1. By accepting these. Its apparent the 1950s & 1960s varied from one another. planned obsolescence. The 1950s are most often remembered as a quiet decade, a decade of conformity, stability, and normalcy. Unless he could be persuaded to buy and buy lavishly, the whole stream of six-cylinder cars, super heterodynes, cigarettes, rouge compacts and electric ice boxes would be dammed up at its outlets. In his classic 1928 book Propaganda, Edward Bernays, one of the pioneers of the public relations industry, put it this way: Mass production is profitable only if its rhythm can be maintainedthat is if it can continue to sell its product in steady or increasing quantity. Today supply must actively seek to create its corresponding demand [and] cannot afford to wait until the public asks for its product; it must maintain constant touch, through advertising and propaganda to assure itself the continuous demand which alone will make its costly plant profitable. Dunkin' Donuts. Business and political leaders claimed consumerism was more than shopping: it defined the benefits of capitalism. Charles Kettering, general director of General Motors Research Laboratories, equated such perpetual change with progress. Thus, just as immense effort was being devoted to persuading people to buy things they did not actually need, manufacturers also began the intentional design of inferior items, which came to be known as "planned obsolescence". Coontz discusses that jobs, marriage, birthrate and education were at very high points in the 1950s. Franchises were also a good deal for parent companies, shifting much of the risk to proprietors while requiring them to adhere to certain standards for branding and service. This is done by dangling the products before non-upper-class people as status symbols of a higher class. The stage was set for the democratisation of luxury on a scale hitherto unimagined. In the United States, existing shops were rapidly extended through the 1890s, mail-order shopping surged, and the new century saw massive multistory department stores covering millions of acres of selling space. Harlem Renaissance Dbq 928 Words | 4 Pages Consumer Culture In the 1950s consumption became the reigning value and essential to individual's identity and status and satisfaction was achieved through the purchase and use of new products. Though the television sets that carried the advertising into peoples homes after World War II were new, and were far more powerful vehicles of persuasion than radio had been, the theory and methods were the same perfected in the 1920s by PR experts like Bernays. US consumer credit rose to $7 billion in the 1920s,. The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage, written by Todd Gitlin, explains the rebellious youth movement, highlighting activist group, Students for a Democratic Society, the Vietnam War, and the Civil Rights Movement. Although the shorter workweek appealed to Kelloggs workers, the company, after reverting to longer hours during World War II, was reluctant to renew the six-hour shift in 1945. Since WWII caused the economy to grow rapidly, things started to change within American society. Consumerism increased after World War II, when the nation stopped prioritizing the military needs, consumer goods became popular as Americans established lives. Each decade had its own unique style of advertising, but one period of time really stands in stark contrast to what we're accustomed to today. The main thing Americans miss about the those days is the stability. The capitalist system, dependent on a logic of never-ending growth from its earliest inception, confronted the plenty it created in its home states, especially the US, as a threat to its very existence. Illuminating the bold ideas and voices that make up the MIT Press's expansive catalog. By the mid-1950s, the average length of car ownership had dropped from five years in 1934 down to just two. If it continues its geometric course, will it not one day have to be restrained? Ad agencies and broadcasters wrestled for control of advertising time and programming on television. A creative revolution transformed advertising from conservative to hip, hokey to ironic. The sixties was a decade unlike any other. The Culture of the 1950s. There were three major manufactures that still hear about and still have. Absolutely Ethical? One of the most present and critiqued societal phenomena of the time was the rise of American consumerism. WWII had a major influence on changing American society because the growth it caused in the economy allowed African Americans and women to seek new opportunities. "Requiring no significant degree of literacy on the part of its audience, radio gave interested corporations unprecedented access to the inner sanctums of the public mind," Ewen writes. he asks. During the 1950's and 1960's standards of living were boosted by full employment and a sustained rise in money wages. The manufactures started to grow in numbers. Edward Cowdrick, an economist who advised corporations on their management and industrial relations policies, called it the new economic gospel of consumption, in which workers (people for whom durable possessions had rarely been a possibility) could be educated in the new skills of consumption.. . The two decades led to historical breakthroughs as well as setbacks; they are imperative to the history of the United States. Consumerism In The 1950's. The 1950s was an exciting time for many, the war was over and the economy began to flourish once more. Advertising. The game is to make them the necessities of all classes By striving to buy the product say, wall-to-wall carpeting on instalment the consumer is made to feel he is upgrading himself socially.". People, of course, have always consumed the necessities of life food, shelter, clothing and have always had to work to get them or have others work for them, but there was little economic motive for increased consumption among the mass of people before the 20th century. Indeed, though a lot less in gross terms than the burden of debt in the United States in late 2008, which Sydney economist Steve Keen has described as the biggest load of unsuccessful gambling in history, the debt of the 1920s was very large, over 200 percent of the GDP of the time. The glove section at an early department store, which changed the way people shopped (Credit: Getty Images). As Daily Life in 1950s America puts it, "along with rising incomes, easy credit, and fear of being left behind with outmoded products, aggressive marketing in the form of slick advertising campaigns fed the culture of consumerism." While some items found in the average home are still the standard to this day, other fads were just plain bizarre . In a 1929 article called Keep the Consumer Dissatisfied, he stated that there is no place anyone can sit and rest in an industrial situation. This era marked a high point of American productivity and a high standard of living. Unless [the consumer] could be persuaded to buy and buy lavishly, the whole stream of six-cylinder cars, super heterodynes, cigarettes, rouge compacts and electric ice boxes would be dammed up at its outlets.. While some of the youth became politically active, others escaped into the counterculture disbanding their faith in government and the ideals, In her essay, What We Really Miss About the 1950s, Stephany Coontz talks about the myth of the 1950s. By the mid 1960s, some of American youth took a turn in a far out direction. While it was a lot less in gross terms than the burden of debt in the US in late 2008, the debt of the 1920s was very large, over 200% of the GDP of the time. WANN, a white-owned radio station in Annapolis, Maryland, cultivated African American consumers and demonstrated their buying power by connecting their audience to retailers and manufacturers who hoped to expand sales. This was particularly true of women. America was at peace once the conflict in Korea (1950-53) ended. Notwithstanding the panic and pessimism, a consumer solution was simultaneously emerging. Print advertisements allowed the consumer to read the ad more than once, and so it could include more specific details on the product than a television or radio advertisement (Young 39). Instead, it features many happy human faces and all their wonderful stuff! The American home was at the center of post-war stability. Motor car registration rose from eight million in 1920 to more than 28 million by 1929. After the stock market crashes in 1929, people were left jobless and hungry. Code of Regs., tit. Though the television sets that carried the advertising into peoples homes after WWII were new, and were far more powerful vehicles of persuasion than radio had been, the theory and methods were the same perfected in the 1920s by PR experts like Bernays. Furness was an example of the growing power of TV in terms of consumerism. Families had 30% more spending power in 1959 compared to 1950 figures. They were regular consumers of food, music, and of course - TV. In a little-known 1958 essay reflecting on the conservation implications of the conspicuously wasteful U.S. consumer binge after World War II, John Kenneth Galbraith pointed to the possibility that this gargantuan and growing appetite might need to be curtailed. Quite the reverse: Frugality and thrift were more appropriate to situations where survival rations were not guaranteed. This improvement in food variety did not extend durable items to the mass of people, however. In 1959, she convinced her husband, co-owner of Mattel, to develop an adult fashion doll, Barbie. In Australia, the 1939 debt of AU$39 million doubled in the first two years after the war and, by 1960, had grown by a factor of 25, to more than AU$1 billion dollars. critics claimed americans were becoming a ----- society. In his classic 1928 book "Propaganda," Edward Bernays, one of the pioneers of the public relations industry, put it this way: "Mass production is profitable only if its rhythm can be maintained." Technological advancements led to economies of scale; these favored wealthier. Tesla recalls 'Full Self-Driving' to fix flaws in behavior . A steady-state economy capable of meeting the basic needs of all, foreshadowed by philosopher and political economist John Stuart Mill as the stationary state, seemed well within reach and, in Mills words, likely to be an improvement on the trampling, crushing, elbowing and treading on each others heels the disagreeable symptoms of one of the phases of industrial progress. It would be feasible to reduce hours of work further and release workers for the spiritual and pleasurable activities of free time with families and communities, and creative or educational pursuits. 4 out of 5 families owned television sets, nearly all had refrigerators, and most owned at . Due to high levels of industrial outs, wages were also increased. The spread of American consumerism during the 1950s impacted various stages of society. The non-settler European colonies were not regarded as viable venues for these new markets, since centuries of exploitation and impoverishment meant that few people there were able to pay. When it came to the fear of communism during the fifties the majority were in agreement. By 1951, regular TV programming reached the West Coast, establishing national coverage. In these circumstances, there was a social choice to be made. The Australian comedian Wendy Harmer in her 2008 ABC TV series called Stuff expressed irritation at suggestions that consumption is simply generated out of greed or lack of awareness: I am very proud to have made a documentary about consumption that does not contain the usual footage of factory smokestacks, landfill tips and bulging supermarket trolleys. 5. Strong consumer spending led to even more demand for clothingand accessories to accompany every style. In 1930 the U.S. cereal manufacturer Kellogg adopted a six-hour shift to help accommodate unemployed workers, and other forms of work-sharing became more widespread. Read about our approach to external linking. If you liked this story,sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called The Essential List. But, while poorer people might have acquired a very few useful household items a skillet, perhaps, or an iron pot the sumptuous clothing, furniture, and pottery of the era were still confined to a very small population. A new wave of consumerism swept across much of the population of the United States during the 1950s. Kellogg, however, gradually overcame the resistance of its workers and whittled away at the short shifts until the last of them were abolished in 1985. This weathervane used the iconic image of Colonel Sanders as the companys unifying brand. Notions of meeting everyones needs with an adequate level of production did not feature. 2. Racism was also a huge factor that seems to be hid by the appearance of the 1950s. The years of the 1950s and 60s was a time where many hardships occurred as global tension was high and as a result many wars occurred as well as movements. In both eras, borrowed money bought unprecedented quantities of material goods on time payment and (these days) credit cards. She is the author of "Collision Course: Endless Growth on a Finite Planet," from which this article is adapted. The Czech writers darkly humorous novel, published in 1936, anticipated our current reality with eerie accuracy. Stuart Ewen, in his history of the public relations industry, saw the birth of commercial radio in 1921 as a vital tool in the great wave of debt-financed consumption in the 1920s "a privately owned utility, pumping information and entertainment into peoples homes". The historian Benjamin Hunnicutt, who examined the mainstream press of the 1920s, along with the publications of corporations, business organisations, and government inquiries, found extensive evidence that such fears were widespread in business circles during the 1920s. It would not do if people were content because they felt they had enough. 771 Words4 Pages. Economy was booming again and people had . Some memorable TV spots during this time period were for Alka-Seltzer, Ajax, and Frosted Flakes. Sandwiched between the war-ravaged 1940s and the explosive 1960s, the 1950s was a time of great growth and prosperity in many aspects. After WWI, America became one of the worlds most formidable superpowers. Consumer needs were constantly changing due to wars, shifts in the economy, advancements in technology and various other factors. Innovations in technology, expansion of white-collar jobs, more credit, and new groups of consumers fueled prosperity. In 1930, Kellogg adopted a six-hour shift to help accommodate unemployed workers. There, especially in the United States, consumption continued to expand through the 1920s, though truncated by the Great Depression of 1929. It replaced the radio as a family's primary source of entertainment and information. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. Demand for them must be elaborately contrived," he wrote. TV ads evolved with the creative revolution and the civil rights movement, embracing hip consumerism and incorporating more underrepresented consumers. While the society got rid of their miseries; sciences, arts, and businesses renewed themselves by evolving. A thing may be desired, not for its intrinsic worth or usefulness, but because he has unconsciously come to see in it a symbol of something else, the desire for which he is ashamed to admit to himself because it is a symbol of social position, an evidence of his success. 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