Social Developments Post-1950

Question 1

When did the drive-in cinema become popular?

Answer 1

The 1930s

Question 2

When and where did the first multiplex cinema open?

Answer 2

1963 in Kansas City

Question 3

What sort of films became popular in the 70s?

Answer 3

The “blockbuster” like Jaws or Star Wards.

Question 4

What sort of films became popular in the 90s?

Answer 4

Films featuring highly-paid megastars like Tom Cruise or Sylvester Stallone.

Question 5

When was the DVD introduced? Why were they popular?

Answer 5

1997. They were popular because they gave a sharper resolution and better quality pictures.

Question 6

How many people owned cars by 1960?

Answer 6

60 million

Question 7

What was the Interstate Highways Act?

Answer 7

An act passed in 1956 which started the construction of 41,000 miles of new motorways.

Question 8

What proportion of people owned a car by 1970?

Answer 8

50%

Question 9

What proportion of people had a TV by 1970?

Answer 9

96%

Question 10

When was Microsoft set up and by who?

Answer 10

1975 by Bill Gates

Question 11

When was Apple set up?

Answer 11

1976

Question 12

What group of people developed in the 1950s?

Answer 12

The teenagers

Question 13

Why did the teenagers only start to exist in the 1950s?

Answer 13

Young people had a lot more money and free time and used them to turn against their pedestrian existence in the suburbs.

Question 14

Who lead the youth movement in the 50s? What did he teach?

Answer 14

Jack Kerouac. He spoke about freedom through sex, drugs and Zen.

Question 15

Which singer was idolised by teenagers in the 50s?

Answer 15

Elvis Presley

Question 16

Which actor was idolised by teenagers in the 50s? What was his mantra?

Answer 16

James Dean. His mantra was “live fast, die young” which the teenagers reflected with their more rebellious and immoral attitudes. Crime rates rose.

Question 17

What was the Hippy Movement?

Answer 17

The prominent youth culture of the 1960s. Middle-class teenagers turned against their parents’ way of life and dropped out, deciding to wear ethnic clothing, grow their hair long, use drugs, follow mystical religions and explore their sexualities.

Question 18

What city was said to be the hippy capital of America?

Answer 18

San Francisco

Question 19

How did hippies refer to the police?

Answer 19

The pigs

Question 20

What was Woodstock Festival?

Answer 20

A hippie music festival where the hippies congregated to listen to artists like Joan Baez and The Who. People also burned their conscription cards as the hippies objected to the Vietnam War.

Question 21

How did the Student Protest movement begin?

Answer 21

Student societies would hold rallies about Civil Rights/

Question 22

How did the Student protest movement develop in the universities?

Answer 22

The students began to campaign to have freedom speech and to remove the strict rules on campus. this then developed into anti-Vietnam protest.

Question 23

What event sparked media interest in the Student Protest movement?

Answer 23

The May 1970 protest at Kent State University, Ohio. They were protesting against the Cambodia bombings when 600 National Guard members were sent to disperse them. They ended up injuring 11 and killing 4.

Question 24

When did women start properly getting jobs? What was the problem?

Answer 24

They started working during the Second World War, however once the war was over they were expected to stay at home as wives and mothers.

Question 25

How many women had jobs by 1960? What kind of jobs were they?

Answer 25

40%, although most of them were in low-paid jobs.

Question 26

When was the Feminine Mystique published, who wrote it and what was it?

Answer 26

The Feminine Mystique was published in 1963 by Betty Friedan. The book is widely accredited with starting the feminist movement.

Question 27

What was NOW?

Answer 27

The National Organisation for Women was an organisation which demanded equal rights for women and for abortion to be legalised.

Question 28

What two pieces of legislation had the largest effects for the Women’s Movement?

Answer 28

The Civil Rights Act made it illegal to discriminate based on gender as well as race

Abortion was legalised in 1973

Question 29

What two barriers still faced women’s equality in 1990?

Answer 29

Women’s earnings were still only at 70% of men’s

Women were 6 times more likely to be living in poverty