4.3 Cultural Change Flashcards
The Growing Power of Television (Spec 4)
-Ownership transformed popular entertainment in the USA
-1948, only 2.9% of households had one, by 1955 it was 76%
-FCC gave commercial licences to 6 TV stations in 1946. By 1956 it was 442
-Crowds would gather on sidewalks in front of stores that displayed a working TV
-Taverns, a set behind the bar virtually guaranteed a full house
-By the end of the first decade of TV, it was widely believed to have greater influence on American culture than parents, schools, churches and government institutions
HOWEVER
Radio in its early days was considered as a technological wonder and pubic quickly adjusted to radio broadcasting. TV prompted a tendency to criticise and evaluate
Popular entertainment and sitcoms
-Allowed millions of people to see sporting events for the first time
-1947, Major League Baseball’s premier event- World Series
-1955- The World Series was shown for the first time in colour on NBC
-US TV was dominated by three national networks, ABC, NBC, CBS. They were responsible for programming
-Some of the most popular TV shows transferred from radio such as The Jack Benny Show
-The Goldbergs- story of a Jewish working class family living in a Bronx tenement in NYC
-With the growth of suburbia and rise in living standards, other shows came along to replace it. E.g, Father Knows Best, Springfield
-Most popular sitcom in the 50s, ‘I Love Lucy’ which had a female star.
-Game shows became popular such as ‘The $64,000 question’
HOWEVER
-Some shows did provide high quality debate however See It Now 51-58 looked at serious issues such as McCarthy’s anti-communist crusade
-Television was criticised for offering ‘low-brow’ programmes and contributing to low scores of kids who they believed was spending too much time watching television
Stereotyping of women and ethnic minorities
-Women in sitcoms were housewives who were always loyal, subordinate partners to their middle-class husbands
-Ethnic minorities were always portrayed in servile roles such as domestic servants
-The popular sitcom The Jack Benny Show, the main star was always seen with his black servant
Origins of teenage culture
-First idea of the ‘rebellious youth’ began in the 20s with the intro of the ‘flapper’, new dances and music was frowned upon by adults
-the idea of the teenager was created in the 50s
-They had financial power due to the post war boom
-Parents were more willing to give their children more money due to an increase in the standard of living and they wanted their children not to experience the same childhood they had (The Great Depression)
-they benefited from the availability of cars and the development of fast food
-businesses saw opportunities and developed teenage fashion
-teenage culture was associated with new business such as Rock n’roll
-TV programming and films helped develop the idea of teenagers being rebellious in society. They were portrayed as ‘juvenile delinquents’ who were disrespectful to their parents and to society in general
-the media claimed gangs of youths roamed the cities engaging in violence
-‘The Wild One’ starring Marlon Brando captured the mood
-‘Rebel Without A Cause’ starring James Dean, wearing leather jackets, using their own stand and greasing their hair shocked adults
The birth of rock and roll
-epitomised the teenage culture
-stood in marked contrast to the music enjoyed by adults during WW2, ballots by Frank Sinatra
-with financial independence, teenagers were able to go out and buy their own records or listen to them on jukeboxes that appeared at cafes and fast food outlets
-the origins of rock and roll were in black American music from the Old South associated with the Great Migration
-transferred to the North, blues had a new, distinct record
-1952- ‘Moondog’s Rock n’Roll Party’ played music by black American artists, it was so popular the show moved to NYC and helped make it a national craze
HOWEVER
although the origins were in black American culture, it only took her when white artists performed
reflected the degree of racial discrimination in the USA. Rock Around The Clock was a nationwide success
Elvis Presley propelled to national fame and was the first teenage idol for rock n’roll. Was frowned upon by adults and media for being too promiscuous performing his songs
Hollywood and the Cold War
-was at the forefront of the confrontation with the USSR
-after 1945, Hollywood was affected by labour problems, leading to strikes while the Hollywood branch of the Communist Party openly supported Soviet policy in Eastern Europe.
-1947, the HUAAC decided to investigate America’s film industry
-Aided by B-List actor Ronald Reagan, future president
-Most dramatic part was a group of screenwriters known as the Hollywood Ten who refused to co-operate
-Supporters of the Hollywood Ten: Humphrey Bogart, Henry Fonda, Frank Sinatra and Katharine Hepburn who formed the Committee for the First Amendment, this guaranteed free speech.
-others supported the purge of communists: Walt Disney, Ronald Reagan, John Wayne and Gary Cooper
-this created a blacklist in Hollywood for these people
-The Motion Picture Association of America declared that It would blacklist anyone who was a communist
-Blacklisting lasted until the 60s and included several of Hollywood’s most famous names such as Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles. Were forced to work overseas
-The HUAC investigations had greatly affected Hollywood as it led to an end of careers and ensured that for a decade Hollywood would stay away from producing films with a strong political message
