Consumerism Unbound-New Products By the 1950s, 60% of
Americans were members of the middle class-about double the percentage from before WWII
Everyone had money to spend, and they wanted things-Consumerism, the buying of material goods, came to be equated with success
Consumers purchased electric appliances-washing machines, blenders, freezers, & dishwashers in record numbers
Turn That Thing Down!!!! With more & more leisure time to
fill, people invented new recreational items
They bought TVs, tape recorders, & the top in technology, hi-fi (high fidelity) record players
The round disks with grooves sold millions of copies each week to rock & roll hungry teens
People had to buy more casual clothing to suit their suburban lifestyles
They wanted tee-shirts and jeans to wear while using a power mower, barbeque grill, or caring for their backyard pool
Planned Obsolescence Manufacturers clued in on how
to get people to buy things they didn’t yet need
They began using a marketing strategy called “planned obsolescence”
They purposely designed products to wear out or become obsolete in a short time, so consumers would have to buy new products
Carmakers brought out new models every year, urging consumers to stay up-to-date
American culture was on its way to becoming a “throwaway society”
Buy Now, Pay Later Many consumers bought
products on credit & spread out the cost over a period of time
1950-The Diner’s Club issued the first credit card, followed by American Express in 1958
Instead of saving money like they did in the 1940s, Americans were spending it
Everyone had home mortgages & auto loans, so that total private debt grew from $73-billion to $179-billion in the 1950s
The Advertising Age Ads were everywhere-newspapers,
magazines, radio, TV, billboards They prompted people to buy
goods ranging from cars to cereal to cigarettes
1950-Advertisers spent $6-billion---by 1955, it was up to $9-billion
TV became the most valuable advertising tool
The 1st one-minute commercial produced in 1941 cost $9-by 1960, TV ads yielded $1.6-billion in revenue to TV stations
Compare that to an ad in the 2001 Superbowl—a 30-second spot cost $2.2-million
New Era of the Mass Media Mass media-the means of
communication that reaches large audiences-developed with lightning speed in the 1950s
1948-Just 9% of American homes had a TV, but by 1954, 55% had a black & white TV set
By 1960, 45-million American homes—almost 90%-had TVs
Television was the entertainment & information marvel of the post-war years
The Rise of Television Early TVs were large boxes
with small round screens showing only black & white
1949-The first regular broadcasts reached only a small part of the East Coast, with just 2 hours of meager entertainment per day
Then engineers learned how to use microwave technology from WWII to transmit TV waves over long distances
The “Golden Age” of TV 1956-The Federal Communications
Commission had issued licenses to 500 new stations
They latched on to microwave signals that provided shows such as the Texaco Star Theater with comedian Milton Berle, or The Jack Benny Show
I Love Lucy, starring Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz, began an enormously popular run in 1951
The Mickey Mouse Club, The Howdy Doody Show, & American Bandstand attracted young fans
There were also sporting events such as baseball, football, basketball, wrestling, & boxing
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The News Everyone tuned in to watch the
network news shows During a 15-minute broadcast,
viewers watched NBC, CBS, ABC, or the Mutual networks describe what was happening in the world
Veteran radio broadcaster Edward R. Murrow introduced 2 innovations: on the scene reporting with his See It Now program
Murrow also started the extended TV interview with his Person-to-Person program
What’s On TV Tonight? When Americans came home
from work, they plopped in front of the TV to relax
The TV industry spawned other products, such as TV Guide, a magazine listing all network TV shows for each week
1954-The food industry introduced a new convenience item, the frozen TV dinner
Complete, ready to eat meals in disposable trays made it easy for people to eat without missing their favorite shows
Stereotypes and White Guys Not everyone was thrilled with
TV programming Critics objected to its effects on
kids & its stereotypical portrayal of women & minorities
In Father Knows Best & Ozzie and Harriet, women were the loyal, sometimes silly wife
Male characters outnumbered women 3-to-1, while African-Americans & Latinos rarely appeared on TV at all
Idealizing White America 1950s TV omitted any
reference to poverty, diversity, or contemporary conflicts such as civil rights & racial discrimination
Instead, it glorified historical conflicts from the Old West-
Gunsmoke, Have Gun-Will Travel, Bonanza, & Rawhide were hit shows, largely due to violence
Some Americans became concerned about the effect of TV violence on children
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Radio Finds Its Way Radio had been king up until
the 1950s-then it lost all its stars to TV
Instead of competing with TV programming, radio stations turned to local programming
The strategy paid off, as radio advertising rose by 35%, & the number of stations rose 50%
They played records-& teens tuned in to hear rock & roll on stations that played Top-40 formats-the 40 most popular records
Movies Change Because of TV
1948—America had some 18,500 theaters drawing 90-million viewers per week Then came TV, & people stayed home, so that the number of moviegoers decrease by
50% New technology saved Hollywood from crumbling so that by 1954, 50% of movies
were made in color, using Cinemascope, a wide-screen format People were drawn back by stereophonic sound that surrounded viewers, & even
Smell-O-Vision, & Aroma-Rama Color TV did not become widespread until the mid-1960s
A Subculture Emerges
From LA, San Francisco, & New York City’s Greenwich Village, came the beat movement of dissenters from the popular white culture
These artists, poets, & writers called themselves beatniks-the word originally meant “tired,” but also to the beat of their jazz music
Beatniks shunned regular work-they sought higher consciousness thru Zen Buddhism, music, & drugs
The Beat Generation Beatnik poets & musicians believed
in imposing as little structure as possible on their works
They read their poetry aloud in coffeehouses
Jack Kerouac’s 1957 novel On the Road, described the search for authentic experiences, people, & values
To most Americans, beatniks were just plain weird, so they rejected their ideals
Nevertheless, beatnik attitudes & literature gained media attention & fired the imaginations of many college students
African-Americans & Rock ‘N’ Roll
Musicians of the 1950s added electronic instruments to traditional blues music, creating rhythm & blues
1951-Cleveland radio DJ Alan Freed began playing black music to his mostly white audience
His listeners responded enthusiastically, & Freed began promoting the new music that grew out of blending rhythm & blues, country, & pop
Rock ‘N’ Roll Richard Penniman (Little
Richard), Chuck Berry, Bill Haley & the Comets, & especially Elvis Presley brought rock & roll to popularity
Affluent teens rushed to buy records featuring rock’s heavy rhythms, simple melodies, & lyrics featuring love, cars, & teenage problems
The King Elvis-The “King of Rock &
Roll”-a white southerner who developed his style by singing in church, listening to country, gospel & blues
His mom bought him a guitar when he was a boy-he paid $4 of his own to record 2 songs in 1953
His 1st hit record came out in 1956-& he became a sensation
“Heartbreak Hotel,” “Hound Dog,” “All Shook Up,” & “Don’t Be Cruel” were a few of a long line of Elvis hit songs
“You Ain’t Nothin’ But a Hound Dog…”
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That Rock Music Will Corrupt You! Not surprisingly, many adults
condemned rock & roll They objected to Elvis’ sexually-
charged pelvic gyrations-Ed Sullivan’s nationwide program was afraid to show Elvis from the waste down
Rock & Roll would lead to teen delinquency & immorality-so rock concerts were banned in many cities
Despite the opposition, rock & roll record sales reached 600-million in 1960
The Racial Gap African-American musicians
like Chuck Berry & Little Richard had inspired the birth of Rock & Roll
In other musical genres, singers like Nat King Cole, Lena Horne, & Harry Belafonte paved the way for other minority artists
Musicians like Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, & Thelonius Monk played improvisational jazz Charlie Parker & Miles Davis
Segregation on the Air African-American shows were
mostly broadcast on separate stations in the 1950s
1954-Just 250 radio stations nationwide were aimed at African-American audiences
Advertisers who wanted to reach black audiences could do it only on radio, since fewer African-Americans owned TVs
By the end of the 1950s, African-Americans were largely segregated from the dominant culture
The on-going segregation would become a powerful force for change in the 1960s
Person Art Form Achievements
Lucille Ball
Edward R. Murrow
Elvis Presley
Television sit-com
TV news
Music
Star of “I Love Lucy”
Host of “See It Now” & “Person
to Person”
Rock & roll singer
Person Art Form Achievements