Chapter 27, Section 2 Notes The Organization and Organization of Man

The Suburban Lifestyle

The Automobile Culture

Consumerism Unbound

white collar workers worked for large companies that formed conglomerates (a large corp that owns lots of smaller unrelated industries)

a company’s branches, sometimes independently owned (think McDonalds)

working for a large company meant conforming to corporate culture: teamwork, cooperation, and loyalty (no creative thinkers, rebels, or boat-rockers)

population boom in 1950’s

polio vaccine

Dr. Spock encourages nurturing childcare + moms staying home

Women’s Roles

stay-at-home mom glorified on TV and in magazines

however, an undercurrent of dissatisfaction

Leisure in the 50s

more free time than ever! 40 hr work week + lots of vacation time

also things like washing machines, vacuums, lawn mowers

so people start playing sports, watching professional sports, and reading magazines and books way more

Cars are a necessity with the suburbs

the results of a nationwide highway network connecting major cities: new suburbs further from cities, trucking moves goods instead of railroads, and decline of towns away from highways, also more travel

problems of car-culture: noise and air pollution, accidents, traffic jams, and “white flight” upper and middle class whites left cities for suburbs

Consumerism: buying consumer goods equating success

household appliances, leisure goods, casual clothes

Planned obsolescence

products go out of fashion/style/outdated in short periods of time

“throwaway society”

Buy now, pay later

buy on credit or installment plans instead of saving

convince people to buy more stuff they don’t need

use psych theories to get people to buy stuff

A Subculture Emerges

African Americans and Rock and Roll

Rock documentary

Early 1950’s huge growth with tech advances

Results: tv advertising + frozen “TV dinners”

Stereotypes + Gunslingers

“tv portrayed an idealized white America”

also a lot of violence with westerns

NO mention of poverty, discrimination, civil rights

women and minorities in stereotypical roles
The Beat movement

social and literary rebels + nonconformists

Allen Ginsberg + Jack Kerouac
Rock n Roll

rock: audience white, but most producers African American

Rock came out of the blues and country

early 50’s Elvis and Chuck Berry are super popular

adults believed rock would lead to immorality
The Racial Gap

African American shows broadcast on separate stations (radio)

minority representation in jazz: Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, Charlie Parker

So, there is still major segregation in all aspects of culture, but there is minority representation in music

Poverty Leads to Activism

middle class whites left the city + rural poor took their place

cities lost revenues → couldn’t maintain infrastructure

The Inner Cities

“poverty line” minimum amount $ for a family/4 to survive

National Housing Act called for govt construction of low income housing

HUD (Housing and Urban Development) Cabinet pos. to improve cities

criticism: urban renewal just urban removal → displacing poor people

during WWII Mexicans seek employment in US and stay after the war

refusal of burial of Mexican-American soldier of WWII encourages organization to fight discrimination

fight in WWII, but still second class citizens and discrimination

ended federal econ support + reservation system for Native Americans