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During the 1950's, refrigerators and freezers were growing increasingly easy to afford for common households. Also, automated washing machines began to show up as everyday items which expedited the process of cleaning and allowed for more free time for the individual. More free time led to more independence in housewives and more women began learning to read and write outside of their main education, a concept which many modern day artists, such as Beyonce, encourage freely. Radios also allowed people of all kinds to enjoy music, and culture spread quickly.

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Marilyn Monroe

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James Dean

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I believe the 1950s ties well into the article "Beyonce and Social Media". With television becoming more popular, many people wanted to emulate the glamor on the screen. Even though the lives of Americans at the time seemed ideal, many struggled with addiction and mental illness. They often presented themselves as much more put together, employing the idea of a "public-private self" that they presented to those outside of their homes. Although the people of the fifties did not have social media to add even more layers to the way that they presented themselves to others, I think the same idea applied and was part of the reason beat counterculture appeared. The rejection of a public face and the effort to be the most true version of themselves, regardless of how improper, had the authenticity the decade lacked.
J. Gilliland

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The 1950’s were a burgeoning time of technology and of exploration into ease of labor. Most of the inventions of the time were created to allow for housework and food preparation to be expedited. I enjoyed learning about how many of the common things I take for granted did not exist just one lifetime ago. I connected the fact that housewives were granted more free time to learn to write about their lives and experiences with the fact that social media these days allows women to share experiences with each other and compare how they can overcome the difficulties they face together.
- J. Davis

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By the end of the 1950's there were over 4,000 drive in movie theaters in the US alone!

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The image of the celebrities of the 50s compared to most now are very different. Thanks to social media, stars are able to share anything they need to much faster than they were able to in the 1950's. However, I see similarities in Beyonce's presence and the presence of oldschool celebrities. The way Beyonce has managed to control her image is unheard of in today's world, but in the 50s there was more mystique with celebrities. They only had to share what they felt like sharing, they were able to carefully curate their life, just like Beyonce has.
- Hannah Huskey

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The 50s were all about quick and simple meals, meaning that canned and frozen foods were both very popular.
A big trend was the TV dinner, since it came frozen and pre-made it was easy to pop into the oven after a long day. No clean up required!

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The toys popular then are often still played with today- Play Doh, pogo sticks, Silly Putty, Mr. Potato Head, hula hoops, and the Magic 8-Ball were all staples in a 50s childhood.

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"I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness..." Allen Ginsburg, "Howl"

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In 1950, Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book was first published and quickly became a best-seller. It had all types of recipes, from pigs in blankets to chicken tomato aspic to sweet treats. Betty Crocker was a household name as she also appeared in many programs on ABC and CBS.

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Ernest Hemingway

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"Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road." - Jack Kerouac, On the Road

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In the 1950s, Americans had more income than their ancestors, it allowed them more freedom to enjoy leisure  activities. Although social media, as we know it today, was not prevalent in the 1950s it was still a time that Americans were seeing more technology in their homes which lead to seeing well known actors and actresses and I would imagine, as some do today, they tried to mirror what they saw on television or in films. Just as Beyoncé keeps her life a little more private, the celebrities of the fifties could keep theirs private because of no social media to put themselves out there.
K. Simmons

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Rock and Roll dominated popular music in the 1950s mixing together of various black musical genres of the time, including rhythm and blues and gospel music; with country and western and pop. Artists include Elvis, Ray Charles, Buddy Holly, Fat Domino, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Patsy Cline and Jerry Lee Lewis just to name a few.

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"Grand. There's a word I really hate. It's a phony. I could puke every time I hear it." - J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in Rye

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Tennessee Williams

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The Catcher in the Rye- J. D. Salinger
On the Road- Jack Kerouac
"Howl"- Allen Ginsberg
The Lord of the Flies- William Golding
Charlotte's Web- E. B. White
The Fellowship of the Ring- J. R. R. Tolkien
East of Eden- John Steinbeck
Lolita- Vladimir Nabokov
Atlas Shrugged- Ayn Rand
Breakfast at Tiffany's- Truman Capote
Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury

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"In the 50s a woman's place was in the home, but their style was always clear in popular culture."

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Television was the first device that changed the way people saw entertainment. The Howdy Doody Show was popular with school age children. American Bandstand with teenagers, and I Love Lucy, Father Knows Best, GunSmoke, Leave It To Beaver, The Ed Sullivan Show, Lassie, etc. was popular evening family shows.

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1951- 22nd amendment established term limits for president
1953- Dr. Jonas Salk's polio vaccine was proven effective in University of Pittsburgh tests
1954- Brown v. Board of Education  Supreme Court declares "separate but equal" schools unconstitutional
1955- Rosa Parks incites the Montgomery bus boycott by refusing to give her seat to a white passenger
1955- Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California
1955- Ray Kroc opens the first McDonald's
1956- US adopts "In God We Trust" as national motto
1957- Toyota sells first Japanese car ever in the United States
1956- Interstate Highway Act opens construction of 41,000 miles of the Interstate Highway System
1958- NASA formed
1958- Bank of America launches the first credit card

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Audrey Hepburn

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Elizabeth Taylor