Australian Popular Culture In The 1950's

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INTRODUCTION Good evening and welcome to The History of Television. On tonight’s show we will focus on how and why Australian popular culture, specifically the television industry, was heavily influenced by America, from the post-World War period to the 1970s. The post-world War Two period set the stage for the development of Australian cultural identity and the values, attitudes and beliefs of what it is to be Australia were defined. Pearson Australia define popular culture as “a set of behaviours and values shared by a large group or groups within society at a particular period of time.” These behaviours and values are presented in a variety of forms including, fashion music, film, sport, and television. Television was the main source in …show more content…

War was over…populate or perish, baby boomer generation Hosting the 1956 Melbourne Olympics triggered the introduction of television into Australia so that the event could be watched across the country and the globe. On September 16th 1956 the black and white television became available in Australia. An early model was expensive, costing over $400, at a time when the average weekly wage was just over $30 a week. Only 5% of Melbourne and 1% of Sydney households owned a television by 1960. (Carrodus, Delany, McArthur, & Smith, 2012) It was cheaper to import programs than to make them locally. Television had the power to bring people together as those who did not yet have a television crowded into homes of friends or outside shop windows to keep up with the latest news. - Every capital had a television service except for Hobart - 15 year olds were watching 9-12 hours of television a week, more than any other recreational activity. The 1950s was the decade that saw the birth of the 'suburban dream'. It was an era dominated by full employment, a good standard of living, family- focused values and the 'suburban dream' of a house of one's own with the latest labour-saving appliances. New suburbs were developed …show more content…

Post-war refugees from Greece, Italy, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands established significant communities. They assimilated into Australian society. (My Place, 2013) PARAGRAPH 2 THE SENSATIONAL SIXTIES Civil rights movement - http://www.myplace.edu.au/decades_timeline/1960/decade_landing_4.html The early 1960s saw the expansion of television. The television had become a common household item, and by 1996 it could be found in 95% of homes in Sydney and Melbourne. The baby boomer generation had become teenagers and they urged to be different. The teenagers embraced and followed the latest fashions Australian television was still dominated by US programming, with a government report in 1963 finding that 97% of drama serials were imported from the US. Major change to television was the development of satellite broadcasts. This meant that Australians received the latest news and events from around the world, such as the moon landing in 1969. (Albert, et al., 2013) Elvis PARAGRAPH 3 THE SALIENT SEVENTIES Women’s movement -

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