(4c) Cultural changes

Question 1

What impact did HUAC have on the type of films that Hollywood produced?

Answer 1

=Cold War themed films told stories of communist infiltration and spies - contributing to the public paranoia and feeding into the fear that communists were trying to poison and destroy American society

=Some producers sacked anyone with any possible link to communism

=Enemies and bad guys in films became communists - changing from gangsters (like Al Capone 1920s), and Nazis (during WW2)

Question 2

How did the number of TV sets increase from 1947 to 1955?

Answer 2

The number of television sets increased from 60,000 in 1947 to 37 million by 1955

Question 3

How many TV were sold in the 1st 6 months of 1950?

Answer 3

3 million

Question 4

How much were Americans spending on the sale and repairs of TVs by 1956?

Answer 4

$15.6 billion

Question 5

Who now had access to tv’s when they did not previously?

Answer 5

Families and people on low incomes could now have access to shows, popular entertainment and sports that previously been associated with the middle classes and the rich - 1955 World Series shown in colour for first time

Question 6

What was made available in 1955?

Answer 6

TV dinners

Question 7

What % of Americans was TV their favourite leisure time?

Answer 7

50%

Question 8

Give an example of how merchandise linked to programs?

Answer 8

Sale of merchandise linked to programmes also earned extra revenue for the programme maker. 1955, Walt Disney launched the Davy Crocket series, $300,000 worth of fake coon-skin caps were sold.

Question 9

What kind of stereo types were seen on Tv?

Answer 9

Sitcom families tended to be white and middle class, nuclear family

Women on TV without husbands and families were portrayed as unhappy

Question 10

What impact did TVs have on Hollywood?

Answer 10

Weekly attendance at movies fell from 90 million in 1947 to 47 million in 1956

Question 11

What did Edward R. Morrow made a case for?

Answer 11

Edward R. Morrow: journalist and broadcaster made a case for “serious” programmes on TV

He highlighted that TV could be a powerful campaign tool with his documentary series See it Now.

Morrow contributed to the downfall of McCarthy through exposing him as a bully with no real evidence

Question 12

How had the type of “rebellious youth” changed from the 1920’s to the 1950’s?

Answer 12

“Rebellious youth” had been feature of 1920s with flappers, but 1950s = teenagers

Question 13

How did the population of people under the age of 24 change from 1950-1960?

Answer 13

1950: 41.6%
1960: 44.4%

Question 14

How did the economic boom aid teenage culture?

Answer 14

financial power for teenage consumerism and independence from parents

Availability of cars, fast food diners, jukeboxes, teenage fashion, hairstyles, Hollywood and Rock n Roll

Question 15

How much was the teenage market worth by 1955?

Answer 15

$10 billion per year

Question 16

How did older generations view the teenagers?

Answer 16

the belief in many adults that teenage culture was confrontational and rebellious, unlike their own more sedate teenage years.

Question 17

How did tv reinforce stereotypes around teenagers?

Answer 17

TV and films contributed to the teenage stereotype and reinforced concerns. Teenagers often portrayed as juvenile delinquents who were aggressive, violent and confrontational towards authority.

Question 18

How did the media reinforce stereotypes around teenagers?

Answer 18

The media claimed that gangs of youths were roaming the inner cities and engaging in random acts of violence, drunkenness and disrespectful behaviour.

Question 19

How much had teenage murders risen by in 1956?

Answer 19

26% on the previous year

Question 20

How many teenagers actually participated in violent behaviour and held criminal chargers in 1956?

Answer 20

However, LA police showed less than 1 in 10 teenage gangs actually participated in violent behaviour and less than 1% of teenagers nationally were ever held on criminal charges in 1956

Question 21

What did the average age for marriage reduce to in 1941?

Answer 21

At the start of the 50s the average age for marriage reduced to 20.3 years compared, to 21.5 in 1940. This shows that in some cases traditional values and concepts were still firmly in place.

Question 22

What kind of music was closed associated with youth rebellion?

Answer 22

Rock and roll

Question 23

Give an example of a famous rock and roll singer in the 1950’s?

Answer 23

Elvis Presley

Question 24

How where women shown in Hollywood?

Answer 24

=Women were shown in some films as passive and vulnerable, waiting to be rescued by a hero.

=women were shown as needing to be tamed by a ‘good’ man.

=depicted as a homemaker and mother, thereby fulfilling their destiny.

Question 25

Give some examples of famous women in Hollywood?

What opportunities were they given?

Answer 25

some of the ‘big name’ female stars such as Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Elizabeth Taylor were given the opportunity to play assertive women who aspired to more than domesticity.

Question 26

How were women shown in television?

Answer 26

Women were shown as being loyal and subordinate to their husband, who was the major breadwinner. Any success was linked to the success of the husband.

Women emphasised their role as a caregiver and homemaker, seeing this as the most fulfilling role a woman could fulfil.

Question 27

Give an example of a famous female comedienne.

How much was her contract worth?

How much people tuned in to watch her character have a baby?

Answer 27

In 1953, comedienne Lucille Ball was awarded an $8 million contract for her I Love Lucy show, in which she portrayed herself as something of a dizzy blonde who created chaos wherever she went - linked to the stereotyping of ‘blondes’.

When Lucy had a baby, 70% of America’s TV audience tuned in to watch the happy event.

Question 28

What did many sitcoms celebrate?

Answer 28

Many sitcoms celebrated American Family life as being the bedrock and heart of America. From this perspective, TV could be said to support racism and prejudice. Often programmes reflected how some Americans saw their country

Question 29

What did advertising not want to be associated with?

Answer 29

Advertisers were seeking to encourage people to buy products, therefore, did not want to have it associated with ethnic minorities in case it affected sales.

Question 30

What singers saw their music grow in popularity?

What problems did they still face?

Answer 30

Singers such as Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holliday saw their music grow in popularity -

although they still faced segregation, racism and prejudice regarding performances,particularly in the Southern states where segregation was still entrenched.