FYS The Fifties

Art
http://www.theartstory.org/section_movements_timeline.htm

https://www.artsy.net/gene/1940s-1950s

Film
http://www.filmsite.org/oscars50.html

Books
https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~immer/books1950s

Theater
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/timelines/1943-1959/

Music
http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/1950-59art.htm

Television
http://fiftiesweb.com/tv/tv-ratings/

Radio
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:1950s_American_radio_programs

Fashion
http://glamourdaze.com/2010/10/1950s-fashion-top-five-designers.html

https://vintagefashionguild.org/fashion-timeline/1950-to-1960/

Course Details: Meets MWF 8:30 am in Sullivan 309

Course Description
Explore the decade you only think you know. Pop-culture images of the 1950s seem conflict-free and innocent with 3D drive-in movies, classic cars with fins, poodle skirts, saddle shoes, and dancing to 45s on the jukebox. Happy families lived in suburban houses and everyone liked Ike, right? Not so fast! Explore American life and culture in the fifties through film, fiction, history and art. This course is designed to give first-year honors students an introduction to the rigors, joys, and challenges of college life and the honors program through inquiry, writing, and seminar-style discussion. Take a closer look at the fifties and discover it might have been far more troubled – and interesting – than you thought possible.

This website serves as our course hub, although some of our materials will also be on Blackboard. From this website, you can download the syllabus or access it online, stay up to date with course news and any changes, and see the guidelines for the course papers and projects. (I also taught the course in Fall 2013, and those course materials are also here, but they’re tagged “Fa13”).

Welcome to your first semester at Worcester State! If you have any questions before we meet on Wednesday, Sept 6th, feel free to email me at thangen (at) worcester.edu

Hello all – Worcester State has a delayed opening, starting classes at 10. Any classes starting before 10 are cancelled, while any starting after 10 are ON.

This means we will have class, but I would like to have a shortened class from 11-11:20.

Please bring your copy of Eisenhower’s Farewell Address, having noted the themes he discusses and relating them back to what we’ve learned in class this semester. Your course reflection papers are due.

Thanks! I will see you at 11!

The 1950’s became known as the decade of car culture because of the mass production of automobiles. The economy began to rise because of the demand of the new and improved cars. “…The automobile industry continued to prosper throughout the decade and, with it, ancillary industries” (Dunar 170). Not only was the automobile industry booming, but steel, plastic, and fabric companies also began to flourish. Over the course of World War II, cars became a staple in the American family and taking a joy ride without a particular destination became extremely popular. Cars became more of a luxury rather than getting people from point A to point B. Continue reading →

Throughout this course, we have learned about many topics involved in the 1950s. Those topics include McCarthyism, living conditions, Rock and Roll, consumerism, entertainment, and much more. Unfortunately there are many other topics we did not cover during this course. One topic that we did not go over, and my personal favorite, is musicals. Continue reading →

New technologies in the 1950’s were taken in by everyone in the U.S. and loved by all. One of the biggest things from the ‘50’s were movies, but some of the most interesting from that time period in history was the 3D movies. A 3D movie is shot from regular cameras at two different perspectives and then technology or in the case in the ‘50’s special eyeglasses are worn. It can be noted that the ‘50’s were the golden era for 3D movies, and that all began with the release of the movie titled The Lions of Gulu (Wikipedia). As time went on in the ‘50’s 3D only became more popular. Continue reading →

The 1950s is a decade where there was no shortage of advances, whether it be in cinema, television, or automobiles. However, one of the most understated yet important of these advances comes in the form of the medical advances of the decade. The major reason medicine came to the forefront of attention during the 1950s was because of Vannevar Bush, a science advisor to the president during World War II who, in 1945, presented to the president his Science: The Endless Frontier report, without which so many of the important medical discoveries that will be discussed here might not have come into existence. Another reason for these advances came because of Truman’s Fair Deal, which was noted for its support for health care regulation. “Truman called for more medical facilities, both to expand health care and to train new physicians, dentists, and nurses.” (Dunar 32) Continue reading →

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Invaders from Mars (1953)
THEM! (1954)
Killers from Space (1954)
Tarantula! (1955)
It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955)
Deadly Mantis (1957)
Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)
Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
The Blob (1958)

… want more?

In 1956, Grace Metalious published Peyton Place, a novel that would astonish a nation of people and in addition, bring Metalious a life of infamy. Metalious lived in Gilmanton, New Hampshire; a small town that many have speculated was the source of inspiration for Peyton Place. However, many people do not know the issues Metalious was facing in her own life. Metalious sacrificed relationships with her family members and neglected her own children in order to complete the novel. The townspeople in Gilmanton resented Metalious for writing a book about their personal lives even though no real names were used. The widespread success of Peyton Place was incredibly impressive, and the novel is still discussed today. But was the incredible fame and success of the novel worth the consequences suffered by Grace Metalious for her honest account of small town life in the 1950s? Continue reading →

One of the things many people picture when they think about the 1950s is teenagers attending drive in movies each week. It turns out that during this decade going to the movies, whether it was at a drive in or an actual theater, was not as popular as it had previously been. McCarthyism played a major role in the lack of movie attendance. “The most publicized assault, and the most difficult to counter because it set workers within the industry against one another, came from allegations of Communist influence in the industry” (Dunar 250.) After beginning to blacklist anyone who they thought to have any communist involvement, executives began only creating movies that they found to be safe and not corrupting to the general public. This meant that many independent films were being made rather than ones directed by well known production companies. This hurt revenue by decreasing about one third from $1.4 billion to $951 million dollars during this decade (Dunar 250.) Continue reading →