Social And Social Stereotypes In The 1950's

What We Really Miss About The 1950s In her essay, “What We Really Miss About the 1950s”, Stephany Coontz talks about the myth of the 1950s. She begins her argument by stating some reasons why the nostalgia for the 1950s exists. The main thing Americans miss about the those days is the stability. She acknowledges that this fallacy is not insane.

In the 1950’s, America was just starting to develop a common culture. Platforms like The Ed Sullivan Show, were uniting Americans while maintaining the conservative values of the time. Many Americans tried to hold onto the lifestyle and values they were so used to, but the times were changing. The number of women in the workforce doubled, African Americans were fighting segregation, and a new teenage culture was developing. Music, rock n’ roll at that time, became a way to make up the differences between Americans.

“Once you understand and appreciate other people’s cultural backgrounds, then you can also connect with them more” Either being born or migrating into America you are considered as an American Citizen. In reality are you actually treated as American Citizen? People of America tend to stereotype different races and cultures.However,America is full of diversity and multicultural human beings, but there is a lot of oppression against races or a specific race. Therefore, Americans should embrace being multicultural because if we don't embrace it then it limits how individuals of different cultures feel oppressed.

Sandwiched between the war-ravaged 1940s and the explosive 1960s, the 1950’s was a time of great growth and prosperity in many aspects. It was seen as “the calm before the storm of social chaos that swept over the country in the more contentious 1960s.” It was indeed a time we perceive as innocent, wholesome, and peaceful. The U.S. was recovering from World War II and GIs were coming home. They started new lives in suburban, middle class utopias hoping to achieve the American dream (Shmoop Editorial Team).

As the lives of Americans were improving in the 1950s, so was television. Television was quickly becoming a popular part of the American pass time. Watching andstudying these TV ads and showings can be beneficial for multiple reasons. One reasonis it allows us to see how far the country has developed since the 1950s. In addition, it helps us to better understand the people of the 1950s which will help us to better understand the history of the era.

As World War II came to an end, the United States entered the 50s. This decade became a major influential time that brought many cultural and societal changes. Categories such as the economy, where a boom in new products increased, the technology world which incorporated new medicines and computers, entertainment when the television became popular and the overall lifestyles that Americans adapted to. All of these topics reshaped and created several advancements throughout society during the 1950s.

The Youth of Today, we’re not stoned, we’re just really cool. When taking a quick scan over the headlines from the last year, most are lead to believe that today's youth, do drugs, drink, fight and have sex, because they are simply bored. The newspapers are only taking into account the negative things surrounding adolescents, instead of a positive light. The stereotype of teenagers today is quite similar to what is was in the 60s.

Women in the 1930’s had much different lives and expectations than today. Due to the depression many people had to change their lives to support their families and that includes women. After the feminist movement of the 1920s, due to the depression, women were forced to return to their previous lives as submissive housewives although many were required to earn an income by getting a job.

The 1950’s was the decade of change. Key events across the decade and the world include the beginning of the Korean War and the Vietnam War, the first ever Organ Transplant and the introduction of Coloured TV. Also Political battles centred around communism and capitalism dominated the decade. In the 1950’s there was more leisure time due to an upgrade in household appliances which improved the likelihood of selling entertainment products such as radios and televisions.

From our previous film showing, High Noon, we got a taste of how the Western genre portrayed Chicano/a characters. The late 1970’s saw a decline of the western, and “with the decline of the filmic western came the rise of the urban violence film” (Cortés 134). The 1980’s and 90’s saw film after film released portraying gang violence, and the Latino gang film was a “natural crossroads for sex, violence, and ethnicity” (Cortés 135). Some see these Latino gang members “as updated, modern variants of the Mexican bandit type” (Treviño).

The 1950’s introduced a new generation that had a significant impact on mainly the middle class. New jobs and an economic boost allowed for sixty percent of America to be middle class. The post-war dream created a new suburban life and the hope for a healthy family. The G.I. bill granted low-interest mortgages which made it easy for families to purchase new homes. New homes would be essential for the large increase in children born known as the “Baby Boom”.

The Age of Conformity 1950’s America was a time where medicine, technology and music were becoming more and more advanced. From the manufacturing of cars, to the birth of corny sitcoms, America was very quickly becoming more futuristic. Looking back at the 1950s, it is easy to look over the years and notice the positive aspects of the developing decade, but if one takes a closer look, it wasn’t as perfect as it seemed. Teenage gangs were at an all time high as the new sounds of rock and roll encouraged violence, a war between Russia and the US was brewing and media influence was encouraging conformity rather than individualism.

In Stephanie Coontz article title "What We Really Miss About The 1950s" Sourced by the book "Rereading America" she seeks to provide insight and critical analysis into why the 1950s are so highly esteemed today and why they are so missed. Coontz sees herself as being well equipped as well as suitably verse in the elements that configure the 1900s. She even goes as far as to use a personal experience from her life during that time to give the reader a deeper understanding into the societal norms that made up the 1950s. It is quickly made evident that Coontz takes her work serious and personal. In Coontz's analysis she used a multitude of factors surrounding the struggles as well as the triumphs experienced in the 50s and in doing so she gives a wide range

Annotated Bibliography Introduction: Examine different kinds of advertisements and the problem at hand with how they perpetuate stereotypes, such as; gender, race, and religion. Thesis: The problem in society today is in the industry of social media. In efforts to attract the eye of the general population, advertising companies create billboards, commercials, flyers and other ads with stereotypes that are accepted in today’s society. Because of the nations’ cultural expectation for all different types of people, advertisement businesses follow and portray exactly what and how each specific gender, race, or religion should be.

Stereotyping is a way of categorizing certain groups of people or types of individuals with regards to gender, race, culture, religion etc. Stereotyping arises from prior assumptions due to influences by the media, history and personal experience. The statement: “To gain an understanding of the world we need to make use of stereotypes,” appears that stereotyping is required in order to really understand the world, and knowledge issues can be drawn from this statement: Does stereotyping prevent us from knowing someone truly and how are stereotypes created in the first place? One way to examine and discuss the knowledge issues is to look at different areas of knowledge, which in our case will be History and Human Science. Since the concept of stereotyping holds a broad scope, the essay will narrow down the focus to ethnic groups and their culture.