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Copyright © 2015 Bert N. Langford (Images may be subject to copyright. Please send feedback)​
This Web Page Covers the 1950s as the years 1950 through 1959​:

The 1950s are considered a time of innocence, as television became our primary medium for entertainment and news.  BUT, the culture was changing, as the civil rights movement began this decade. 
Culture:

The civil rights movement began in earnest, with the landmark Supreme Court ruling of Brown vs. the Board of Education in 1954. In the early 1950s the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States opened the door to the beginnings of the right for all Americans to an equal and fair education regardless of race, creed or religion.

During this time, racial segregation was still present in the U.S. and other countries. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s would soon begin. Key figures like Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and Rosa Parks highlighted and challenged those who were against equal rights and freedoms for Afro-Americans.

In 1957, the Little Rock Nine integrated the Central High School, which was a key event in the fight to end segregation in schools and other public places in the U.S. These developments among others would be key talking points in the advancement of equal rights across the world over the years to come.

Hugh Hefner launched Playboy magazine in 1953.

Disneyland opens July 1955.

Beatniks and the Beat Generation, an anti-materialistic literary movement whose name was invented by Jack Kerouac in 1948 and stretched on into the early-mid-1960s, was at its zenith in the 1950s.



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Television:

The popularity of television skyrocketed, particularly in the US, where 77% of households purchased their first TV set during the decade. 

Sitcoms offered a romanticized view of middle class American life with,
Emmy-winning comedy, included,
Other Popular TV Series included,
Westerns in particular dominated television, including,
Besides the above, a number of long-running TV Western series became classics in their own right. Notable TV Westerns include:



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Movies:

Big budget sword and sandal epics like,
For science fiction,
Teen films include:
  • The Wild One (1953), starring Marlon Brando as an outlaw biker.
  • MGM's Blackboard Jungle (1955) examined race and class dynamics in an inner-city high school, and is regarded by some as the spark that lit the Rock and Roll revolution by featuring Bill Haley & His Comets' Rock Around the Clock over the opening credits. Screenings of the film occasionally led to teen violence and vandalism, and, for some, the film marks the start of visible teen rebellion in the 20th century.
  • Rebel Without a Cause (1955) thrust its angst-ridden star James Dean to international stardom, and, unlike Blackboard Jungle, told its story from the viewpoint of its teen characters, another James Dean film East of Eden (1955) showcased his extraordinary talent as an actor.
  • Gidget (1959) set off a wave of light-hearted teen beach party and surfing movies that alluded to sex but respected 1950s taboos, conformism, and traditional values.
  • Love, sex, marriage, divorce, alcoholism, dysfunctional families, and adultery were themes of A Summer Place featuring Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue as teen lovers and Dorothy McGuire and Richard Egan as their adulterous parents.

Low budget teen films punctuated with rock and roll soundtracks were produced through the decade with provocative titles such as,Teen and sci-fi genres were wedded in B-film The Blob (1958) with Steve McQueen in his first starring role; while teen horror flick I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) launched Michael Landon's Hollywood career.



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Music:

Rock-n-Roll and Electric blues emerged in the mid-1950s as the teen music of choice with
Doo-wop was another popular genre at the time. Popular Doo Wop and Rock-n-Roll bands of the mid-to-late 1950s including



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Economy:

The United States in the 1950s experienced marked economic growth - with an increase in manufacturing and home construction amongst a post-World War II economic boom. There was a large-scale expansion of the middle class in the 1950s. Unions were strong, comprising almost half the American work force. Politics tended to be moderate, with extremist positions being out of favor.




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Technology: 

The first polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, was introduced to the general public in 1955. Sputnik 1 was launched in 1957. The US then launched Explorer 1 three months later, beginning the space race. The Interstate Highway System enabled more efficient cross-country automobile transport.




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Political Climate: 

The Cold War and its associated conflicts helped create a politically conservative climate in the country, as the quasi-confrontation intensified throughout the entire decade. Fear of communism caused public Congressional hearings in both houses of Congress while anti-communism was the prevailing sentiment in the United States throughout the period. Conformity and conservatism characterized the social norms of the time.






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Military Engagements: 

Korean War & the Cold War with the Soviet Union. The overthrow of Fulgencio Batista by Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and other forces in 1959 resulted in the creation of the first communist government in the western hemisphere. The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 led to a confrontation between the United States, Cuba, and the Soviet Union.
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