1. THE 1950’S CONTEXT
The 1950’s marked the end of WWII and this was followed by a baby
boom. This led to strong youth cultures being formed and young
people began turning away from their parents.
The London ‘Smog’ of 1952 took over 12,000 lives. As a result, the 1956
Clean Air Act was passed – this improved the quality of air in Britain.
This event sparked a new understanding for the importance
environmentalism in Britain.
Segregation was made illegal in 1955.
2. MUSIC
The invasion of American Rock & Roll heavily influenced British teens’
lives. Teddy Boys especially used Rock & Roll to emphasise their
rebellious image. The popularity for this type of music among
teenagers grew significantly.
The Beatles started in 1957 and some of the early music they made was
enjoyed by teenagers across Britain.
A female Rock & Roll artist, Wanda Jackson, emerged in a male
dominated Rock & Roll scene. Artists like Jackson increased popularity
for this genre of music for women as well as men.
3. FILM
The 1950’s film culture often involved large groups of teenage girls and
boys who would go out to the cinema in the evenings.
James Dean starred in ‘Rebel Without A Cause’ which was produced in
1955. This film was very relevant for its time because it highlighted the
revolutionary youth during this decade.
Examples of films:
Blackboard Jungle, The Wild One, April Love.
Many of these films were based on the new wave of teenage culture.
4. 50’s Teen Culture.
With the debut of rock and roll and influential artists, teens were boppin’ and
swingin’ their hips more than ever before. The music brought with it a culture
of rebellion. Never before were the wholesome teens exposed to sex and
drugs.
5. Slang.
1950s slang wasn’t particularly colorful as these
things go. The Sixties, with its drug and protest
culture to draw from, would be slang heaven. In the
Fifties, hot-rodders and Beats provided inspiration.
About the Beat Culture. This was by no means a
mainstream movement. I didn’t actually know any
Beats nor I suspect did most of my peers across
America. But they sure seemed “cool” to us. A sharp
contrast from the way real teens lived in a preppy,
conservative, conformist world.
Many of these words, in fact most words can have
“ville” added to them. There was coolsville,
deadsville, Doodyville, squaresville, weirdsville and so
forth.
6. Fads/Family Life.
Army men were first manufactured in the late 1930s in metal. They didn’t gain widespread popularity until the
1950s. Switching from metal to plastic brought the costs down to mere pennies per figure. The post war baby
boom meant that the majority of kids, Dad’s , were recently in a war so interest in the toys skyrocketed.
Barbie was the inspiration of Ruth Handler, founder with her husband Elliot, founders of Mattel.
Barbie as not their first success. In 1955, the Handlers bought 52 weeks of advertising on the new “Mickey Mouse
Club” television show, marking the first time toys had been advertised on a year-round basis. In conjunction with
the company’s sponsorship of the show, Mattel introduced a child-size”Mouseguitar,” which became an instant
sensation in the industry.
1950s Fads included this from Richard Knerr and Arthur “Spud” Melin, founders of the Wham-O Company, are the
architects of the biggest fad of all time – the hula hoop!
They began manufacturing Play Doh in earnest in 1956. Initially the doh was only available in off-white 1
½ pound cans. The three pak would be born shortly after in 1957 with red, blue and yellow and the
famous four pak, including white, the following year!
7. Main Concerns and Stresses.
During the 1950’s many parents did not like Rock and Roll because they thought that it caused juvenile
delinquency. At the time the music contained sexual connotation, this vulgarism and suggestive choice of
words made the teens want to listen to it more because their parents did not approve and teens felt like
they had something to belong to.
