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Cultural Background
During the 1950s, a sense of uniformity pervaded American society. Conformity was common, as young and old alike followed group norms rather than striking out on their own. Though men and women had been forced into new employment patterns during World War II, once the war was over, traditional roles were reaffirmed. Men expected to be the breadwinners; women, even when they worked, assumed their proper place was at home. Television contributed to the homogenizing trend by providing young and old with a shared experience reflecting accepted social patterns.
But not all Americans conformed to such cultural norms. A number of writers, members of the so-called "beat generation," rebelled against conventional values. Stressing spontaneity and spirituality, they asserted intuition over reason, Eastern mysticism over Western institutionalized religion. The "beats" went out of their way to challenge the patterns of respectability and shock the rest of the culture.
Their literary work displayed their sense of freedom. Musicians and artists rebelled as well. Tennessee singer Elvis Presley popularized black music in the form of rock and roll, and shocked more staid Americans with his ducktail haircut and undulating hips. In addition, Elvis and other rock and roll singers demonstrated that there was a white audience for black music, testifying to the increasing integration of American culture. Painters like Jackson Pollock discarded easels and laid out gigantic canvases on the floor, then applied paint, sand and other materials in wild splashes of color. All of these artists and authors, whatever the medium, provided models for the wider and more deeply felt social revolution of the 1960s

More simply, the text is saying that most of American society was conformist, conventional and traditional during the 1950s, with the exception of a few rebels in the arts, such as the Beat Generation in literature, Elvis Presley in music, and Jackson Pollock in abstract art.

I do not agree with that point of view, however. In my opinion, the process of social change was already well begun after World War II, continued to spread and develop during the fifties, and reached a peak in the 1960s. The same television medium that showed quaint suburban sitcoms like Ozzie and Harriet also brought down McCarthyism, validated the growing civil rights movement, popularized genres from science fiction to rock ‘n’ roll, and prepared the ground for the triumph of liberalism in the election of 1960.

One Response

1. RE Says:
   October 1st, 2009 at 3:22 am

   More simply, the text is saying that most of American society was conformist, conventional and traditional during the 1950s, with the exception of a few rebels in the arts, such as the Beat Generation in literature, Elvis Presley in music, and Jackson Pollock in abstract art.

   I do not agree with that point of view, however. In my opinion, the process of social change was already well begun after World War II, continued to spread and develop during the fifties, and reached a peak in the 1960s. The same television medium that showed quaint suburban sitcoms like Ozzie and Harriet also brought down McCarthyism, validated the growing civil rights movement, popularized genres from science fiction to rock ‘n’ roll, and prepared the ground for the triumph of liberalism in the election of 1960.
   References :

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