Dissent and Discontent
What lies beneath the prosperity?
Quantity vs. Quality
Many people were critical of the 1950s lifestyle
Although many people had more, was life better?
What is the American Dream?
Conformity
“Fitting in” came at the cost of individuality
Power of advertising
Power of television◦Was it really a “vast wasteland”?
Which is better: to be like everyone else or alienated?
Catcher in the Rye
Beat Generation•Writers and artists who rejected societal norms•Anti-conformity and materialism of middle class life in America•Their individuality and creativity lead to the hippies of the 1960s
Allen Ginsberg•“Howl”
•Anti-capitalism, militarism, conformity
• Free speech advocate
•Vietnam War protestor
William S Burroughs•Novelist, poet, spoken word performer
•Naked Lunch
•Junkie
•Lifelong drug addict
Poverty
Not all of America saw the gains of the suburban middle-class
Cycle of poverty
African Americans in inner cities, whites in rural parts of the country, and Latinos in both
Urban living in decline
Cities hit hardest w/ rise of suburbs
As many minorities moved to cities for jobs, many whites fled to suburbs
Took income, wealth, and tax revenue to suburbs with them
Shift in political power hurt cities
Fewer services and increased crime rates
Urban Renewal
Sounds good…mixed results
Greater concentration of poverty
Can the cycle be broken?
Rural Poor
Those who didn’t move toward cities never felt the decade’s prosperity.
Black, White, Latino…it didn’t matter
Large scale farming became cheaper
Few jobs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMfWSPVzIls