Category: 1950s

The 1950s brought about an economic ‘boom’. War had ended and the economy had finally recovered, with this the cosmetic industry was at its best. 50s makeup reflected “a change in attitude from the simple make do days of the 1940s to the refined feminine beauty of the fifties” (‘Authentic 1950s Makeup History and Tutorial’, 2016). This period gave birth to many beauty icons including Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn.

Face and Complexion

Foundation would be matched as closely as possible to their natural skin tone. Sometime women wore one shade darker. Foundations had a pink undertone so women would often use two different shades of foundation to adjust their shade – in an attempt to contour. In the 1950s, pan cake was a really popular option for women. This was made by Max Factor and “in 1953, the introduction of the creme puff was very successful” (Team, 2014). This gave women an easy way to apply foundation and powder. After foundation was applied, powder was dabbed onto the face to cover any shiny areas and set the base. Any excess would be brushed away with a powder brush.

Rouge

By the start of the 50s, rouge was out of fashion. The trend that was seen a necessity from the 1700s was no longer needed to complete the look. “If any rouge was used, it was for contouring the cheekbones” (‘Authentic 1950s Makeup History and Tutorial’, 2016). The minority of people who still preferred a touch of rouge, applied it to the top of their cheekbones and blended it up into the temple. For those who had defined cheekbones, they skipped this step. A lighter shade of rouge was used if wearing under artificial lighting.

Eyeshadow

Eyeshadow came in a small range of colors, including purple, blue, silver, gold, green and teal. All of which could be matched to purses, outfits, curtains and shoes. During daytime, many preferred to match their eyeshadow with their eye color and during the evening, gold was added to darker eyes and silver was added to lighter colored eyes. This was because it was thought to be more classy and elegant. Eyeshadow was applied with a finger and came in different forms. Shadow was available in liquid, powder and also crème to create a smoother application. Generally, only one shade was used on the eyes at a time. Teens were advised to apply a thin layer of Vaseline onto their lids during the day for a natural looking effect.

Eyeliner

The eyeliner trend ben in the late 1940s with women lining their top lash line to give a thicker more defined look. However, in the 50s, eyeliner was taken a step further by the addition of a wing. This type of liner was described as “The doe eyed wing tip” (‘Authentic 1950s Makeup History and Tutorial’, 2016). By 1954, liner became longer and thinner and was named ‘the cat eye look’. “Black was recommended for black or dark brown-haired ladies, while brown eyeliner was better for blonds and redheads” (‘Authentic 1950s Makeup History and Tutorial’, 2016). Eyeliner was a way of adding glamour to a woman’s eyes and was a way to create a more heavy eye makeup look.

Eyelashes

Block mascara was still used in the 50s. This was activated with a drop of warm water and applied with a little brush. However, “Creamy mascara in a tube with a wand appeared in the 1950s” (Team, 2014). Black and brown were the two most used mascara colors. In addition to this, brighter colors were made. This included purple, green, blue and grey. ‘Kurlash’ – an eyelash curler from the 20s was improved to make it more comfortable when curling eyelashes. An added cushioning on the crimpers helped to do this.

Eyebrows

“Well defined eyebrows were the iconic look of the 1950s” (‘Authentic 1950s Makeup History and Tutorial’, 2016). Eyebrow pencil was a favored product amongst women for their brows. This is because they would tweeze away unwanted hairs or create a thin shape to their brows and then draw back hair like strands with the pencil. This way women were able to draw on their desired arch shape. “The fashionable 1950s brow consisted of a strong arch and a decent thickness that tapered out at the ends. The thickness varied from medium to very thick, but skinny brows were definitely no longer in” (Team, 2014). Many also extended the end of their brows.

Lipstick

Lipstick was one of the most important features of the 1950s look. Women no longer overdrew their lips and they gradually became a thinner, more natural shape. Red was still the most popular choice of color however; this came in many shades. Pink and coral colors also became popular. Lipsticks were matte and “after application, lips were pressed together and then blotted with a tissue before applying the final layer. A little face powder could be used to set the lipstick after the first application” (Team, 2014). Vaseline could be added to the lips to add a sheen or gloss. In 1950, the first long – lasting lipstick was produced. This was named the ‘no smear lipstick’ and was made by Hazel Bishop.

Hairstyles

Hairstyles in the 50s complimented each person’s personality. Short hair could be seen mostly on housewives, whilst long hair was associated with Hollywood pin ups. The curly bob was a favorite amongst women. Lucile Ball was a wearer of this style. The Italian haircut was a short hairstyle that followed through until the end of the 50s. This was slightly longer than the curly bob and was sculpted with a side parting and volume all round. In 1957, the bouffant hairstyle was introduced. “Hair was set in large mesh rollers, backcombed/ teased to create height on the sides” (‘1950s Hairstyles – 50s Hairstyles from Short to Long’, 2018). The pixie cut was also a highly worn hairstyle. Audrey Hepburn debuted this look in 1953 in the film, ‘Roman Holiday’. The Pageboy hairstyle was one for women with medium length hair. This style had a side parting with sleek mid lengths and edges that curled underneath towards the neck. The Hollywood pin up was the favorite for long length hair. Rita Hayworth, June Haver and Betty Grable all wore this hairstyle. This consisted of “very full curls all over a sleek top with cascading curls to one side” (‘1950s Hairstyles – 50s Hairstyles from Short to Long’, 2018). Other styles involve using headbands and scarves as accessories, The Horse tail Ponytail, the Betty Page hairstyle, The French twist and Chignon.

Influences on Makeup and Fashion

Television

An increase in signal coverage was seen post war in the 1950s, because of this, most of the country could watch tv. Tv stars such as John Wayne, James Stewart, Julie Newmar and Jane Russel were influential to the public as tv shows presented a range of new ideas.

Film Stars

Similarly to 1920s, the public and recent trends, especially in makeup, were guided by film stars. The most prominent women in the 1950s were Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Dorothy Dandridge and Doris Day. Betty Grable was also amongst those who influenced many.

Wartime Restrictions

During the war makeup was expensive and was really difficult to find. Products such as shampoo, soap, mascara, Vaseline and alcohol were rationed. Rationing from the war had ended at the beginning of the 1950s and oppositely, the makeup and cosmetic business bloomed. As a result, there were much more products on the market to offer.

Teenagers

The 1950s saw the rise of the teenager. “Young people now had a disposable income” (Team, 2014). This meant that they could spend their weekly allowance on whatever they wanted. As a result, brands marketed their products towards teens. Products such as skin care cleansers were released, targeted at ‘teenage problems’ (Team, 2014). These brands influenced teens into wearing makeup, in order to gain a profit and become a larger, more dominant cosmetic brand.

The 1950s was referred to as the ‘Golden Age’, during this time America was trying to rebuild society because of the war. This was a time for people to unite and come up with ideas that would recover society. Then came the 50s which was significant because it introduced rock and roll and television. Baby boomers around this time period were a big part because they were the audience to rock and roll and television. Rock and roll was a mix of blues and country music, the upbeat of the music is what got the youth hooked. Rock and roll gave a chance to the youth to express their feelings and change behavior. Secondly, television became relevant, because televisions were in development. People would go to the theaters to watch, but with a television set, they were able to watch at home. Television had a variety of shows to choose from like comedy, news, drama, and action. Millions of people were intrigued by rock and roll and television which positively influenced them. Rock and roll and television were important in the 1950s because it helped rebuild American society as well.

Elvis Presley was one of the main rock and roll artists during the 50s, through his rebellious lyrics he inspired the youth to be expressive. Presley wrote the song ‘Big Boss Man’, which became very popular. “Big Boss man, why can’t you hear me when I call? All right, you know you ain’t so big, I said you’re just tall that’s all, all right” (Presley). Presley uses ‘Big Boss Man’ as a person that tells him what to do. But in the lyrics shown he means that the ‘Big Boss Man’ is just a tall man that thinks he has control. These lyrics inspired the youth because the way Presley interpreted the song, he showed that he was not scared and was staying strong. Presley wrote another hit single titled, ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, that was about a pair of suede shoes: “Well, you can knock me down, step in my face, slander my name all over the place, do anything that you wanna do. But uh-oh honey, lay off of them shoes. And don’t you step on my blue suede shoes” (Presley). Elvis claimed that he can get beat up as long as his blue suede shoes do not get ruined. Elvis showed a wild tone through the way he talked about no matter what happens to him, he does not want his shoes to be touched. Suede shoes during this time were significant because not everyone had them and wanted to keep them as clean as possible. Presley caught the attention of the youth because he wrote a song about something that people wanted but not everyone can have.

Television sets improved the 50s because people were able to stay at home with their own television set that had colored content. Peter Lev was a man who lived during the 50s and experienced the impact of television: “In 1950, more than 7.3 million TV sets were sold in the United States, and US TV sales were never less than 5 million in the years 1950-1959. Poll results released by Paramount in 1950 revealed that families with television in the home decreased their film-going by 20-30 percent” (Lev). The statistics showed since there were millions of television sets sold, less families went to the theaters. Television sets offered variety shows, so therefore, going to the theaters became rare. Television sets were more convenient since families did not have to go out to watch TV when they had access to it at home. By 1954, there were 26 million TV homes, televisions also differed in size and color was established, which caused theaters to be lost in interest (Wasko). Television sets drew the people in because it offered different sizes which can be pretty convenient because not everyone would want the same size. Colored films played a huge role because before films were in black and white, so having color would be more enjoyable to the audience.

Rock and roll positively influenced everyone because it showed that skin color did not matter. Rock and roll was a social outlet, during this time America was segregated, but because of rock and roll, blacks and whites played with each other, recorded songs together, and played on each other’s radio stations. Rock and roll showed an optimistic side of society at this time because skin color did not matter when it came to the genre. Whites and blacks got along well because they made songs together and their songs made it on each other’s radio stations. With celebrities spreading this message across, discrimination would decrease because they had a large amount of fans, and those fans would be inspired enough to change. This was a key part of the 1950s because it helped shaped American society by trying to show everyone that race does not matter. There were many rock and roll rock stars such as Buddy Holly who would let the African Americans open for their performance, the stars consisted of Chuck Berry and Chubby Checker, they would perform for whites. Buddy Holly showed a good example of being non-discriminatory, because he allowed black artists Chuck Berry and Chubby Checker to perform for a white crowd. This showed a positive impact on the people because it showed that the African Americans were just as capable of making music as whites. Rock and roll was not only a new genre of music but showed morals and good influence. This helped shaped American Society because both sides were willing to make a change not being discriminatory towards others, they are showing that no matter what the color of skin is, everyone can do whatever they desire.

Television was significant because it offered a variety of shows for people to watch which brought Americans together. For example, ‘I Love Lucy’ was one of the most popular shows of the 50s, since it brought a huge inspiration to many people. “The ever-potent magic of the Lucy phenomenon is instantly recognizable to each successive generation of children, and the comfort it generates stays with them as they mature into adults and beyond. Lucy is neither male nor female; rather, it is about wanting to belong, about being loved, about wrestling with our own selfish impulses-and our own egos-in order to peacefully co-exist with others. It is about familiarity and bringing out the best in ourselves and those we interact with, and in turn about seeing others’ weaknesses and protecting them. It is about support, friendship and understanding. It is about human nature” (Gilbert). ‘I Love Lucy’ was one of the top shows of the 50s and had very important messages that people carried on throughout their lives. With this show was televised, it spread the message to many people and inspire. ‘I Love Lucy’ was a show that was worth given a chance to watch because the 50s was a time of racism, the aftermath of World War II, and rebuilding society. It showed that people can be themselves without judgement and that everyone should love one another despite gender, appearance, and personality. Many families owned a television set and would watch shows together. For instance, Wells was a lady that lived through this time and she shared her experiences with television: “Kept up with certain shows, we watched them for sure, did not want to miss one show, worked the whole evening so we can be ready to watch, we stop at afternoon to watch TV” (Wells). When television sets came out, Wells and her family would watch every single episode of a show that was aired on. Television brought her family together because they watched the entirety of shows, and made sure that they did not miss an episode. The family time spent was momentous because it was a break from the strict values in the household. This included wives that had to do a majority of chores, the kids that had jobs and school. Television was pivotal because it was a way for families to spend time with each other and was a payoff to all the work surrounding each family.

Rock and roll and television helped shape American society because they showed good morals and brought everyone together. Rock and roll introduced a new genre of music and meaning. Rock and roll had the youth hooked because it allowed them to express their feelings and be free. This genre also introduced the idea of different races to collaborate with each other, which was important because for years everyone stuck to the same beliefs about being racist and exclusive to others. Because of rock and roll millions of people would be inspired to change since they saw their idols changed the way of thinking. Rock and roll would forever change America because it showed that everyone is capable of success despite appearance and that you can convey your feelings through writing. Television brought a lot to the table because people had access to shows at home and would gain influence from them. It wasn’t only people that experienced tv, there were families that witnessed it together. This would impact America because family life was very strict but thanks to television it gave them a chance to spend time with each other. People would gain influence from shows like ‘I Love Lucy’ because it showed that everyone should accept and love one another despite appearance or gender.

Looking towards the future, rock and roll has made a big impact because in all types of music today different races collaborate and continue to inspire. Without rock and roll musicians of different races would rarely get together. Because of the big following of rock and roll had it would make people accept different races which made them okay with it. Also, television forever changed American society, because there was access to shows to watch with family and friends. Without the invention of television sets family life at home would still be strict and the idea of ‘family time’ would not be much thought of. Television was resourceful because there was a variety shows to pick from in which people that had the same interests could watch and spend time together. Pop culture in the 50s was really the ‘Golden Age’ because American society was rebuilt with positivity and innovative thinking.

The 1950s was the year people came home and sought out the American dream. Some people were earning money and living happily while others did not live prosperously. The 1950s had an economic boom because of the amount of spending that was made, improvements in medicine, the growth of entertainment, and new technology inventions. Prosperity affected the nation socially, politically, and economically because as the economy grew the nation had an opportunity to spend on things that would help create a better life.

The 1950s economy boomed because of the great amount of spending the people did. Americans were spending more than ever before due to more jobs being available and the return of soldiers coming back. People became white collars, which are people who work in professional fields such as a doctor or in the office, or blue collars, which are people who work hourly in more manual labor. The baby boom influenced more spending on baby products. American people had an “average family income in 1950 was $3,300” (US Census Bureau). People spent money on goods and services to aim for an average life like a house. Birken explained that “teens responded by spending their money on Coca-Cola, M&Ms, and all the other products commercials sold to them — and by influencing their parents’ spending habits” (Biken). Teens became a new demographic that businesses saw. Businesses knew that most teens had a lot of time and power to spend money which is why many advertisements aimed for teens. People wanted a fresh start so many had the opportunity to make enough money to have an average life.

With attention to the growth in families leading to large amounts of spending, a breakthrough in medicine. Medicine was being to grow in the 1950s. From birth control to vaccine, research companies like the NHI and NSF were heavily funded giving people an opportunity to live longer. During the 50s “Congress regularly added $8 million to $15 million to the NIH budget proposed by the first Eisenhower administration. By 1956, the NIH has risen to almost $100 million” (The Pharmaceutical Century). With a lot of funding, medicine had an opportunity to help people. When polio spread around America scientist tried to find a way to help people. Luckily the polio vaccine was invented and helped save people. In chapter 41 section 7 it explains that “statistics show the vaccine to be as much as 90% effective in preventing polio”. Due to medicine being advanced, antibiotics were created to kill bacteria and improve life expectancy. Medicine created a breakthrough in human life which helped the economy boom.

In the light of the 1950s, it was the era were entertainment and cars grew and influenced people. When the television was created it had shows that influenced gender roles. Cars helped with transportation giving people an easier way to get from one destination to another. The television gave birth to many gender roles in the 1950s. The television gave producers a window to share their influence with America. Thousands of televisions were bought and families would sit around it and watch whatever program is on. On televisions, “many comedies presented an idealized image of white suburban family life: happy housewife mothers, wise fathers, and mischievous but not dangerously rebellious children were constants on shows like ‘Leave It to Beaver’ and ‘Father Knows Best’ in the late 1950s” (Khan Academy). Shows that gave people the ideology of a housewife and a wise father were how people were influenced to live in the 1950s. Cars were not very expensive and “due to the increase in automobile production, citizens soon demanded the construction of an interstate freeway, which in turn provided jobs to millions of workers in the construction industry” (McCurdy). Due to the large consumption of cars, it influenced the government to give people jobs to make highways. In return, it became easier and faster to move from place to place. The development of the television and cars made the economy boom in the 1950s.

Introduction to the Social Status of 1950s Housewives

In this essay, I will be exploring what factors affected the social status for the ‘ideal housewives’ in the 1950s. I will be considering the working woman, housing situations, comparing the US to the UK housewife, education and also the evolution of academic thought on the status and importance of housewives and women in society. These factors will enable me to make a clear judgement on the social status of housewives and therefore I will be able to analyze, which of these factors had the largest effect on how they were viewed and how they compared to others in society. Housewives in this time were seen by many to possess a lower social status as their contribution towards society was not necessarily recognized as much as it should have by the general public. This leads to the belief that the 1950s was a hard time for housewives and indeed women across the globe and not just in the United Kingdom and the United States. However, from my research that I will present in this essay, the social status of housewives became higher because key intellectuals started to recognize their contribution to the wider community and also gave legitimacy to a social group that could be seen as being devoid of respect.

The Role and Expectations of Housewives in the 1950s

During this period, women had the expectation and responsibility of being the primary caregivers, along with maintaining the household using housekeeping and home management skills such as cooking, cleaning and childcare. Housewives were thought of as the backbone of the household and this was seen as their contribution to a fundamentally patriarchal society. Women were often stereotyped and therefore confined to the household. Anything and everything they did must have been approved of by the man of the house, or in accordance to his happiness and preference. This idea could have stemmed from the notion that women were seen as second class citizens, thus empowering men and integrating the expectations of the ‘ideal woman’ within society. Herbert Hoggart was a British literaturist and sociologist who is prolific when looking at studies of British popular culture. Within these studies he mentioned that the mother “was the pivot of the house … she, more than the father holds the family together” (Hoggart, 1957: 37-44), the subtext was that such women were also the pivot of the ‘traditional’ working class identity. This view gives a more favourable representation of how housewives were viewed by intellectuals in society, especially when saying that women were more important than men in the household context. Of course, from using our contextual knowledge of this period, this is not always the view of the general public and that housewives were still very much restricted. Although housewives may have been viewed as important in the household, their contribution towards society was not as prolific as men due to their very nature and their lack of influence on the wider community.

Legal and Social Constraints on Women

Furthermore, women were legally defined as property, otherwise known as a ‘chattel’. This meant that from birth women were owned by their father and were ‘given away’ at marriage to the husband and so they became the husbands property and responsibility, which again reinforces the idea that men held ownership over them. Women were considered to be predominantly sexual objects with one of their key responsibilities being to reproduce and create offspring. There was therefore a dependency on their male counterparts. The ideal woman was seen as “the quintessential white, middle-class housewife who stayed at home to rear children, clean the house and bake cookies” (Meyerowitz,1944). This statement somewhat reinforces the ideals that were assigned to women in this post-war era. Betty Freidan was perhaps the first to identify the concept of the ‘ideal woman’. Within her book ‘The Feminine Mystique’, Frieden can be quoted as saying “women could find fulfillment only in sexual passivity, male domination, and nurturing maternal love. It denied women a career or any commitment outside the home and narrowed women’s world down to the home, cut her role back to the housewife” (Freidan, 1963). Again, this gives the impression that women were somewhat limited because of preconceived ideas about what they were capable of and also how they functioned, combined with certain biological predispositions. With the benefit of hindsight, we can see that these views are false, but these were commonly held views of the time, and therefore we can analyze, that women, more specifically housewives, were in fact limited in their social status because of misled preconceptions and deeply sexist views.

Suburban Life and the Emergence of ‘Housewife Syndrome’

During the post-war era in the United States of America some of the population started to leave the cities and moved to the newly developed suburbs. The suburban life would have been seen as tempting, peaceful and the perfect place to raise a family, especially after a time of such uncertainty and instability. The suburbs had a sense of community, mutual help and support for housewives. Carol Freeman recalls the community of women in her suburb near San Diego: “It was a warm, boring, completely child-centered little culture. We sat around in each other`s kitchens and backyards and drank a lot of coffee and smoked a million cigarettes and talked about out children. There was some competition, yes, but mostly we were young mothers and we were learning from each other`s children, too, so that we were able to get away some” (Brett Harvey, 2002: 116). However, being a housewife often left women unsatisfied and lonely, sometimes even being diagnosed with ‘housewife syndrome’. Housewife syndrome became a diagnosis in both the UK and US, as doctors found that housewives were complaining about symptoms of fatigue and unhappiness and they wanted to categorize them. This led to womens’ magazines developing articles called ‘Why Young Mothers Feel Trapped’ or ‘The Mother Who Ran Away’. These articles were to start to raise awareness of the ‘afflictions’ that housewives were experiencing in their every-day lives, hence prompting other female writers such as Betty Frieden to inspire second-wave feminism. The notion of second-wave feminism was to create a more equal social platform for women and to break down the idea that only women could be the primary caregivers and that they had much more to offer society than previously thought. Women started to recognize that they were more than just property and that they should be entitled to a higher status than just an object of property for men to preside over.

The Impact of Labor Shortages and Women’s Employment

The post-war labor shortage meant that the 1945 Labor government had to persuade women to work (Susan Carruthers, 1990: 247-54). During this time women were encouraged to work in the industrial factories to help with the war effort. Women still worked at home alongside their part time employment. During this time, women discovered that they were ‘able’ to carry out these duties usually seen as a man’s job and feel a sense of fulfillment and achievement. When men returned home from the war, women were then encouraged by the government to give up working and return home in the UK. A major factor that contributed towards the idea of ‘housewife syndrome’ was that it was post Second World War and when the men who had fought in the war did come home, they were seen to be the breadwinner and ‘brought home the bacon’ to the household rather than the woman. “Any change in the nature of the female roles thus automatically affects the home, the economy, the school, and perhaps the definition of who we are as human beings” (Chafe, 2007: 224). This view suggests that actually housewives did indeed have a more profound effect on society and therefore were more important than previously thought. A few weeks before the war ended a survey was conducted in 228 factories by the A.E.U and showed that two thirds of women intended to stay working if they could, post-war. In 1947, the number of working women in gainful employment was 18%, but this number rose to 33% by 1957. This was said to be because women felt more purpose with part time work and also had more disposable income to spend on things they desired and also for the household to improve efficiency in their day-to-day tasks. This is supported by a survey overseen by Rowntree and Lavers ‘Poverty and the Welfare State’, which discovered that working class wives who worked were better-off in terms of their well-being and also their entire household income. During the survey the women were asked why they worked and most of them admitted that it was “in order to buy things they wanted (as opposed to needed) and also for the pleasure of meeting other people instead of being cooped up in their homes all day” (Ruth Adams, 1975: 177).

Educational Attainment and Family Planning

According to the 1949 Royal Commission on Population, between 1900 and 1950, the birth rate in Britain dropped from 28.2 births per thousand to 16.2, showing that women were taking on more external responsibilities in the workplace and paid employment. The drop was seen to be ‘deliberate’, especially with the encouragement of the use of and acceptance of contraception within society. The number of family planning clinics expanded from 61 in 1938 to 400 in 1963. In 1958, the Church of England began to accept family planning within the Christian marriage ‘rules’ which further encouraged the use of them. Working class women of the 1950s mainly used contraception as a defence against unwanted pregnancies and therefore economic insecurities and instability within the household. “People do not want large families and large families are firmly associated in their minds with poverty, hardship and the lowering of standards” (Eliot Slater and Maya Woodside, 1951: 151). Having contraception readily available increased the sexual independence and professional career options of women. The contraception pill was available from approximately the late 1950s, which encouraged women to take control of their sexual independence, giving them an opportunity to start to have a choice in their reproductive life and therefore not having pure dependence on men.

Judie Hubback, a British analytical psychologist and sociologist noted that graduate wives had more children than non-graduates, during her private survey ‘Wives who went to College’. “The average fertility of those, who obtained first class degrees in distinctly higher than that of women with other classes of degrees. It does look as if higher education had not led them to restrict their families as other women of approximately the same social class and income. On the contrary, higher education seems to be associated with higher fertility” (Judith Hubback, 1957). Although modern thought is that of educated people may actually have less children, these finding is obviously contradictory and is interesting when analyzing the correlation between education and number of children. However, with the benefit of modern science and biological studies, to suggest that intellect is linked with higher fertility is clearly false. Academic ability and fertility have no clear scientific link and that perhaps educated women were better informed about childcare and had the resources to raise children and therefore ad more children rather than just being ‘more fertile’. When further scrutinizing this statement, larger families were linked with financial strain and instability and therefore more with the lower classes, thus suggesting that actually this was not the case and that higher educated, and therefore higher status women were having bigger families and perhaps contributing more to society. Moreover in 1908, the famous neurologist and father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud theorized the idea known as ‘On the Sexual Theories of Children’. This contained the theory that is broadly referred to as ‘Penis Envy’. This is thought to be during a girls certain stage of development, she experiences anxieties upon the realization that she does not have a penis, and therefore strives to compensate by attempting to be equal with men. The anxieties manifest within the psyche of the girl and are transformed into the wish for a man, and sometimes a baby. Although this a theory that was surmised in the early 1900s, it still resonated through to the early 1950s. Freud was famous for oversimplifying and sexualizing the human mind and therefore promoting the idea that women were not much more than sexual objects and much of their decision making was predetermined by certain stages of development. The desire to have a child for a girl was theorized by Freud as a girl being jealous because she did not possess a penis. This again reinforces the patriarchal nature of the time and fed into many more theories on female dependence on men and therefore not having the capacity to do anything other than domestic tasks and provide children for their husbands. This theory provided by Freud is of course very outdated but shows the attitude towards women and therefore can be seen as lowering not just their social status but also somewhat degrading them as human beings. Both of these studies are too simplistic and try and make tenuous links between certain traits and biological facts. They are, however, useful when analyzing the attitudes towards women and housewives and show that they still were subjugated to specific stereotypes.

Media Representation and the Ideal Housewife Image

In May 1950, there was an advertisement in Modern Woman magazine. It is clear that the Сaucasian woman is seen to be carrying out tasks of the housewife; dressing, bathing, feeding, taking care of the children and welcoming guests into her home which were all seen duties of the ‘ideal housewife’. Each illustration is laid out in a timeline of the woman’s day, showing that whatever the activity entails the clothing will remain un-creased and tidy. Her hair is neatly groomed and she seems confident and happy in her actions, the color of her well-dressed outfit is also reflecting her confidence. She is dressed ‘prim and proper’ which links to the text of the advertisement, “look well-groomed always”. The font is clean, tidy and easily legible which links also to the well-kept woman’s style. The bold font ‘tested’ evokes a sense of trust within the brand to customer which is what they are aiming to achieve. The font used for the word ‘Tebilized’ is very straight, linear, which relates to the uncreased, precise, well ironed lines of the clothing. The use of light blue throughout the advertisement reflects traditional values. Royal blue is usually seen as a masculine color, which is why the woman wearing the color reflects confidence and strength. Green is usually used to evoke emotions of health, wealth and harmony which the ideal woman would strive to achieve within her family life.

Another example, the hit TV show in the 1950s, ‘I Love Lucy’. This TV show is in itself a very interesting analyses point due to the fact that it is about a struggling housewife who is unable to establish an external working life and therefore reverts to a life of household management. The actress that plays Lucy, Lucille Ball, was a very successful actress, and therefore contradicts the very storyline she portrays. Lucy is wearing a chequered shirt and a skirt, her hair is done up, out of her face, perfect for the busy housewife that will be doing chores around the house. Within this picture, the characters are talking about the money they have found and what to do with it. Lucy looks somewhat shocked and does not know quite what to do, whilst the male counterpart looks as though he is delivering a proposition to her and is the one with the ideas. It also shows the husband handling the money, which could suggest that the husband is the one with the fiscal responsibility rather than the wife, which again reinforces a stereotype of the period.

To conclude, it is clear from the evidence provided that housewives in the 1950s had a certain set of responsibilities and preconceived ideas about what they were expected to do. This can be supported by the advertisement and photograph that I chose to analyze because they show a specific but widely approved stereotype of what the ideal housewife should be in the 1950s. For instance, the advertisement shows a pristine woman that is unphased by her busy schedule, and so her clothes are too with the help of the product on sale. ‘I Love Lucy’ is also a prime example of stereotyping in society, especially in this photograph where the man is handling the money, suggesting that the male part of the household should be the one to deal with money as women did not necessarily possess the understanding of money management. In a patriarchal society, women were looked down upon and therefore their social status was degraded because of this. I have used these certain academic sources both in my research and my analysis to elaborate upon my argument and also support the idea that the social status of housewives was affected by both academics and also by promotion through research and advertising. Sociologists and intellectuals such as Betty Frieden and Herbert Hoggart started to recognize the social contribution that women, and most importantly housewives, provided and that inspired and developed the movement of second-wave feminism. Although it comes as no particular surprise to me that housewives, and indeed women were viewed in this way during this period of time, I was surprised to find the recognition that a lot of academics have given to how important they are as a social group and their contribution to society. Though housewives did have a perceived lower social status, they contributed towards society so heavily that their social status started to benefit, and with the provision of the relevant statistics we can see that women started to be accepted in the workspace and also housewives were respected more in society as the 1950s went on. Women in general started to have the recognition they deserved when it came to their overall contribution in a social context and this boosted the status of not just housewives, but also working women as well.

Rita Dove’s poem Daystar, written in the 1950s, illustrates the life of a woman who feels as though she is trapped in life due to her daily duties as a mother and a wife. The irony in the poem exists for the sole fact that from birth to adulthood the world’s female population is brought up believing that their life will become fulfilled when they get married and have children. From past and present all over the world, women are expected to be mothers and care for their families and households while their husbands put money on the table. In the end, this should make women feel happy in life. Dove’s poem demonstrates how women’s daily tasks such as marriage, children, and household duties are not as enjoyable as they seem. The definition of a housewife and motherhood have changed constantly over time and Rita Dove’s poem Daystar challenges the social conventions of a woman’s traditional household duties in the 1950s.

Women are made to feel that getting married and having children are a necessity in life. Our society makes it seem that a woman must get married and have kids to feel happy and successful. Marriage and motherhood are made out to seem wonderful because women are able to stay at home all day and only take care of the house and children, while not having to worry about supporting their family, which is what their husbands are for. The job of a housewife is made out to seem easy and always pleasurable, however, after reading Dove’s poem Daystar, this social norm is challenged. Readers can see that this is not always how women feel about these duties and these roles that women encounter can cause much stress and displeasure. Daystar takes place during the 1950s when women were encouraged to invest their lives to motherhood and stay home to care for their children, husband, and the house.

The mother in this poem feels as though she is significantly trapped by her family. She feels nothing exciting happens in her life except for her maternal duties, yet she receives no time for herself. Kelly J. Mays, states that “Nothing really happens except the daily events (washing diapers, picking up toys, looking at crickets and leaves, explaining the world to children, having sex) surround her brief private hour and make it precious” (Mays 763). During these times, it was not common for women to have a job and work to help support her family. We can see that motherhood is not as wonderful as society makes it out to be and to a woman who does nothing but commit her life to her family. Being expected to stay home and care for children and tend to the house can make women feel trapped and useless to her family.

The mother in this poem feels her duties and life role make her seem as nothing. The only time the mother feels anything and can finally rest is when she hides away outside for an hour a day while her children take their daily naps. As you read deeper into the poem, you realize that it is not only motherhood that makes this mother feel stressed and trapped in her life, but even the main character’s love life with her husband makes her feel like nothing, “Thomas rolled over and lurched into her, she would open her eyes and think of the place that was hers for an hour-where she was nothing, pure nothing, in the middle of the day” (Dove, lines 17-22). The mother here wants to feel what she feels when she is alone outside during the day. She wants to be nothing because she feels she is everything to her family considering she takes care of everyone and gets no help or praise, not even from her husband. One could interpret that the couple’s love life seems bland and loveless due to the fact that the wife does not even enjoy laying next to her husband at night. All she can think about when she lays there is her one hour of alone time she gets a day. Caring immensely for your husband, no matter the cost was a traditional duty of the 1950s.

A mother and wife must tend to her husband to make sure her role as a “good wife” looks good for society. Caring for your husband was a common duty woman used to have to take on in her household. Dove’s poem Daystar shows the reader the lack of connection and intimacy between the main character and her husband. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan is a feminine piece of work that talks about false ideas on a woman’s “role.” In chapter one of Friend’s novels, The Problem That Has No Name, she states, “The problem was also, and finally, dismissed by shrugging that there are no solutions: this is what being a woman means, and what is wrong with American women…” (Friedan 24). In the early ’50s, women did not fight like they do today to have a voice and have equal rights when comparing themselves to men and their husbands. Women did as they were told and went above and beyond in their role of being a “housewives.” However, today the role and expectations society has on women roles of being a housewife and mothers have changed immensely over time, and for the better.

Today this social norm has undergone a serious change and is not as pushed and expected as it used to be. Today, it is encouraged and admired when a woman works hard to help support her family financially. In a research report called Motherhood, Multiple Roles, And Material Well-Being: Women of the 1950s, it is stated that motherhood over time has changed to a great extent; “Motherhood, as a role, has undergone a series of redefinitions throughout history, with the 1950s in the United State of particularly intense emphasis on traditional values of home and family” (Miller, Moen and Dempster-McClain 566). Today, the role of motherhood is to help support and take care of your family alongside your husband. Households should have equal partnerships which shows us family roles have reversed from the 1950s. In America today, it is very common that women work and have equal partnerships with their husbands when it comes to household, child, and life decisions. The expectations of equality in marriage and parenthood have changed in society. Today when trying to find a partner, people base their options off of common similarities such as similar education, similar likes and dislikes, and even similar job pay. This is why today people wait longer to get married and start a family, unlike couples in the 1950s because people want to be financially stable and have a good job before starting a life with someone. In the ’50s marriage was so pushed that people were getting married in their early ‘20s and getting married later in life was out of the ordinary.

In America, society today makes it a priority that individuals, especially women, go to college and start their education before starting a family, giving women more opportunities in the work field and the end making for a happier life. Today, women are not expected to commit their lives to motherhood right away. Rita Dove emphasizes the life of women in the 1950s who feel depressed, trapped, and unsatisfied with their roles as a mother and wives because during that era that was their only role in life. Women’s roles in the ’50s were downplayed dramatically and not as appreciated as they should have been. Motherhood and marriage are not an easy or light jobs, especially when you take most of it on by yourself. Thankfully, society today has reversed these stereotypes and has overlooked the fact that women are more in life than a housewife and mothers. Women bear fewer children, pursue an education, maintain a career, and have more of a voice. The term “housewife” today does not just apply to women. Growing up, I was raised by my father during the day while my mother worked her full-time day job. My mother is the breadwinner in our house and never not had a voice. I was raised with the opportunity of having both of my parents raise my brother and I. We watched both of my parents respect each other’s thoughts and wishes all while having an equal partnership. There was no decision made in our household that one of my parents did not have a say in. They trusted and worked off of each other to support and supply for our family, and coming from a community like Grosse Pointe, Michigan, this was not something you always saw. Relating back to the poem Daystar, most of the women in my hometown could be compared to the mother in the poem written by Rita Dove. The definition of a housewife and motherhood has changed constantly over time and the old norms of these terms are demonstrated through Dove’s poem Daystar. This poem challenges the social conventions of a woman’s traditional household duties in the 1950s. Dove’s piece does a great job of showing how women in the 1950s felt about motherhood and being a wife. Motherhood and marriage are not easy and some days are not enjoyable. Women of the 1950s were not as appreciated and acknowledged as they should have been. Yet, today these norms have changed and women have equal roles within their households making them happier and not feel as trapped and alone as they once did. Dove’s poem Daystar challenges these social conventions of a woman’s traditional household duties in the 1950s.

Works Cited

1. Dove, Rita. “Daystar .” The Norton Introduction To Literature.
2. 12th ed., by Kelly J Mays, W.W Norton & Company, New York, London, (2016), p. 762.
3. Friedan, Betty. ‘The Feminine Mystique: The Problem That Has No Name.’
4. W.W. Norton & Company Inc., New York, (1963), p.
5. 24. Mays, Kelly J. The Norton Introduction To Literature.
6. 12th ed., W.W Norton & Company Inc., (2016), p. 763.
7. Miller, Melody L., Phyllis Moen, and Donna Dempster-McClain. ‘
8. Motherhood, Multiple Roles, and Maternal Well-Being: Women of The 1950s.’ Gender & Society 5.4 (1991), p. 566.

After the Second World War at 1945, Churchill Stated that “America at this moment, stands at the summit of the world.” The status of America during the 1950s is proof for what Churchill said. America was at his best after WWII, though it caused so many destruction and mass killings, Americans believed that after the war there would be prosperity. And there was; The economic status, the political status, the progress in science and technology, and the population growth due to fertility and immigration. Nevertheless, there was some great conflicts in the society of opposing ideas, such as the emergence of the civil rights movement, censorship in literature and their involvement in the Korean War and last but not the least the Cold War.

What has happened was the postwar booms. Deluding themselves by the durability of peace, Americans were eager to have children. They were somehow correct. The government spent so much on establishing schools, highways, and corporations, invested in military alongside the new technologies of computers, and manufacturing cars, and airplanes, all provided the ground of economic growth, therefore, the rates of unemployment and inflation had decreased. Economically everything was going as planned, the products’ prices were low, the wages were high. People could spend so much money on the diverse products that were available. However, people of America were striving for whatever they had lost or could not have during the World War II. American people avidly were looking forward to the new goods and materials which would show off their wealth, and to make up for what they had lost or never had. After overcoming their goals, the results were different. There were people who were satisfied by what they had. On the other hand, there were people who got stuck in the routine of a “faceless, suit-wearing businessman” who became a societal stereotype of the 1950s. These people suffered from loneliness and purposelessness in their lives as a living dead in a corporate society. Such characters can be found in the work of Vance Packard “The Status Seeker” (1959) and David Riseman “The Lonely Crowd” (1950).

The growth of the population resulted in the great expansion of churches and schools. Church attendance during the 50s increased from almost 50 percent to approximately 70 percent of the nation. The buildings, of course, were mirroring the characteristics of the decade’s religious life. This decade can be named as one of the most religious times for the United States. There are some very religious novels with Christian themes such as “The Robe” (1942) by Liyod Douglas, “The Silver Chalice” (1952) by Thomas Costain, or “The Cardinal” (1950) by Henry Morton Robinson.

Furthermore, the American society was in disagreement of whatever was known as a Taboo. So, many authors gave in to the religious restrictions, and some were compelled to obey this traditional censorship of their books, for the people to embrace and accept them. Some other group of the artists of the 1950s could not submit to these convictions. These artists were not content of what has happened during the first half of the 20th C and didn’t want to surrender to the conservative society of America. Cold War which was also one of the defining elements of the 50s, was another reason of tension and anxiety of people and artists. Accordingly, there were new voices after WWII, Beat Generation or Beat movement were the artists who were against the religious conviction and the censors which were employed on their works of Art. Their fashions and manners were borrowed from jazz musicians. The drug, jazz, sex, and the instructions of Buddhism considered by these artists that would help them to attain the purification and inspiration through the heightened awareness. They would also release their personal feelings in their works. Their vindication was the joylessness and the aimlessness of modern society. Some of the well-known authors of Beat generation are Allen Ginsberg whom his poem “Howl” (1956) is one of the best examples of this movement and Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road” (1957) which has influenced artists such as Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, etc. Its fame is due to its expression of freedom and the energy for being adventurous.

In the continuation of living in the postwar world, one of the sequels was the attendance of more teens in schools, and the decrease of working children which surely is a good happening. However, it also caused the depression of them due to the thinking of their individuality, their existence, and their future. One of the masterpieces which exactly is a manifestation of a teen in that decade is “The Catcher in The Rye” (1951) by J. D. Salinger. Alongside the teens, there was the identity crisis after WWII. They would not value the individuality, so it made the majority of people to be very anxious, dubious of the values of American society, and the fear of constantly proving themselves. In order to soothe the people, authors attempted to write motivational novels. For example, Norman Vincent Peale’s “The Power of the Positive Thinking” (1952) and Fulton J. sheen’s “Life is Worth Living” (1952). Such writers implied the bright future and the ability of people to be in control of their lives in order to achieve whatever they want in their lives.

A great mass of American citizens who were not satisfied with the flow of schools and societal laws were African-Americans or in general black people. They rose to the government and against the inequalities, which begot the emergence of the Civil war. Black Americans spoke of the laws which were not based on justice or equality. Earlier in the 20th C, they had to fight for the abolishment of slavery. While in the mid-20th C, they had to battle for their primary rights. Their main battle was on the segregation in every public place such as buses or schools and racist treatment of whites. In the 1950s, by the emergence of the Civil Right movement, some laws were about to shift in favor of black people of America. Undoubtedly, this movement and the racial discrimination had its own effects on authors of the time, especially the black authors. One of the most important works of this period is “Invisible Man” (1952) by Ralph Ellison. It is narrated by an unnamed man who gets no attention in the society. He demonstrates the conditions of an African-American whom the treatments of society are hostile toward him. There’s also another famous work which helped people to get more familiar with the culture of African people, “Things Fall Apart” (1958) by Chinua Achebe.

The authors of the time were highly influenced by all the economic, political, social, cultural shifts, movements or conflicts. They would mirror all these matters in their works by using “black humor and absurdist fantasy”. Here I’m going to mention some authors of the 1950s and their works that had impacts on the society, people, and influential to the artists of the next generation. “A highly self-conscious fiction emerged in the 50s, laying bare its own literary devices, questioning the nature of representation, and often imitating or parodying earlier fiction rather than social reality. Russian-born Vladimir Nabokov and the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges were strong influences on this new “metafiction.”” Some of Nabokov’s works are “Lolita” (1955), “Pnin” (1957). James Baldwin and Ralph Ellison both were the writers who tried to illustrate the black life’s complications in America. Baldwin’s best novel “Go Tell It on the Mountain” (1953) portrays the artist’s adolescent religious experiences in the Harlem world. Ayan Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” (1957) criticizes the corruption in the government’s system, it has negative view on government and is a supporter of capitalism. “Fahrenheit 451” (1953) was written by Ray Bradbury which is a famous work even today, is exhibiting a disturbing view of America which books are banned and burned. In a world which due to the censorship of the government, and the ruling of Television-which he believed would make our minds to rot- people don’t have any interest of reading books.

The 1950s just like other decades in America underwent so many predicaments, conflicts, and changes, though some believed that this decade was the inauguration of the developing power in America which was right. In this decade, many events had an impact on the American literature, most importantly on the later works of African-American literature. Most of the great novels, poems, Children’s stories, and plays have been written by authors who were influenced by the circumstances and incidents of that time.

Works Cited:

1. ‘1950 To 2000 – Books That Shaped America | Exhibitions – Library of Congress’. Loc.Gov, https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/books-that-shaped-america/1950-to-2000.html. Accessed 7 Jan 2020
2. ‘American Literature in The 50S’. Infograph.Venngage.Com, https://infograph.venngage.com/p/99522/american-literature-in-the-50s. Accessed 7 Jan 2020.
3. ‘American Literature – The Novel and Short Story. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2018, https://www.britannica.com/art/American-literature/The-novel-and-short-story. Accessed 7 Jan 2020.
4. Beat Movement | History, Characteristics, Writers, & Facts’. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2020, https://www.britannica.com/art/Beat-movement. Accessed 7 Jan 2020.
5. ‘The 1950S’. HISTORY, 2019, https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/1950s. Accessed 7 Jan 2020.
6. Moussa, Robin. “1950’s Themes in Literature.” Prezi.Com, 29 Jan. 2013, prezi.com/c5mtlkju3yp-/1950s-themes-in-literature/.
7. Temple, Emily. “A Century of Reading: The 10 Books That Defined the 1950s.” Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2018, lithub.com/a-century-of-reading-the-10-books-that-defined-the-1950s/.
8. Tucker, Carol. “The 1950s – Powerful Years for Religion.” USC News, 16 June 1997, news.usc.edu/25835/The-1950s-Powerful-Years-for-Religion/.

“People today understandably feel that their lives are out of balance, but they yearn for something totally new-a more equal distribution of work, family, and community time for both men and women, children and adults” Coontz states as she refers to how unlike we do now, the 50s did not offer equal right. It is often said that the 1950s were the golden age due to the opportunities given and high prosperity, but it is not always what it seemed like. Yes, people were able to start all over again, buy new homes quickly, had well-paying jobs, low divorce rates, families stayed together, and you did not need a college degree to be successful but however, some fail to notice the negativity and reality of it. The 1950s were not the “good old days” because there was a great deal of discrimination. Although there were many positive aspects during the 50s like government aid and “perfect” families, it was not always fair. Rights and opportunities were limited towards woman and people of color.

As we know, to some the 1950s was seen as the “good old days” due to many reasons. However, there was a great deal of discrimination and those opportunities were only offered to white middle-class men; so, although the 50s were considered good to a particular group of people, it was not always considered fair to others. In the article, “What We Really Miss about the 1950s.” by Stephanie Coontz, Coontz provides research from a poll that more Americans chose the 1950s as “the good old days” than any other decade. Coontz implies that the 1950s provided a more family-friendly economic and social environment, and above all, a greater feeling of hope for a family’s long-term future; however, Coontz goes on to prove that everyone did not have this hope. Coontz states, “They are disregarding the number of people excluded during that decade.” This shows how the 1950s was a time period that was not to great according to a large group of the people who were excluded. While there were many great advantages like economic growth, friendly social environment, and “perfect” families during the 50s, not everyone benefitted from this. As seen in tv shows from the 1950s, it is seen that the middle-class white males were the only ones who benefitted from these so-called “good old days” and other groups like Jews, African Americans, Puerto Ricans, the poor, women, gays or lesbians, and “the red menace” did not. They were denied many of their rights and opportunities that the white males had advantage of. Those homes that were “so easy” to buy in the suburbs back then were mainly built for white working-class families and denied to people of color. In comparing the 50s to now, it is seen how unfair and injustice things were for people who were non-white. Undoubtedly, the 1950s were not the “good old days” because it did not allow a large group of people to succeed like middle-class white people. In addition to a large number of Americans not being able to succeed, the 1950s were also a time when American women had to deal with very strict gender roles and inequality.

Politically, economically and socially, the 1950s were considered the “good old days”. When it comes to the 50s people think of family-oriented culture, low divorce rates, economic expansion, high birth rates, etc. However, what many people fail to realize is that women had to deal with very strict gender roles and inequality, so it was not always considered “the best” for them. Women did not have that economic prosperity and positive outcomes of the 1950s. In the film, “Pleasantville” the wife, Betty Parker, shows the reality of what is was like to be a stay-at-home mom and do anything her husband demanded. Gender roles are one of the biggest issues shown in the film as well as in the 50s. Males were considered superior and had power over women which made them feel trapped in their own houses and had less freedom. In the film, her husband George states, “Now you listen to me, you are coming to this meeting, you are going to put on some makeup, you are going to be home at 6 every night and you are going to have dinner ready on this table ”. This shows how in the 1950s women were often oppressed and had to deal with this stereotype where men are shown to be controlling and they had to stay home, clean, and cook. The 50s show this perfect imagine image of families where men had to work and women had to stay home moms, but where women really happy? Women were often denied jobs because their only job was to stay and home to do anything a woman does. That economic prosperity was for middle age white men because women were not able to take out credit cards. Men were the only ones who brought the money home, meanwhile, women had to be stuck at home doing something they didn’t really want to do. In comparison to now, women are able to work, go to college, take out credit cards, vote, and many more. Back in the 50s, most of their rights were limited and unfair. Although there was numerous amount of opportunities for some, it was not always the “good old days”.

Headed by Lindsay Anderson, Karel Reisz, John Schlesinger, and Tony Richardson. The New Wave movement was a range of feature films, during the 1950s and 60s (1959-1963). That focus on drawing attention to the frustrations of a better-educated young society. Whilst emphasizing the reality of day-to-day life for the working class.

Coming at the end of a decade most would describe as “a doldrums era,” (The Open University, 2005) the New Wave films were seen as a total breath of fresh air by the British public. In a time when the class system was still very rigid, the New Wave films gave a ‘voice’ to the working class. That was, for the first time starting to gain economic power, due to the “high levels of employment that came after World War Two” (British Film Institute, 2019).

Often likened to the ‘Angry Young Men’. A group of mostly working-class play writers and novelists in the 1950s, that looked to highlight conformity was out of fashion. The British New Wave movement used ‘kitchen sink realism’. Which looks to realistically depict the gritty lives of its working-class characters in their films. Bringing their audience’s attention to issues such as “class, race, gender, abortion, and sexual orientation” (Wikipedia, 2019).

Directed by Tony Richardson, ’Look Back in Anger’ (1959) is considered by most to be the first film of the British New Wave era. The film is about a young married couple who are from two different sides of the British class system. Jimmy, a working-class man, is frustrated about his upper-class wife Alison’s ease of life. Having come from a rich family, he claims she has never had to experience “want, pain or suffering” (Sierz, 2008). The film shows many comparisons between the working and upper-class and emphasizes the frustration the working class seems to feel, having not been able to work their way up the socioeconomic ladder. The film does, however, end with Jimmy and Alison getting back together after a brief split.

In my opinion, ’Look Back in Anger’ does depict class and generational tensions accurately in Britain between the 1950s and 60s. The frustration Jimmy (who is young and W/C), shows towards Alison (U/C), illustrates how the young working-class have lost respect towards the older upper-class. They no longer recognize the past but instead want to promote a new, fairer society in which everyone has equal opportunity. This may be because young people at the end of the 1950s, “had a lot more freedom compared to when their parents were their age”. (Mackillop and Sinyard, 2003). This meant they had more opportunities to discover who they are and allowed them to form opinions for themselves.

Furthermore, the use of real locations in the film (rather than it just being shot in a studio). For example, outside Jimmy and Alison’ shared shabby attic flat. Helps to show the audience an accurate representation of what being a working class citizen was like at that time. The film also shows Jimmy and his friend, went to university but still end up running a sweet shop at a local market. This further emphasizes the difficulty working-class members of society had with making a living for themselves and the limited opportunities they received.

Contrarily, the fact that Jimmy and Alison get back together at the end of the film against all odds. May, be a way of Tony Richardson highlighting the fact there is hope for the working class. In the mid-1950s there was an economic boom in Britain, with a “demand for skilled labour and very little unemployment.” (Retrowow, 2018) The working class would see higher wage packets and perhaps a chance to move up the social ladder, to have a more affluent life.

Bryan Forbes’, ‘The L-Shaped Room’ (1962) took a very different view of how people from varying backgrounds got along in the 1950s and 1960s. The story is about a pregnant French women who move into a small room in London with several ‘misfits’. It concludes with her befriending the other residents as they help her as she goes into labour. In my opinion, a group of almost strangers helping out a person in need is very representative of the 1950s and 60s. With World War 2 still relatively fresh in people’s minds, wartime values were still very strong. With respectability and trust being what some people believed “underpinned the fifties” (Kynaston, 2009). This can be linked to a new level of democratization that came with the war, as people from all walks of life shared its dangers and stories. There was a new level of respect towards one another and this is perfectly mirrored through ‘The L-shaped room. People who were labelled as the bottom of the barrel in society were willing to go out of their way and help someone out, even though there was nothing in it for them. This epitomizes Britain in the 1950s.

The term ‘New Wave’ is an “important metaphor,” (Michael Walford, 2007) that suggests the film movement wanted or was creating change. This change could be from the way that the working class had previously been depicted on screen in Britain. Then seen as expendable characters or just there for comic effect. The New Wave brought a sense of belonging to the working class, with the films being seen through their eyes. It was a welcome challenge to the ‘status quo that is a big reason for the success of the British New Wave Movement at the time.

Although, another reason for the ‘New Wave’ may also have been due to the frustrations of the young filmmakers (and the rest of young people in society) during this period of British cinema.

The frustration of a young man is shown in ‘The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner’ (1962), directed by Tony Richardson. A young man (Colin), is taken to a youth detention centre where he refuses to internalize the “liberal narratives of rehabilitation” (Sillitoe, 2013). Due to being a talented runner he is allowed/forced to race for the detention centre against other schools. As he is about to win the big race he stops just before the line and lets someone else win to the anger of his governor. After the race, he is punished and ignored by the governor yet he seems relatively content due to his “refusal to submit to authority” (Penner and Sillitoe, 1969).

The film ran into trouble at the time due to its, “clear anti-authoritarian agenda,” whilst the BBFC labeled it “blatant and very trying communist propaganda.” (Sillitoe, 2013) I do believe it is hard to argue against those statements. However, in my opinion, the film did accurately depict generational tensions in the 1950s and 60s. At a time when Harold Macmillan claimed the people of Britain had, “Never had it so good.” The now better educated, young people of the nation had a write to feel wronged and dissatisfied by a system based on class rather than meritocracy. After all, 10% of the population did hold 96% of wealth at the time. This frustration is shown in most of the films in the ‘New Wave’ era. The ‘kitchen sink realism’ style of filmmaking further indicates the growing voice and opinion young people had in society in the late 1950s and 60s.

The ‘New Wave’ filmmakers also imply a level of regional differences in Britain during the 1950s and 60s, compared to films that came before them. Prior to the movement, the majority of British films were shot in a studio and then voice acted by educated people in London. However, with the ‘New Wave,’ this changed dramatically, with location filming being used. The majority of films from the movement, such as Room at the Top, Look Back in Anger, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, A Taste of Honey, A Kind of Loving, This Sporting Life, and Billy Liar were all filmed in the midlands or north of England. This was because of the ‘kitchen sink’ style of filmmaking the New Wave wanted to implement. In which the directors wanted to emphasize the trials and tribulations of working-class life. By the ‘New Wave’ directors giving more attention to where a film was located, what actors were being used, and whether their accents fit to the north of England it opposed the “British cinema’s traditional marginalization of the region.” (Hanley, 2011) In my opinion, creating a better camaraderie with the people from the area. Relating back to and supporting the fact that people during the 1950s and 60s had higher levels of conformity and respect for each other.

In the latter films of the ‘New Wave’ era, there is a clear shift in how the working-class are portrayed. This is most likely due to the ‘boom’ of the British economy in the late 1950s.

In John Schlesinger’s Billy Liar (1963), a working-class man (Billy) wants to get away from his ‘boring job’ and get out and see the world. Unfortunately due to the untimely death of his grandmother and his love interest with three girls, he is unable to make his dream a reality.

In my opinion, Billy’s confusion over the three girls in his life represents the confusion a lot of working-class citizens would have been feeling at the time. With the economic boom in Britain, came the chance for the working class to make a lot more money. This money gave them added opportunities and better living standards, helping them to move up the social class ladder. By moving out the working class, however, many people lost their identity and actually ended up not progressing at all. This is proven in ‘Billy Liar’ by Billy not getting on the train at the end to a new life but instead going back home.

It could be argued that the economic boom caused a split between the working class. This can be supported by ‘The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner’, as in the youth detention centre there is a “clear conflict shown between the rough, poor, unskilled working class and the respectable, aspirational, working class.” (British Film Institute)

To conclude, the ‘New Wave’ movement came about as a reaction to the past. At a time where there was a lot of uncertainty e.g. the Suez Crisis. The confidence a newly educated young, working class had in the upper class was dwindling. I believe Lindsay Anderson’s ‘If….’ (1968), often considered the final film of the movement. Perfectly mirrors what the ‘New Wave’ era was all about. It was about a group of young people using their frustrations with society to confront the establishment. “Did the ‘New Wave’ solve any problems? Not really” (Lewczuk, 2019). However, I do think they are now a great historical archive that accurately represents a lot of the class, generational and regional tensions of the time.

Two Americas: one of economic opportunity, prosperity, and equality, and the other of the ugliness of discrimination and poverty. This was the ever-present theme in the atmosphere of the 1950s and 60s. Three weeks before his assassination, Martin Luther King prominently and correctly claimed that America has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened, the promises of justice and freedom have not been met, and white society is more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity. Ultimately, I agree with Dr. King’s perspective on the 1950s and 1960s with the exception of Johnson, Eisenhower, and Kennedy were complicit or did the absolute bare minimum for the civil rights movement or racism that permeated the country. And Johnson, while well-intentioned, proved bigger on promises and rhetoric than accomplishments; his anti-poverty measures coupled with the war on crime critically led the country towards prison America. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson provided tenuous, if any, assistance arguably worsening the negro plight.

The 1950s were a time of especially grand expectations and prosperity. The spirit was optimistic, dynamic, and materialistic, with no limits to what Americans could enjoy or achieve. However, this was merely to cover up the ugliness that pervaded the nation: it was thought that the new consumer culture could blur the old social and economic divisions with an emphasis on spending. Advertisers were very much a part of creating the ethos of the 1950s in creating new prosperity pushing the American people towards consumerism. Right on par with this notion of a separate America, such happy times with prosperity and opportunity, however, were reserved largely for whites, while poverty and discrimination affected millions of Americans of color. Outside the cities, many people of color and whites, whether migrant workers or rural poor, lived absolutely awful lives as 22% of Americans lived below the poverty line in the 1950s.

Dr. Martin Luther King first claims that the plight of the negro poor, and others of color, have worsened over the last decade or so. The 1960s are associated with a time of idealism, activism, and change. This change was often worse for African Americans and others of color. While the Warren Court exploded in the 1960s with rights, there were consequences of cases like Gideon, Mapp, and Miranda. The Warren Court’s efforts launched an army of overworked public defenders who relegated indigent clients to prison in America, a disproportionate number of whom were black or brown, and prompted them to accept guilty pleas rather than obtaining acquittals. The Warren Court, intentionally or not, contributed to the rise of prison America and mass incarceration involving a disproportionate number of minorities, essentially worsening the plight of people of color.

The war on poverty was intermingled with the war on crime and civil rights. President Kennedy was responsible for the beginning of an attack on delinquency and crime in the early 1960s by sending a bill to Congress that ushered “an unprecedented level of federal involvement in… [the] ‘inner city’”. The Youth Offenses Control Act of 1961 and the Law Enforcement Assistance Act of 1965 further criminalized people of color, labeled as delinquents, as well as propelled the federal government into local law enforcement. As Lyndon B. Johnson comes into the presidency, he ‘deals’ with racial inequality in the United States through the Moynihan report. The report blamed black families for causing black poverty, blamed inadequately socialized adolescent males for dangerous neighborhoods and schools, and suggested the ‘white’ standard should be the only ‘normal’ standard for families. It is also worth noting, according to Commentary Magazine, the Moynihan report (as well as the McCone report for that matter) steers clear of confronting the thorny issues of negro unemployment, which is significantly increasing. Going back to 1948, the black and white unemployment rates were roughly parity, as posited by Commentary Magazine, but over the next decade, negro unemployment was steadily double that of whites. In 1968, Martin Luther King again emphasized that unemployment among negros was twice that of whites revealing the worsening negro plight in the 50s and 60s, as well as demonstrating the notion of two separate Americas. Jamal Joseph discusses this separate America in the ‘Black Panthers Revisited’ short documentary: “During that time period, being black in America meant that you didn’t walk down the street with the same sense of safety and the same sense of privilege as a white person”.

Furthermore, the beliefs rooted in LBJ’s reading of the Moynihan report prompted him to call for the war on crime in 1965 and to adopt, in addition to the war on poverty, a strategy of managing poverty through better policing, surveilling, and incarcerating. All of which propelled the United States towards prison America, the criminalization of black males, and the increased normalization of police brutality. Moreover, In These Times explains the summer riots from 1964 to 1968, “fueled an already intense… demand for ‘law and order’ politics, including militarizing police departments and expanding the prison system”. Johnson’s war on poverty sought to foster equality and socioeconomic opportunity but was truly a manifestation of fear about the urban disorder and the behavior of young people, particularly African Americans.

Secondly, Dr. King correctly posits that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. A rights revolution took flight with Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) as the Supreme Court unanimously found school segregation as a matter of law unconstitutional. Triggering a massive movement of resistance to school integration, many schools outright refused, even closing some public schools altogether to avoid integration. Additionally, the hundred southern congressmen pledged open resistance to Brown in signing the Southern Manifesto as the National Endowment for the Humanities mentions: “We commend the motives of those States which have declared the intention to resist forced integration by any lawful means”. This critically reveals the extent to which many politicians ignored or rejected civil rights legislation. President Eisenhower similarly did not enjoy dealing with racial issues, and while one could argue civil rights advances took place under Eisenhower, such as Brown, it is more accurate to say that he simply “had a constitutional responsibility to uphold the Supreme Court’s rulings”. Eisenhower never spoke out in favor of the ruling supporting black Americans. Similarly, a decade after Brown, nothing was changed in the South as ninety-nine out of every one hundred African American schoolchildren were still going to segregated schools, revealing the extent to which promises, legislation and case law were not fulfilled.

President John F. Kennedy’s New Frontier made lackluster attempts surrounding social reform. In proposing new social programs such as a higher minimum wage, medical care for the elderly, and a Department of Urban Affairs, Kennedy was met with deep congressional resistance. The major medical program for the elderly went nowhere, while attempts to cut taxes and broaden civil rights were watered down on Capitol Hill. While it is clear that JFK faced obstacles of a conservative Congress in following through with his campaign promises, he just truly didn’t care much about domestic policy, even once saying, “Who gives a shit if the minimum wage is a dollar or a dollar and a quarter when you have something like Cuba”. While the Kennedy administration did indeed face opposition, the administration ultimately handled bills poorly, as demonstrated by the 1961 bill to increase the minimum wage, which was diluted in Congress and even excluded laundry workers who were supposedly the reason for a minimum wage in the first place; this was all too typical of JFK regarding domestic policy.

One of Kennedy’s most explicit 1960 campaign promises was to end racial discrimination in housing ‘with the stroke of a pen’. But it wasn’t until 1962, when people sent him thousands of pens in the mail, that he finally issued the executive order. Not surprisingly, supposedly the order was weak and rarely enforced. Similarly, Kennedy refused to broaden the scope of the narrow housing order at any time during his administration. Here, we see yet again that the promises made were in fact, not met or were only carried out after pressure was put on. Now, this is not to say that some gains were not made as displayed by the 1964 Civil Rights Act or the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which indeed represented strides. LBJ had the upper hand as the Warren Court and Congress were working in tandem with the President, unlike JFK, whose Congress squashed almost anything that he sent their way.

The Great Society didn’t do nearly as much to improve the lives of Americans as did the expanding economy that made the Great Society possible. According to the Washington Post, it was intended to be much more than anti-poverty, but “the Great Society programs [often] perpetuated the problems they aimed to solve, stirred social discontent and worked mostly to the benefit of the massive, intractable bureaucracies they created”. So, although the Johnson administration, with good intentions, had created a blueprint for a national crime-control program to improve American society and foster equality of opportunity, it ultimately led to the shift towards surveillance and confinement of African Americans and others of color.

Thirdly, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. correctly points out that large segments of white America are more concerned with tranquility and maintaining the status quo than with justice and humanity. To begin with President Eisenhower in the 1950s, such hesitation about civil rights that made him tepid about Brown was very much evident in the little rock crisis of 1957. Southern politics moved to the right in light of Brown v. Board, and in 1957 Governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas determined that he would resist integration as nine African American schoolchildren tried to enroll in Central High School. Eisenhower finally acted as if this was embarrassing to America’s reputation. Instead of declaring that desegregation was the right thing to do, he instead in a nationally televised address asserted that the violence that took place in Little Rock was “harming U.S. prestige and influence around the world”. As evidenced by the televised address, Eisenhower was more concerned with the United States’ appearance abroad than true justice and equality. Furthermore, insofar as Kennedy was concerned with civil rights, he viewed it as an image problem and was much more concerned with foreign policy than domestic issues. Believing that the Freedom Rides would interfere with the Vienna Summit, President Kennedy tried to convince the riders to call it off, critically revealing his intentions and concern for maintaining the United States’ image abroad rather than aiding the civil rights movement.

In the 1960s, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, a right-wing anti-communist, violated the law by using the FBI for illegal activities against civil rights advocates. In developing his counterintelligence program COINTELPRO, which in large part was to target civil rights activists for surveillance, blackmail, and dirty tricks, both JFK and LBJ were complicit. Both presidents allowed Hoover to do his dirty deeds because it was likely that he had information on them as well. Again, this demonstrates a concern with maintaining peace and tranquility and looking out for themselves rather than doing what’s right. Additionally, in 1964, three civil rights workers were grabbed by the deputy sheriff in Neshoba County and released to a Klan mob who murdered the three men. The documentary ‘Neshoba’ included opinions of white citizens: “Why bring all this thing back up? It’s not going to bring anybody back”, “My opinion is if it’s stirred up, something bad could happen again”, “I think we should leave it alone, it’s been so many years, what good is it gonna do? They’re all dead but one”. Evidenced by these statements white Americans were much more concerned with maintaining peace and the status quo rather than giving justice to Chaney, Schwerner, and Goodman’s families, which ultimately and horrifically would not come for 40 years.

Additionally, Ike never seemed certain the problems the United States was facing (like immigration, civil liberties, civil rights, or poverty) were actually there, and arguably and typically was unwilling to use his prestige and popularity to solve them. Kennedy was customarily disinterested in civil rights reform except as a matter of necessity, but while sympathetic, he failed to provide solutions. While President Johnson took the lead here, he bit off more than he could chew, and while his policies were well-intentioned, the war on poverty was intermingled with urban unrest essentially prompting Johnson to call for a war on crime. Essentially, the policies of Eisenhower and the liberalism of LBJ, JFK, and others as the Students for a Democratic Society points out, are just a way of strengthening the status quo, introducing just enough reform to keep a revolution from happening.

Ultimately, I agree with Dr. Martin Luther King’s perspective of the 1950s and 60s as instead of seeing actual fundamental change, African Americans, at the end of the 1960s, still lived with all the struggles they did before, yet they were hidden behind civil rights legislation or case law. Everything looks good on paper, but in reality, people of color still faced voter discrimination, segregation, racial profiling, increasing incarceration, and violence. Promises of freedom and justice were often not met or took decades as displayed by Neshoba County and Brown. Large segments of white society were more concerned with maintaining the status quo rather than justice and humanity as displayed through the Neshoba County murders and the politics of Ike, JFK, and LBJ, and the negro plight has worsened as demonstrated by unemployment and the pairing of the war on poverty and the war on crime.

Business in the 1950s

“Buy when everyone else is selling and hold until everyone else is buying. That’s not just a catchy slogan. It’s the very essence of successful investing” (Ruth). This is a quote from J. Paul Getty an oilman, who was the richest individual in America in 1957. He founded the Getty Oil Company. His large business was very successful because of his smart investing habits. Smart techniques, workers, and the public fueled large and small businesses in the 1950s. I am talking about small and large businesses in America, not around the world. Monopoly: the exclusive possession or control of the trade or supply in a commodity or service is the best term used to describe business in the 1950s. Businesses at the time were all trying to reach a monopoly of their trade/industry. Most iconic brands in our nation’s history are still around today. Such as Denny’s was founded: in 1953; Dunkin’ Donuts was founded: in 1950; Sonic Drive-In was founded: in 1953; Holiday Inn was founded: in 1952; and H&R Block was founded: in 1955. Businesses in the 1950s provoked it to be the decade of progress and change in America.

First of all, the 1950s offered most people the ability to purchase all sorts of goods and services, such as televisions and cars. As the industrial world evolved, assembly lines were created as well as an increase in factories in the States. The production of cars in the U.S. jumped, and by 1960, 80% of American families had at least one car and 15% had two or more. Many companies were mass producing cars and “Among the ten largest employers in 1955… none could have existed or been nearly as large as they were without the insatiable appetite for American-made cars” (“America’s Biggest Companies”). Along with the rising popularity of cars, television became more common in the 1950s. TVs gave manufacturers a new powerful, affordable outlet to advertise their products. TVs were present in 90% of homes and was the favorite hobby of nearly half the population. During the 1950s, a sense of uniformity pervaded American society.

Furthermore, companies big and small needed workers, to manage their assets, work their assembly lines, or sell their products to the public. Most men worked in blue-collar jobs “Similar to those of today, without the computer and technology field, which wasn’t nearly what it is today… jobs were mainly industrial or agricultural” (“Business and Jobs”). In 1955, GM held more than three million jobs in the US and had more than 50% of American auto sales. Women in the 1950s mostly worked as secretaries, bank tellers, sales clerks, private household workers, nurses, and teachers. Men and women in the 50s were very dedicated to their jobs, and many stayed working for the same company until retirement.

Lastly, during the decade small businesses started and grew, while major corporations were merging, becoming larger, more profitable, and more powerful. Americans have different views on businesses which most “Believe today, both inside and outside the business world, that the business enterprise, exists for the sake of the contribution which it makes to the welfare of society as a whole” (“Learning to Love Big Business”). The number 1 car company in the US used to be the number 1 car company in the world; General Motors. US Steel was the largest company in its industry worldwide and was among the Fortune 50 in 1955. Fortune 50 ranks the best global companies based on their potential for long-term growth. Billy Graham founded Evangelistic Association (BGEA) in 1950 in a small office with only one secretary, eight years later he employed 200 people, had a TV show, and made 2 million dollars a year. People who had the right mindset and smart investing habits normally had a successful business.

To conclude, the excitement and prosperity in America in the 1950s brought a sense of confidence. The government helped boost this confidence by imposing price controls on commonly used goods to slow quickly rising costs. The government also passed laws to prevent corporate takeovers from being too overpowering in the market. In 1945, after WWII ended, our nation began to prosper and thrive, and in a few short years, Americans began to see changes in the economy. Overall, businesses in the 1950s showed how America changed from a nation of stagnation and poverty to a nation of progress and prosperity.

Works Cited

1. “America’s Biggest Companies, Then and Now (1955 to 2010).” 247wallst.Com, 24/7 Wall St., 21 Sept. 2010, https://247wallst.com/investing/2010/09/21/americas-biggest-companies-then-and-now-1955-to-2010/. Web.
2. Atkinson, Robert D., and Michael Lind. ‘Learning to Love Big Business.’ Atlantic Monthly, Apr. 2018, pp. 22. SIRS Issues Researcher, http://sks.sirs.com/webapp/article?artno=0000409402&type=ART. Web.
3. Conroy, Jane McMaster. “Business and Jobs in the 1950s.” Career Trend, 25 July 2017, https://careertrend.com/info-8214885-business-jobs-1950s.html. Web.
4. Dia, Aminata. “The 15 Iconic American Brands That Were All Launched in the 1950s.” The Hive, Vanity Fair, 30 Jan. 2015, www.vanityfair.com/news/daily-news/2013/12/15-iconic-American-brands-1950s. Web.
5. Lock, Cheryl. “The Most Common Job for Women Is the Same as It Was in 1950.” The Week – All You Need to Know About Everything That Matters, The Week, 6 Feb. 2013, https://theweek.com/articles/467944/most-common-job-women-same-1950. Web.
6. Magnus, Charles. A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 – 1875, https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awmi10/television.html. Web.
7. Vatter, Harold G. The U.S. Economy in the 1950’s: An Economic History. Praeger, 1984. Print.