5. Social Change 1950-2000- How Did American Society Change? Flashcards
Key developments in cinema/tv since 1950s
Drive in cinema (although criticised as ‘passion pits’).
Multiplex cinema first opened in 1963 and spread across America.
Technological developments- special effects.
Anti-hero emerged in 2950s as young people looked to Hollywood for examples of rebellious anti-heros.
3/4 households had a vcr(video player).
Tv and cinema failed to recognise the great racial and religious diversity of America.
By 1960 50 million homes had tvs.
Game shows, comedies, westerns, soaps and chat shows all v successful and popular.
What music was in the 1950s and what were the reactions to it?
Elvis Presley- rock& roll. Popular with teens as had their own music to listen to.
Disliked by parents and teachers as influenced their attitude to authority and their own appearance
What music in 1960s+ reactions
Beach boys popular for close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a Southern California youth culture of cars, surfing and romance.
Protest songs.
Parents blamed rock&roll for teenage anger, lack of respect and crime.
British groups also v popular in usa
What music in 1970s-2000s + reactions
Disco v popular- a reaction to the domination of rock and was particularly popular with women.
Heavy metal also became v popular, associated with aggression and masculinity e.g Motörhead & iron maiden.
Rap + hip-hop a product of high unemployment among black Americans.
When did bill gates set up Microsoft and Steve jobs with apple computers, when was the internet created and games consoles
Microsoft-1975,
Apple-1976,
internet-1990s,
Consoles- 1980s
What did the internet give Americans
Near instant communication by email, taxes based discussion forums.
What did social networking & gaming cause
Entertainment but Less active lifestyles & increase in obesity
What did literature do- 2 types of books + examples
Challenged traditional views. Search for the great American novel- defining meaning of being American e.g to kill a mockingbird focusing on issues of racial inequality and rape.
Counter-cultural literary works - challenging traditional conservatism e.g the feminine mystique- challenged traditional role of women in American society and did much encourage the re-emergence of the women’s liberation movement
What were teenagers doing
Rebelling against parents beliefs, growing up in nuclear age so wanted to enjoy ‘today’
What did the hippies say
Make love not war
What did ww2 mean for women
Working in munitions, shipyards, aircraft factories and armed forces.
What did 1950s media encourage woman to do
Adopt a traditional family role
What did Eleanor Roosevelt’s report show
Women as second class workers
What did Betty Friedan set up- what did it do?
NOW- National Organisation of Women- challenged discrimination in court cases
What was the women’s liberation movement
Similar to NOW but more extreme e.g burning bras.
Did more harm than good, actions + protests brought wrong sort of publicity.
