cultural conformity and challenge Flashcards
how was the Eisenhower years characterised
Howe
* age of conformity
* mass society
* cooperation and standardisation replaced tradditional values of individualism and competition.
how was the conformity of the Eisenhower year criticised?
- rowland - everyone in the suburbs was subject to mass conformity ad there was a loss of individuality
- “slurbs” / “disturbia”
what was “The Organisation man”
best selling book by Whyte
sold 2 million copies
* said mass corporations dominated the working mans lives
* men were subordinate to the interests of said corporations
* suburbia was also dominated by this ethos
how did TV ownership change by the 60s?
and how was this significant
- over 60% of all Americans had a TV
- TV was the favourite leisure activity for Americans
TV out performed the movies
TV often reinforced the socially acceptable ideology of the time - promoted conformity.
what were the criticism of TV in the 60s?
- promoted conformity
- promoted consumerism
- caused an educational decline/ literacy
- made people less physically active.
what was the positives of TV
- Cheap family entertainment
- could promote social change as well as conformity
- open mind - MLK spoke about anti-segregation
- footage of Little Rock and the violence agaisnt black studnets helped promote racial acceptance.
how did Hollywood challenge the racial status quo?
- showed movies in involving interracial relationships (island in the sun) 1957
- showed Black women as the heroines (imitations of life) 1959
how did Hollywood challenge the gender status quo?
and how it didnt
- women seen to reject some aspects of American materialism
- women as powerful - capable of violence
- HOWEVER
- powerful women almost always punished by men
- many characters still ended up in the role of wife and mother.
how did Hollywood challenge the view of teenage subordination?
onyl to a certain extent
* rebel without a cause - teenage protagonist eventually recognises authority and conforms
* the blackboard jungle - teacher ends the film regaining power over the teen class.
what was the effect of advertisement?
examples
- potter -
- as influential as religon
- shaped popular culture and exercised social control
- Packard -
- psycologically maniulated consumers
marlboro cigarettes - seen as effeminate until associated with cowboys (sales rocketed)
examples of teenage counter-culture
- beats
- beatnicks
- greasers
what were beats
- middle-class young adults who rejected materialism
- counter-culture surrounding free love drug use and nonconformity
- many wrote books about nonconformity in the late 50s but alot of the homosexuality and drug use was taken out.
- academic side of counter culture
minority group
what were beatniks?
- seen as copycats to Beats
- “nik” comes from sputnik - rejection of tradditionally American values
- more superficial movement often rejected by the “beats”
- still mostly middle-class
minority groups
what were greasers?
- WC street gang culture
- rebellion agaisnt MC conformity
- association with machanics and cars as they were a status symbol as well as a traditionally masculine WC occupation.
why was “rock n roll” considered to be socail challenge?
- first example of a distinct teenage culture
- seen as “race music” as it origionated from Black culture
- lyrics frequently mentioned sexual activity
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