LIFE IN 1950
We all have heard, seen or imagined the life in other ages. The decade of 1950 was a very special, iconic and particular period of time that had a lot of characteristics and "features" that made it a spectacular age.
"They look secure. They look confident. They look, in some elemental way, independent. They’re learning, day by day, what it means to make one’s way in the world. In that sense, maybe they were the luckiest generation".
Before the war, boys were taught to go to the service
and then find a job to support their family; girls were taught to stay at home
and do the house hold. Now, in the fifties, boys and girls are encouraged to go further in their education and attend college.
They started to show more a rebellious side.
They had many activities to do like: drive to the movies,
dancing at parties (bop styles), dating (without the thought of marriage like they used to), watching entertaining TV shows ( like American bandstand), games (table, card, bowling), and listening to rock and roll in.
They had different preoccupations and concerns. They use to
live in a safer environment with less violence and fear. They were able to walk
freely on the streets without preoccupations. They lived in closer societies, they
were not so connected with people"outside" their area. They could
communicate with them with letters, phone and telegrams; however, they didn’t have
internet and social networks as we do.
School was so much stricter.
However, I think that a teenager in the fifties had more real
fun than we do. They had more fun activities like dancing, bowling, dating, sports,
etc. They had "actual" entertainment.
I´d like to include a real testimony of a fifties teenager: Margie Bock, Retired Clinical Social Worker
I wasn't a teenager then until the 60s. But I remember as a kid doing most of the same things kids do today. Hoola Hoops, catching fireflies, the Good Humor guy, talking on the phone for hours, sleep overs, dancing parties, diaries, bicycles to name a few. We didn't have cell phones or Facebook. We walked with our heads up and not down looking at cell phones for messages. We talked directly with each other. We wrote letters on stationary without spell check. It is said that crime is higher today than before. I think it was us not being aware of it. We lived in an atmosphere of fear. Every Tuesday in schools we practiced sitting under our desks in preparation if the Russians bombed us. Sex before marriage was frowned upon. Then the main concern was getting pregnant, birth control wasn't available. Cops were to be respected and the hidden abuses were allowed for confessions. Divorces were considered unacceptable and divorced women were looked down upon. Women couldn't have their own credit. Feminism did't exist. African Americans weren't allowed access to white bathrooms, drinking fountains, sitting in front of a bus, interracial marriages, and were considered to be subservient. Racism was accepted. Though some consider the 50s as an age of innocence, it really wasn't. Sadly, many of the ignorant attitudes towards others, are still with us today.It was a time when we had not yet gone into outer space, but we were competing with the Soviets over who could have the most nuclear weapons. We were taught how to hide under our desks. Tom Byron's answer to What was it like for you to grow up in the 50's (wherever you were) and how would you tell that story to someone who grew up in the 2000's?
We had racial unrest, though I attended schools peacefully with a significant number of "colored" class mates. Race may have been an issue in the south, but it was not in Philadelphia suburbs where I grew up. I have been told I need to alter my memory, it was horrible, but I must confess I was too young to notice; my memories are what they are. I tended to be be young and innocent at age 13, it is not like that today- kids do grow up faster! Is that good?... that is another discussion.
We were not well off, but it was so different from today.
Holden's use of language is distinctive. Is this the way most teenagers spoke at the time?
All the societies all over the world have a particular language. However, through time, each of this societies have changed their way of speaking, it doesn´t change the “essence” of the message (whatever you want to say), but it changes the way of saying it. For example, teenagers in America from the 19th century spoke very different from teenagers of 20th century, and even more different from teenagers of this century.
The story is developed in the fifties, and by the way
the characters speak, you can notice that they use some different words or
phrases, that we don´t use today.
I think that most of the teenagers spoke like Holden at the
time, because Holden lived in New York, a very populated place, with lots of
influence in all over the country.
I´d like to include in this section some newspaper covers from the fifties. (Teenagers and Holden´s way of speaking was very different from the newspaper)
I´d like to include in this section some newspaper covers from the fifties. (Teenagers and Holden´s way of speaking was very different from the newspaper)
We can notice that many of the important news of the fifties where about the situation with Rusia.
How did
teenagers dress?
Just like the way of speaking, the clothes and the fashion are very important and distinctive aspects of every age. Decades are very useful to classify the dressing through years.
Girls in the
fifties, used to have their hair tied (the hair down was not very common). They also used very big and long skirts with distinctive patterns,
or it could be also a long dress. Girls were not allowed to wear pants at
school, however we can see in pictures that they liked to wear pants when they where hanging out with friends
.
.
In the case of
the boys, most of them had very short hair, combed back. Teenagers used to wear
leather jackets and jeans. There were also, very popular sweaters. However,
they used to wear more formal clothes (suit and tie) than the actual teenagers do.
In the fifties,
people, but specially teenagers started to feel a little more freedom about their fashion
choices.
What did they like listening to?
Rock and roll was the most popular music for the
teenagers in the fifties. The electric guitar popularity increased a lot, and Some
great exponents of the age where: Chuck Berry, Link Wray,
and Scotty Moore. Elvis Presley,
began his career in the mid 50s and soon became the leading figure of the new
popular sound of rock and roll.
Teen choices of new music began influencing society. A
"generation gap" was formed as teen dress, beliefs, pastimes, social
mores, speech patterns differed from their parent's generation.
This new music was heard on their radios, on
television and danced to at parties. The music was easy to dance to, so it allowed
them to get the energy out of their bodies.
This is an iconic song of 1957
This is an iconic song of 1957
Elvis Presley – Jailhouse Rock
The warden threw a party in the county jail
The prison band was there and they began to wail
The band was jumpin' and the joint began to swing
You should've heard them knocked-out jailbirds sing
Let's rock; everybody, let's rock
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Spider Murphy played the tenor saxophone
Little Joe was blowin' on the slide trombone
The drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang
The whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang
Let's rock; everybody, let's rock
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Number forty-seven said to number three
"You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see
I sure would be delighted with your company
Come on and do the Jailhouse Rock with me"
Let's rock; everybody, let's rock
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Sad sack was sittin' on a block of stone
Way over in the corner weepin' all alone
The warden said, "Hey, buddy, don't you be no square
If you can't find a partner, use a wooden chair"
Let's rock; everybody, let's rock
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Shifty Henry said to Bugs, "For Heaven's sake
No one's lookin'; now's our chance to make a break"
Bugsy turned to Shifty and he said, "Nix, nix
I want to stick around a while and get my kicks"
Let's rock; everybody, let's rock
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock
Bill Haley & His Comets - Rock Around The Clock was a very popular song in 1955. Here´s the video.
How much did an average person earn per month? What was the income
for people like Holden's parents?
The average family income in 1950 was $3 300.
In the blue line we can see that the average income in 1950 was about $3300 dollars per year ($275 dollars per month), we need to realize that in those years everything cost much more less than now. For example, you could pay the rent with 50 dollars, and today it costs about $1500.
In the pink line we can notice that actual value of those $3300 dollars, would be the equivalent to $24 000 actual dollars.
Holden´s family has a high economic level. They can afford a great education for their children, D.B. lives in Hollywood and he has a Jaguar... Anyway, I think that their average income is $500 dollars per month (The doble of the average income).
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| This is an actual 1950 jaguar. |
