During the 1950’s the United States saw a post World War II economic boom. At the same time American’s saw a shift in culture due to teenagers breaking away from the same beliefs and social norms as their parents. By doing this teenagers created their own subculture, which meant different behaviors and specifically buying behaviors. Thus the emergence of a new teenage subculture in the 1950’s benefitted the economic boom. Markets such as clothing, fast food, makeup and music became increasingly appealing to teenagers through the decade as they came to sell products specifically for teens. Businesses took advantage of this by marketing to that demographic. As Stuart A. Kallen put it, “by [the] mid-fifties teenagers made up a very lucrative consumer …show more content…
At the end of World War II teens had little disposable income because everything went towards the war effort (Rose 191). Coming off of World War II and the Great Depression, 1950’s teens were some of the first not growing up in a time of anxiety and through a tight economy. Many of these young adult’s parents grew up during the depression and saw many goods as unnecessary luxuries; while on the other hand these teens saw these items as necessities (Kallen 149). By growing up during prosperous times in the fifties these teens saw many products and buying behaviors differently than their parents. Since the United States was hitting prosperous times, many of these teenagers’ parents were employed and making plenty of money compared to the previous years. With extra money many parents wanted their kids to live better childhoods than they did during the Great Depression and would so give their children spending money (Cosgrove; "The 1950s Lifestyles and Social Trends: Topics in the News."). For the first time teenagers had “large amounts of disposable income to spend” (Kallen 149). Another difference that distinguished teenagers in the 1950’s from those before them was the emergence of their own subculture. During World War II financial and social constraints caused teens, specifically girls, to have similar styles as their parents …show more content…
The teenage consumption in this market can be thanked by the automobile, which gave teenagers a new mode of transportation. During World War II most car factories were used to produce munitions for the war effort. By the fifties the car industry was back at it selling cars across America and the government was out building highways and interstates. The car gave many people a better accessibility across towns and to businesses. Automobiles were the thing to use and many teenagers caught onto this. During the fifties the automobile gave teens “a greater feeling of independence than any generation before it (Kallen 148).” This independence allowed teengers to break away from their parent’s behaviors even more, thus improving on their new cultural identity. In the restaurant industry, one company tried to capitalize on this newfound independence to attract teenage customers. Mcdonald’s which opened in 1954 used the accessibility of the car to appeal to consumers with fast food drive-ins. The depiction of a teenage boy in Image 4 targets the teenage demographic by the idea of inexpensive, good food that seems to be enjoyed by someone of their same age therefore appearing appealing. This kind of appeal helped attract teenagers to drive-in food places where they would spend money. Because the automobile gave teenagers in the fifties more independence from
The institutions, cultural forms, and economic powers were lifted as the term “teenager” itself was created to differentiate young men and women from adults (University of Toronto 145). The clothing trends, hairstyles, dances and even the language was different from that of adults (Armstrong et al, 134). Young men and women enjoyed dressing themselves with blue jeans, leather jackets,and pony tails for women, which stood as an identity for teenagers as it differentiated them from adults (Armstrong et al,135). This idea was amazing to acknowledge because a new type of people are emerging, and this added to Canadian multiculturalism and acceptance of the different types of people.The adults response to the wild nature of teenagers was that they were left shocked at first, yet later they acknowledged this act as just a phase during one’s life, they got used to this unique behaviour as time progressed (OC University 10). With the brutality of World War 2, the youth at the time were simply left neglected (OC University 10). Many believe that teens during the 1950’s were greatly influenced by being raised during a war generation (OC University 10). The youth distinguished themselves through shocking, yet enjoyable behaviour such as dance moves and their overall mindset on life. In addition, advertisers convinced teens to purchase certain products which
(Goldberg, 2004) The 1950’s was a decade of fear, but it was fear that came with hope that peace and prosperity should never be taken from the people again. A shift from families crowding around their radio trying to hear the news, they began sitting down in front of their television watching their favorite shows that only aired once a week on either CBS, ABC, or NBC. Richard Powers said, "There have always been inter-family conflicts between parents and their adolescent children, but this cultural division was larger.” (Powers) he went on to say “A significant proportion of the adult generation disapproved of the values and lifestyle of the teens, and was doing something about it, including setting new rules, restrictions and prohibitions.” (Powers). This quote ties directly into the movie. This decade had many ups and many downs. It launched the
The baby boom was a big contributor to the new word “Teenager” as in “The 10 years from 1946 to 1956, the population increased by 20 percent, in Canada. Those new kids demanded new furniture, new clothes and more food be produced, along with new houses, and new cars and lots of other services like schools and playgrounds, and swimming pools and hockey rinks. Lots of ne...
Music has become more available. and convenient because of the new technology; the new seven-inch. singles were created, light, cheap and convenient. Gramophones became cheaper and pop shows on TV started showing and coffee bars became popular so teens can catch up with the latest songs. The economic boom gave the teenagers more money to spend on what they wanted and this gives them more freedom.
Palladino creates a historical background of the thirties in order to show how history related to and effected the personal experiences early teenagers were having. When Palladino wanted to talk about the challenges and repercussions faced by teens of the 1930s, how they were beginning to go to high school and develop a social group of their own, she first had to explain the historical context teens of the thirties were living in which was the Great Depression. Describing the historical context without directly bringing in teenagedom shows Palladino uses sociological imagination by implying a relationship between the Great Depression and the personal experiences of early teenagers. Palladino explains, “But the realities of economic depression, severe and unrelenting by the mid 1930s, altered their plans. Between 1929 and 1933, professional incomes dropped 40 percent, and the supply of white-collar workers dangerously exceeded demand...During the great depression there were 4 million young Americans sixteen to twenty-four who were looking for work, and about 40 percent of them--1 million boys and 750,000 girls--were high school age” (Palladino, 35-36). Later she elaborates to explain that much of teenage life was affected by this historical occurrence, showing that she understands history connects to the personal lives of the early teenage societal group. Palladino does this again when analyzing teens of the forties, “Although the nation had been gearing up for war ever since the fall of France in 1940…” (Palladino, 63), Palladino creates a fuller awareness of the historical context teenagers were living in, in order to examine the group by showing their relation to societal forces as a whole and the history being made around
At the end of World War II, American culture experienced an overhaul that ushered in a period of complacency beneath which paranoia seethed. A generation that had lived through the privations of the Depression and the horrors of world war was now presented with large suburban homes, convenient and impressive appliances, and pre-packaged entertainment. Such wonders so soon after extended hard times were greeted enthusiastically and even treated with a sense of awe. They may have encouraged few distinctions among the middle class -- the houses in a suburb were generally as identical as hamburgers at McDonald's -- but they represented a wealth to which few had before enjoyed access. Life became automated, with dishwashers cleaning up after dinner and air conditioning easing mid-summer heat. The new conveniences left more time for families to absorb the new mass culture presented through television, records, and Spillane novels. Excitement over the new conveniences and entertainment led America to increasingly become an acquiring society. To my parents' generation, childhood in the 50s was a time when people were generally pleased with themselves and with the...
Since the beginning of time, humans have been changing, developing, and evolving. The 1950s was a fascinating era in American history, and whether its people altered for good or bad is debatable, but one thing is for certain - many drastic changes were made during this time, especially involving teenagers. Juvenile delinquency erupted from the depths of the community, and countless gangs arose. Different genres of music were also emerging. Old perspectives were being replaced with controversial ideas; a lot was about to change.
Teenagers in the 1950's are so iconic that, for some, they represent the last generation of innocence before it is "lost" in the sixties. When asked to imagine this lost group, images of bobbysoxers, letterman jackets, malt shops and sock hops come instantly to mind. Images like these are so classic, they, for a number of people, are "as American as apple pie." They are produced and perpetuated by the media, through films like Grease and Pleasantville and television shows like Happy Days, The Donna Reed Show, and Leave It to Beaver. Because of these entertainment forums, these images will continue to be a pop cultural symbol of the 1950's. After the second World War, teenagers became much more noticeable in America (Bailey 47). Their presence and existence became readily more apparent because they were granted more freedom than previous generations ever were.
The 1950s seemed like a perfect decade. The rise of suburbs outside cities led to an expansion of the middle class, thus allowing more Americans to enjoy the luxuries of life. The rise of these suburbs also allowed the middle class to buy houses with land that used to only be owned by more wealthy inhabitants. Towns like Levittown-one of the first suburbs- were divided in such a way that every house looked the same (“Family Structures”). Any imperfections were looked upon as unfavorable to the community as a whole. Due to these values, people today think of the 1950s as a clean cut and model decade. This is a simplistic perception because underneath the surface, events that took place outside the United States actually had a direct effect on our own country’s history. The rise of Communism in Russia struck fear into the hearts of the American people because it seemed to challenge their supposedly superior way of life.
The youth of the 1950s were built off of their rebellious personalities, their sense of morality, and the metaphorical phrase of being rebirthed. This is best shown in the film Rebel Without a Cause, where teens are seen running away from their parents and getting involved in stuff they shouldn’t be. The reasons why teens were depicted as rebels against conformity was because of how youth culture formed, such as the growth of cars, being involved with love, and forming gangs within their group of friends. When comparing 50s kids to today’s kids, it can be seen that the generation’s culture is drastically different. The biggest goal for parents today are to wipe out the source of rebellious thoughts, and keep strict conformity amongst their family so it would not cause society’s downfall.
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.
The bureaucratization of business in the 1920’s meant that more people could be employed in higher paying white-collar jobs than before, including, for the first time, housewives. This new income combined with the reduced prices for goods that resulted from mechanized production, assembly lines and a general decrease in the cost of technology created a thriving consumerist middle class that went on to fuel the economy in all sectors, especially the upper classes. Likewise, during World War II Americans saved up around 150 billion dollars, and this sum combined with the income of the GI Bill allowed normal people to buy expensive things, from houses to cars to electronics to education at a rapid rate, fueling the trademark prosperity of the 1950’s. The new automobile culture of the 50’s spawned new businesses that catered to mobile Americans, such as nicer and more standardized hotels like Holiday Inn, and drive-up restaurants like McDonalds. Just as the culture of the 1920’s was transformed by modernist ideas, the world of the 1950’s was reinvigorated by the introduction of the automobile to the middle class....
Civil rights and anti-war campaigns moved the younger generation of the 1960s to question their parents’ conservative beliefs. Coupled with the availability of oral contraceptives and you have a generation with a value shift. The shift resulted in more women working outside of the home and a push toward equal rights among men and women. Fashion soon shifted to a more openly sexual style including; miniskirts, long tight pants worn with go-go boots, bell bottom jeans, and love beads. There was even a shift towa...
Everyone is different in their own unique ways. We are characterized by what we wear, what we look like, how we walk, and how we move. We are also characterized by our likes, dislikes, hobbies, and more. In addition to all of this, each one of us is characterized by what culture we are a part of. We represent that culture and its subcultures in unique and interesting ways. Today, I will share with you what subculture I belong to. I belong to a subculture of gaming, and I will talk about how, when, and why I participate in this culture.
Before the big evolution of rock and roll, the United States was heavily involved in World War II. In this era, teens were expected to grow up at a very early age. Going to school was not one of the main priorities for these young adults during this time, and because of that "teens were expected to take life seriously. [Meaning,] the young men were expected to join the military or go get a job to support their family or their future families, while the young women were taught to take care of the household and prepare themselves to be a dutiful wives and to take care of their [future] children," (Cox). Even though they were expected to grow up early, “teens had very little economic power, freedom, independence, and input into [many of their own] decisions" (Cox).