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So, after a small briefing of how the pop culture was, let's reflect on how the reality of the decade really was...
Now, when you look back on the popular culture of the fifties, you see happy advertising, and silly family shows like I Love Lucy ran on television. Elvis Presley was the King of Rock, Marilyn Monroe was known for being a pin-up model and actress, and women were supportive housewives. Catchy slogans were used for consumer items on commercials, as well. But did the happy-go-lucky pop culture of this decade portray the reality of the decade accurately?
The economy increased, as the decade became the decade of the Baby Boomers, and many more people started getting jobs. The risk of communism spreading caused the Korean War. The Cold War had just begun, and ended up lasting four decades. Increased racism and segregation caused the African American Civil Rights' Movement.
Pop culture has never changed in definition, but in real time--it's constantly changing. Things that were popular in the 1950s are considered "old" now. Things that are popular now will be considered "old" in fifty years as well.
The economy grew roughly 40% from the beginning of the decade to the end. Less people were unemployed, and many more people were buying things on credit--and were able to afford buying things on credit. President Eisenhower worked to keep a balanced federal budget, and even expanded the amount of people included to receive Social Security.
Pop Culture is nothing but the popular culture: activities, ideas, products, and other phenomena aimed at the general public.
Some recent parts of pop culture include new movies, new music, and even new books.
A big reason for the increase of the economy was Consumerism. Consumerism is basically the promotion of peoples' interests. The more interests were promoted, the more people bought them. That brought the people to be named "consumers"
In conclusion, the pop culture of the 1950s was quite different than the reality. The pop culture was quite inaccurate, as television shows and music didn't really convey the fear of Communism spreading or the concepts of segregation and discrimination against African Americans (unless the music was made by African Americans--in that case, it'd be "protest music.") The Pop Culture was really bubbly and happy compared to some of the decade's reality.
Now, much of the economy was great, but as people kept using credit cards and borrowing money, it started to get out of hand as some families went into debt trying to pay the bills off. Other families were part of an "invisible" poverty, which was for four-membered families with an annual income of less than $3,000. Many of these families were of minorities in urban areas or whites in "country" areas.
The Cold War was an era of military tension between America and Russia that started after the second World War and ended many, many decades later. This was quite important in the 1950s, as Eisenhower had the same views as prior President Harry Truman: that communism should be contained. The Cold War also inevitably caused the Korean War. North Korea was a communist nation, and South was aided by the USA to fight against communism, and prevent it from spreading.
Some African Americans couldn't buy homes in same areas as whites, they couldn't afford homes in the suburbs, and a lot of them lived in poverty in urban areas. Others were turned down for jobs because of their skin color. Martin Luther King Jr. led many protests and marches to stand up against these laws. Many of the protests and marches in this decade inspired the Civil Rights' Act of 1964, the Voting Rights' Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
In the 1950s, the threat of Communism spreading was a huge fear for Americans. It became known as the Red Scare, as the flag of Communism is red, and supporters were called "Red"s. The Red Scare seemed to die down a little as the decade ended, but it was still a huge issue as some people were punished for supporting Communism, even if it was caused by false allegations.
Huge Civil Rights' Movements went on in the 1950s, as Martin Luther King Jr. was a very popular leader at the time. African Americans were discriminated and not allowed to do a lot of things they can now. In 1954, the "Separate but Equal" doctrine was finally struck down, and allowed blacks to be in the same schools and other public places with whites.