1950s

A detailed Summary of 1950s

Youth culture in the nineteen fifties was a time that opened up the world to be integrated for whites and blacks. In this paper the fifties are analyzed through the clothing, styles, cars, family life, and most importantly entertainment.

Talking to various members of my family I asked them if they could remember the way that the youth dressed in the nineteen- fifties. The responses were all similar. The popular man role wore tight white T- shirts which were described to me (I hate this expression)as 'Guinea T's.' These are white T- shirts in which the manufacturer cut- off the sleeves. Also regular white T- shirts were worn with one sleeve rolled up with a pack of cigarettes. When I talked to a man in my neighborhood, John Braggs, he explained to me that the modern style of wearing your pants low on your hips actually began in the fifties. He said that they wore tight jeans that were pulled down low at the waist with of course a tight white T- shirt tucked in. "I don't know where y'all started wearen' 'em so baggy from, but I don't like it," he shouted in his southern accent. The females were not as revealing as the modern women are. Longer dresses and dressier shirts were their style. The 'Beatnik'!

s where people started seeing a problem, black culture was for the first time ever being shown to white families. Black people were beginning to be shown as equal members within the white society.

gum for a penny, rock candy, and chocolate egg creams as well as early forms of comic books. Black and white TV's were brought into just about everyone's homes, making the radio programs obsolete. Many people believed that TV brainwashed your mind. Shows like "Leave it to Beaver" and "Superman" were common shows of entertainment. On the big screen rebels like Marlon Brando and James Dean were influencing young minds. Ed Sullivan was showing the world so many different talents from all sociaties.

butcher. You could not get something like a cantaloupe from the fish market, or shrimp from the butcher. My dad tried to explain to me the style of the furniture inside the average home during the fifties, he said that there was an 'Art Decko' style. Kitchen were remembered to be very simple with a lot of iron and plastic to their style. Around my fathers poker table (they only play for fun), the men remember that they joined gangs and used to get in rumbles like in the movie "The Outsiders." Supposedly all of the young men joined gangs. There was also a lot of prejudice, not only between black and whites, which there were, but also between all of the nationalities. The people that I talked to, all Italian men, how they used to get into fights with the Irish men. Another thing that made this decade so much different from the rest was that in the fifties they did not have to many 'real' fears. A household could leave their front doors unlocked and not have too much to!

Youth in the fifties had many different means of entertainment. Ice skating and Roller skating rinks were a common hangout for teens to gather and socialize. A style that was lost, but picked up again after the disco era into the eighties, however this has been lost again to modern society. Another common hangout believe it or not were the 'Burger Joints' with the waitresses on roller skates. Apparently you would drive up in your car and a roller- skating waitress would come up to your window and take your order. When your order was ready a tray was placed on the window of your car with the items of your selection. This might be considered the first form of drive- thru. "Drag racing your 'souped up hot rods' up and down the 'strip' was one of the cool things to do," claims Tony Epifanio. Making box cars out of wood and roller wheels also seemed to be a very popular hobby among the younger boys. They had things like skates that slipped over your shoes, Bazooka bubble !

The type of children that the fifties brought out was a common question I asked everyone I survey

Some common words found in the essay are:
John Braggs, Outsiders Supposedly, , King Kullen, Tony Epifanio, American Bandstand, Civil Rights, Ed Sullivan, Washington York, Beaver Superman, white t-, t- shirts, modern day, white t- shirts, tight white t-, joined gangs, ed sullivan, common hangout, tight white, wore tight, school prayer, watched movie,

Approximate Word count = 1865
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History