https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7 To what extent were Americans in the 1950's living in an era of social complacency and intellectual darkness? The American public was very much living in a time of social complacency but intellect was alive and well as writers and other creatives retaliated with art that commented on censorship, the nuclear family/gender roles, and rebellious youth culture en-us 2018-03-01 16:06:42 UTC 2025-09-28 00:29:33 UTC hello@padlet.com kputnam13c https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/236999398 Ray Bradbury published Fahrenheit 451 in 1953. There is a strong message of complacency because of consumerism and technology and censorship. Guy's own wife was addicted to television, so much so that she didn't notice that the world was going up in flames. This represents the American mindset of accepting consumerism as a distraction.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/sep/21/fahrenheit-451-reading-the-1950s]]> 2018-03-01 16:14:57 UTC https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/236999398 kputnam13c https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/236999858 2018-03-01 16:15:33 UTC https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/236999858 kputnam13c https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237015081 There were various moral crusades to protect the minds of young Americans, one of them being that of neurologist and opposer of segregation, Frederic Werthham. He asserts that "-Batman and Robin were involved romantically, Superman was an anti-American fascist, and most egregiously, the conclusion that crime comics were teaching children how to commit violent and evil acts" He took his plight to court. http://cbldf.org/resources/history-of-comics-censorship/history-of-comics-censorship-part-1/]]> 2018-03-01 16:35:08 UTC https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237015081 kputnam13c https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237019220 2018-03-01 16:40:43 UTC https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237019220 kputnam13c https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237020823 2018-03-01 16:42:57 UTC https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237020823 kputnam13c https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237022119 Advertising promoted the idea of the "nuclear family" .  This was a wholesome and American concept that was somewhat restricted and very much promoted by television and gender roles (women going to college to find a husband and have children.) Advertising reinforced a gender hierarchy placing women as being subordinates and confined to kitchens.
http://www.ultraswank.net/kitsch/american-dream-1940s-1950s/

]]> 2018-03-01 16:44:39 UTC https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237022119 kputnam13c https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237028191 2018-03-01 16:52:58 UTC https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237028191 kputnam13c https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237033400 As a response to the depiction of women in media and advertisements, the feminist movement woke up and protests began. ]]> 2018-03-01 16:59:45 UTC https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237033400 kputnam13c https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237035020 Book about the history of women and feminist call to arms began to be published and circulated.
http://www.feminist.org/research/chronicles/part1a.html]]> 2018-03-01 17:01:58 UTC https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237035020 kputnam13c https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237752571 Teenagers in the 1950s were bombarded with educational films and films against communism. They were also at odds with dress codes indicating that boys could not have long , Beatles-esque hair, and girls could not wear pants. At home their parents were skeptical of their rock & roll, they were especially fearful that their teenagers being fans of African American musicians would promote biracial relationships.
https://prezi.com/badxlnejuw_s/teenage-rebellion-in-the-1950s/]]> 2018-03-04 03:51:07 UTC https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237752571 kputnam13c https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237753002 Media started to speak for the teenagers who wanted things out in the open, rather than swept under the rug like their parents. This is expressed in Rebel Without a Cause, as James Dean's character yells at his father to "do something." Natalie Woods's character had a family that was expressive of the sought-after American Dream of the 1950s, but she is still restless and expresses repression of female sexuality in that time. George opens the dialogue about mental health. The rebellion of teenage youth culture in the 50s was mainly about rebelling against silence and complacency. ]]> 2018-03-04 03:59:47 UTC https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237753002 kputnam13c https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237753100 During the Red scare, communism consumed the nation that had just began giving attention to civil rights. The music industry was the American microcosm that kept the civil rights movement alive during a more complacent and preoccupied time. Elvis and The Beatles opened the civil war between teens and parents, dancing and the sexual nature of the music was in question. Larger than that was the part music played in unifying the next generation. The Beatles refused to play to segregated audiences and fans were less than homogeneous. ]]> 2018-03-04 04:01:31 UTC https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237753100 kputnam13c https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237753918 The 1950s was largely socially complacent, moral crusades ran rampant with Church groups reacting to the scandal of the song "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", and the advertising industry's role in trying to coral women back into the kitchen. However, while the American public was socially complacent, they were not devoid of intellect as artists commented on various aspects of social complacency: from The Beatles challenging racism, feminist authors and the Beats were challenging the normal path, and teenagers having their voices projected on the big screen from Rebel Without a Cause (which would set the stage for Splendor in the Grass and Westside Story). The 1950s was socially complacent, but inspired by the intellect and art of the decade, the next generation came out of it very willing to open a dialogue. ]]> 2018-03-04 04:15:42 UTC https://padlet.com/kputnam13c/tfstnzhqdcu7/wish/237753918