Examples Of Conformity In The 1950's

In 1954 the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education ruled that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. During the 1950s, "...civil rights groups set up legal and political,

The media began to control the way they lived their lives, what they wore, what they listened to, and even what they believed. After all, everyone wants to roll with the popular crowd.

The Supreme Court is perhaps most well known for the Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954. By declaring that segregation in schools was unconstitutional, Kevern Verney says a ‘direct reversal of the Plessy … ruling’1 58 years earlier was affected. It was Plessy which gave southern

Racism was a larger issue back in the 1930’s than it is today. During the 1930’s many Black Americans were unable to find jobs. With the Great Depression came the “last hired first fired” mindset. Many African Americans felt that this was targeted towards them (Racial 5). This along with Jim Crow laws kept most blacks in a level of poverty, which added to the discrimination (Racial 7). Throughout this time, all the way up into the 1960’s and 1970’s African Americans were under great segregation. During this thirty years, great strides toward social equality were made, but at the cost of numerous racial driven incidents. Many great African American icons were assassinated during this time. Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965 because he stood up against racial oppression as well as Martin Luther King Jr. who was assassinated in 1968. Both of these two men were part of the leading force in the desegregation of America (Rosenberg 1). This movement led to great tension between the African American culture and white culture, which led to many very violent cases between the races. A great

During the post WWII period in America, the face of the nation changed greatly under the presidency of Truman and Eisenhower. America underwent another era of good feelings as they thought themselves undefeatable and superior over the rest of the world. Communism was the American enemy and American sought to rid the world of it. Because of the extreme paranoia caused by Communism, conformity became an ideal way to distinguish American Culture from the rest. Conformity became a part of every American Life to a large extent. It became evident through the medium of culture, society and politics throughout the era of the 50s.

In 1960s Hollywood, cinema aimed to communicate stories clearly and coherently. Through the Civil Rights Movement there was desire for change and social equality,

The 1970s was considered the “Me Decade” because of the increasing amount of individuality that people were beginning to exhibit. Americans started discussing important issues, such as divorce and gender roles but remained silent on the subject of sexuality. One of the reasons was because television in the 20th century hardly mentioned homosexuality. The idea was considered taboo, and many Americans were not comfortable or familiar with this issue, much less talking about it. In recent decades, Americans have made tremendous progress towards the acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in just forty years because of the television programs that have introduced Americans to these types of people. Many of the individuals that belong to either one of these categories have long struggled for equality and respect, just as other minorities have in the past, and continue to do so. Although American culture is more focused on individuality than conformity in today's times, the idea of what is “normal” is still an issue for many people. However, more television programs are bringing awareness to the idea of homosexuality, which makes for the gradual acceptance of it. The increasing amount of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender characters portrayed on television programs in today’s society has helped change the views of many Americans into embracing gay individuals into their lives. People are also more accepting of same-sex relationships or marriages and are

"According to the article published by Mr. Alex McBride, "Brown v. Board of Education (1954), now acknowledged as one of the greatest Supreme Court decisions of the 20th century, unanimously held that the racial segregation of children in public schools violated the Equal

The 1960s was, undoubtedly, a very eventful period which saw dramatically changed social norms over the decade and, ultimately, attitudes were very different by 1969 then they were in 1961. The year 1960 saw the decolonisation of Africa when British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan announced his “Winds of Change Speech” to the parliament of South Africa. The post war government also believed that they had eradicated poverty with their welfare system, and though this was true for some families across the country, who were able to buy the first car, fridges and washing machines, this was not the case for everyone. Wages were still very low and gaps between social classes began to broaden, increasing tension and bring about extreme socialism and

With the overwhelming amount of Levittown houses, the obsession to obtain the perfect American “ideal family” as seen on TV and the unspoken agreement to fear any and all foreign ideas and values, the 1950s were revealed to be a decade of prosperity, conformity and consensus. Just ten years later the atmosphere in America was shockingly different; the 1960s were a decade of turbulence, protest and disillusionment due to the ongoing struggle for civil rights, arising feminism, and the Vietnam War.

America in the 1950s had many social norms that everyone was expected to follow. If

For Americans, the 1960’s were a time of both unnerving turmoil and exciting change. Following on the heels of the 1950’s themes of tradition and conformity, the contrasting events and attitudes in the sixties constituted a perfect storm leading to a reconstruction of American social, cultural, and political ideals. Although each decade has experienced identifying features, events occurring during the sixties provided for a definitive coming of age era for the United States. While much of this revolution can be attributed to the events themselves, the medium used for disseminating these ideas bears some of the responsibility. Throughout the decade television replaced radio and newspaper as the primary source of news and entertainment.

Rebel Without A Cause is a very popular film from 1955. It depicts life in the 1950's from the viewpoint of three teenagers who live in Los Angeles, California. They live in a comfortable environment in middle-class America. However, they must deal with their own inabilities to "fit" into society. The teens try to fit in with their peers and find the love they so desperately need from their families and others like their peers. The biases presented in the film's are based on cultural values form the 1950s. Rebel Without A Cause also compares to some of the data presented in the text Nation of Nations. The film also compares to the general view America has of the period of the

“Proper women don’t work—proper women bear children and care for the household. ”Imagine being told you cannot become an engineer or a truck driver or even an airline pilot. Because, proper women don’t do so. Imagine listening to Elvis Presley being prohibited —his rock and roll music encourages indecency. Imagine wearing a tie and gloves regardless of the occasion.

The 1960’s officially marked the end of the production code era and John F. Kennedy brought positivity to America after the Great Depression, World War ll, and the Korean War. The presidential debates were now filmed on television and this influenced Americans to choose presidents based on looks and their personality. This is still an essential way for choosing presidential candidates today and people no longer use the radio to listen to the president. Also, the new generation was the first to be educated about films, television and comic books. This new knowledge influenced directors to stop following the production code and start filming taboos that have never been shown on the big screen before.