FYS The Fifties

Proms, or “receptions” as some schools call them, are formal dances sponsored by the school. They usually take place in May or June and are generally not a cheap endeavor. The boys have to rent tuxedos, the girls get their nails, hair and makeup done and buy long elegant dresses that they will probably wear once and then hang up in their closet for a few years before they donate it to Salvation Army. Flowers are bought, limos are rented and couples head off to whichever venue they have just paid $100 dollars for tickets to.
Couples arrive at the prom and take formal pictures, admire each other’s dresses and sit down to a nice dinner. Once plates are cleared, the youngsters migrate to the dance floor, where they do anything but dance. The popular form of dancing known as “grinding” has become the go-to dance style for most teenagers of today, and frankly it’s a little discomforting! Continue reading →

Growing up, I always said that I wish I had been born during a different time period when the world was a simpler place. The fifties seemed to be the ideal decade from my point of view, and I looked upon fifties culture with fascination and idolization. I truly believed that people were so much happier back then, and I thought that modern day America could revert to many of the practices of the fifties to solve today’s problems. It was not until I began this course that I realized I had a very warped view of life in the fifties. While many could argue that some things were better back then, this decade contained an immense amount of difficulties and restrictions. The fifties were not just a time for drive in movies and poodle skirts. Continue reading →

Fashion During the 1950’s

Thus far, during the course of our 1950’s seminar was have discussed many different aspects of the era but we have only briefly talked about the topic of 1950’s fashion. The fashion of the time is, in my eyes, quite interesting. It is fascinating to see and read about what people wore back then and how much fashion has changed to where it is today. When many people think about the era of the 1950’s, they imagine cookie-cutter houses and everyone dressing exactly the same, or at least that’s what I pictured before I did my research. Continue reading →

During the 1950’s many things had changed but perhaps the thing that changed everything the most was the television. It brought a big change to how people lived their lives back then. More and more people were beginning to use television as a way to keep connected to the culture of the fifties.

Not only were people using television to watch the news but they were also using it to see what was popular at that time. People, young adults especially, would watch television shows that would showcase the latest talent. Now they could watch an artist from their own home if it was not possible to go to see them in person. Also many television sitcoms were gaining popularity. Continue reading →

The first time I watched Lilo and Stitch I didn’t realize how big of a role Elvis Presley played. Lilo was trying to teach her alien, pet Stitch how to behave like Elvis Presley, referring to him as a “model citizen.” He could dance, sing, play guitar, and was a teenage heartthrob. But that wasn’t it for Elvis. He had an incredible work ethic and was easy to work with. He was rebellious, but respectful and polite. He acquired incredible fame and changed the style of music. Elvis Presley was unlike other rock stars that followed him. Continue reading →

It is quite exciting that we are now talking about the music, the television, and the culture of the ‘50s. As much as the country was struggling with being in and out of wars, and having worries about foreign policy, we had an iconic pop culture forming. I believe this is what people are referencing when they reminisce about how wonderful the ‘50s were. Continue reading →

Segregation is a topic that is usually thought of in visual terms. When I think of segregation, I imagine a United States history textbook with photographs showing the barriers between black and white bathrooms. Or, I flashback to a documentary on the Little Rock Nine. Yet, until reading chapter 9 of Dunar’s book and analyzing Halberstam’s article, I had not thought about the segregation of music that existed within the 1950s. Continue reading →

A reminder – Monday’s reading is part of Dunar Chapter 8 – from p. 232-249.

And… since we’re now adding new content in the form of blog posts (please add your thoughts and comments to the posts as they show up!), I’ve copied the info for each unit into a tab on the navigation bar above: Unit 1, Unit 2 and so on. That way it won’t get displaced as easily by the high-volume posting from the class (see our first 3 posts below).

Have a good weekend!

So far in our 1950’s class we have learned mainly about political issues concerning and influencing the time period. So for my blog post, I have decided to lighten the mood a bit. In honor of baseball’s upcoming post-season, I have chosen to post about a few historical figures in America’s favorite pastime. Continue reading →

Whenever I think of music in the 1950s, I cannot help but imagine a bunch of high school boys in leather jackets with their hair slicked back, or high school girls in poodle skirts. Most of the time in my imagination they will be singing, “Grease Lighting” or “You’re the One That I Want”. For most people my age, it is hard to imagine music during that time, but even harder getting us to explore the music. We have this gut feeling that the music back then was boring and un-relatable, but all of this is untrue. What we do not understand is that today, modern music is closely related to the music of the 50s. In fact if it were not for the music of the 50s, many genres of music today would not exist. Continue reading →