audience. This causes the introduction of new effects and film technology. Some of these include;
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As stated in website, Filmsite, “The fear of the Communists continued to appear on-screen, mostly in blatantly anti-Communist, propagandistic films that are mostly fascinating from a social-historical point of view…At the end of the decade, the story of a young girl in hiding before being discovered with her family and sent to a concentration camp was filmed in The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)” (Dirks 3). This quote shows that the war was still a big inspiration in the films of 1950. During the War, our “ally” Russia had took control of many land. Russia was a communist government, however, the Allies put that aside for the sake of winning the war. However, once the war ended, Russia became a threat to us as they had spread communism over Eastern Europe. In fear that the idea of communism might spread to America, anti-communism propaganda significantly increased. War influence was evident in the films of 1950s, which was the period of time where we would also face the Cold …show more content…
As stated on the website, Filmsite, “In the period following WWII when most of the films were idealized with conventional portrayals of men and women, young people wanted new and exciting symbols of rebellion” (Dirks 1). Films did just this as big actresses were more sexual and didn’t follow the traditional female roles. One being Marilyn Monroe, seen as a huge sex symbol even till this day. Monroe was an example of how the 1950s was about rebelling against the traditionally views. This was shown in the films created in that decade. The rebellious portrayal was shown through the films for the teens. As quoted in the website, Filmsite, “Hollywood soon realized that the affluent teenage population could be exploited, now more rebellious than happy-go-lucky - as they had been previously portrayed in films (such as the Andy Hardy character played by Mickey Rooney)” (Dirks 1). This quote shows the shift the movies had as before the films were about friendly teen but now they had shifted to insubordinate teens. The 1950s was the beginning of the rebellious stage in
The 1950s was the decade that saw the birth of the 'suburban dream'. It was an era dominated by
Technology in the 1950s started with many great innovations that shape the way we live now. Probably the most important innovation of television was the introduction of cable T.V., television broadcasting, sitcoms and talk shows. Television went though many changes in its younger years. The way T.V. Developed in the early years is the foundation for what we watched now days. Transitory radios became very popular in the fact that Music could be heard in any location because it was now portable. Still T.V. Innovations were what the 1950s were all about from a technology and the birth of the T.V. show.
They did not challenge gender norms or ideals. Nor did they aim to usurp the position of the man. Rather, they supported the overarching mentality that women were to be submissive, strive to fulfill the needs and wants of men, and aim to please their male counterparts. (Kallen) Importantly, none of these women or representations of women exhibited any physical attributes that the dominant culture would view as masculine. Instead, they all displayed quintessential feminine characteristics and traits. Moreover, they were not valued for their brains or accomplishments; they were judged solely based on the degree to which they conformed to the male-dictated status quo. Marilyn Monroe and other sex icons of the 1950s were portrayed as dim-witted, naïve, childlike, and vulnerable, which was the polar opposite of society’s picture of the strong, smart, witty, and brave male. There was nothing about these women that challenged male superiority or threatened the overarching worldview that it was a ‘man’s world’ and women’s purpose was to make this world more enjoyable for the men who ruled it. (Meyerowitz
In an article by New York State writers and a senior lecture in Media studies at Penn state wrote, Don Siegel’s Invasion of the Body Snatches has been called “An unprepossessing little horror film, made with a minuscule budget for a three-week shooting schedule -- and yet it produced one of the most trenchant social commentaries of the 1950 's(Filmnotes).
The 1950's represented the cold war era, symbolized by the red scare, anti-communism, potential nuclear war, and McCarthyism. Patriotic loyalty and conformity demonstrated an allegiance to our country. Citizens who spoke out against US government policies experienced surveillance, being black listed, and labeled communists. The sensationalized conviction and execution of the Rosenberg's for spying, jeopardized our countries' national security and reinforced anti-communism propaganda. Moreover, students practiced emergency ducking under their desk drills to prepare for a nuclear fallout and families purchased bomb shelter for protection. The hyper-vigilance, fear, paranoia, and post - traumatic stress that permeated our country's landscape of being under siege, intensified with the polio epidemic.
The 1950s in America was a time that brought about simplicity and perfection amongst the American society. The “all-American Dream” with the flawless family, which was emphasized by the constraints, and expectations that were demanded by the American Republican era of Eisenhower, would pave way for manifesting changes of the 1960s. Through the emphasis of media and societal expectations and political and wartime upheaval, Americans would fit the cookie cutter mold that would breed the fighters and lovers of the 1960s.
The innovational time of the 1950s was known for the uprising of mass culture within America. Due to the financially fluctuating years prior, Americans were unable to spend much and were excited to take advantage of the new consumer goods introduced in the 1950s. There were new movies, television programs, genres and superstars of music, new products and new ways to get them that all became frenzies with the American people. Mass culture was responsible for bringing the nation new diversity in many different areas of society, bringing out a new idea of societal a...
As World War Two came to a close, a new American culture was developing all across the United States. Families were moving away from crowded cities into spacious suburban towns to help create a better life for them during and after the baby boom of the post-war era. Teenagers were starting to become independent by listing to their own music and not wearing the same style of clothing as their parents. Aside from the progress of society that was made during this time period, many people still did not discuss controversial issues such as divorce and sexual relations between young people. While many historians regard the 1950s as a time of true conservatism at its finest, it could really be considered a time of true progression in the American way of life.
This increased attention caused change in the industry, allowing the experience of the movie goer to massively change for the better. Many new genres, ideas and technologies emerged in the 1920s that would later dominate the industry. The 1920s saw massive changes happening in the movie industry that would help it to get one step closer to what it is today. The decade was largely dominated by silent films, but the creation of movies with sound followed afterwards. These innovations greatly improved the movies and made them more immersive and exciting for the viewer.
It is natural that the significance of events decays with the passage of time, such events remain alive in the history forever for reference of generations ahead. The episodes of events that may be termed as the most significant of the last century is the Cold War that happens to retain any relevancy in modern times. With the death of Soviet union and world turning from bipolar to unipolar shape, the incredible saga of cold war is over but its distressing memories are still alive in the minds of the people around the world as it happened to shape up the destiny of at least a couple of generations in every corner of the world. In particular, the cold war affected every aspect of American life for over 30 years. The foreign policy, political doctrines, economy, education and even the media felt the impact of cold war for a painful amount of time. In that way, the cold war shaped up the lives of entire American nation and they lived a life of uncertainty for more than a quarter century. Before coming back to the subject of impact of cold war on films, it is imperative to understand a brief history of cold war. The origins of the cold war dates back to decade of 1910’s when American felt the scare of communism for the first time. American Skepticism of communism, spearheaded by Soviet Union, as the potential threat to American sponsored ideology of democracy remained consistent for next 20 years and it even aggravated with the usurpation of Josef Stalin's ferocious regime. The apprehensive feelings attributed towards Soviet Union in the mindset of American leadership subsided for a while; rather they took a sharp reversal of policies, as the clouds of Nazi threat appeared on the skies of world politics. With the advent of 2nd world ...
Students were not expected to join the military or become a wife, as they were before the Cold War, but they were expected to go to college. This caused more free time for teenagers to have more music choices. The adolescents also started to begin dating and not courting. As the start of rock and roll was during the 1950s, Teenagers began to dislike their parents music and, after ...
Before the Second World War began Hollywood’s purpose lied within entertainment for the American people. After the war started, the main focus shifted to wartime propaganda. Film was used to display the war in a way that did not show its true colors—including the censorship of soldier causalities and other negative connotations that are a simple fact of war. There was even a time in which some actors became better known to America than politians. Through films, Hollywood began to make a statement of their anti-Nazi beliefs. They began to make motion pictures for American recruitment into the Army as well as many that supported the war effort, and intended to make other Americans more aware of the war’s effect on the United States, and how people can get involved. Many European countries banned these Hollywood films, as they began to affect not only America but many other countries that were involved in the war as well.
The 1950s was a time when conformity held supreme in the culture at large. Issues such as women 's rights were thrown to the back as people tried to remain in the popular form of a family. These issues being put off only caused the prolonging of the tumultuous 1960s that would soon
The 1950s are characterized as a decade marked by the Cold War and social conformity. It is hard to generalize the lives of millions of Americans, but the values of Americans in the fifties were shaped by two major events: the Great Depression and World War II. After a period of war and poverty conforming to a suburban way of life was a dream come true for Americans.
.... The most apparent reason being is that the 1950s were a time of fear, tidiness, maturity, and scientific wonder. Authors took advantage of readers’ imaginations by portraying unknown worlds and using the fear of nuclear war to help the suspense of their storytelling. In modern times, people have television to show them worlds beyond their own. Science has shown us more realistic happenings from things like radiation fallout, and the fear of nuclear warfare is no longer a constant staple is Americans minds. People now look for more relatable stories about relationships and struggles of a lacking economy, or the day-to-day troubles of being a teenager with all the hormonal problems to deal with.