Popular Culture of 1950s America I. Introduction
Popular culture of the 1950s is something with which many people identify. It is generally the Greatest Generation and some boomers who can look back and already have a feel for the era. Of course, with much attention on the time period by films and television shows depicting life during the era like Vera Drake and Happy Days and Mad Men, most people are well acquainted with the way things were. Some collect fifties era furniture or clothing or live in the tract homes that were built at the time. The homes are now inhabited by new generations who upgrade them but fondly embrace the fifties era style. And while many do think of the time period as being rather light and fun, the politics then may be thought of as rather serious. It was after World War II, but there was a Cold War on at the time. Bomb shelters were the rage. The McCarthy era was upon the nation and so, there was suspicion along with the perceived innocence that also characterized the decade. There were political elements of the civil rights movement that would come into vogue. Brown v. Board of Education was a part of this time period. Yet, it was also a time of fun as well. With the post-war affluence upon the nation, there was more opportunities for leisure ("Film History of the 1950s"). The fast food restaurant is not something that sprung up in the 1990s or 1980s.