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I wish I was able to experience this time period, unfortunately I was born in 1984. There is a lot I admire about it. The music, the style of cars, clothing, architecture, interiors, electronics are superior to today, we landed on the moon. While this is more 50's-ish, it seems the family unit was stronger back then. Since I love Hawaii, tiki culture looks cool too.
Obviously, there were some downsides. Racism, sexism (even for my conservative leanings), Vietnam, USSR, smoking, etc.
Sometimes I wish we could take the music, style, class, and community of back then and inject into today with less racism, sexism, better health care, safety etc.
So, "What Was It Like Living in 1955-1975?". Feel free to break any myths or misconceptions I might have as well.
It was a time in which the entire world was recovering from the Second World War, and both of the World Wars represented a clash between the democratic system which had begun to evolve around 1700, and a return to (or at least the preservation of) an authoritarian system, built upon blind obedience to absolutes sometimes to a nation-state, sometimes to a church, and sometimes to a tribe (if you want to call the Nazis a "tribe") or a philosophy like Marxism.
The world had been wallowing in blood -- 100 million lives wasted via war and/or persecution between 1914 and 1945 -- and one region -- North America -- had emerged with a functional system of parliamentary pluralism and an intact and highly efficient industrial economy; need we say more on that point?
Within that underpinning, the opportunity arose for those who had been partially subjugated under the old rules, racial minorities being the most prominent, but not the only example, to seek a more-level playing field, This trend was underpinned by the Fifties "baby boom" -- a bulge in the population unwilling to swallow whole the absolutes of an earlier time, and aided in part by a technologic surge which both dispelled the most doctrinal of the earlier absolutes via the electronic media (and twenty years later, the Internet) and offered a previously-unparalleled expansion of sexual freedom via the Pill.
And it needs to be emphasized at this point that not all of us who came of age in this era accepted the Liberal / "progressive" / left-center (take-your-pick) mantras intact. A threat to the evolving democratic societies remained (in the hands of the heirs of Stalin), and many of us didn't feel completely comfortable with the "do your own thing" attitude of the times -- unchecked pursuit of any end, particularly when those on the fringes still seek access to power still makes a lot of us uneasy.
From here, I'll turn the discussion of what evolved, and might evolve, over to others here with something to say -- save to point out that the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early Nineties represented the final, and most important act in the conflict cited in the first two paragraphs. Militant Islam is a threat, but nowhere hear as big a threat as Hitlerism or Stalinism. And too many of the causes of the present day (environmentalism, feminism, sexual minority rights), while grounded in legitimate concerns, have been twisted by those in pursuit of the same power and authority which has caused so much abuse and suffering over the past century.
Regulars here, please lead on.
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 07-27-2015 at 05:22 PM..
The question was not "if" the Communists were going blow us up, but "when". If it happened while my Dad was at work on base, he would get off easy via instant vaporization. Meanwhile we suburbanites would linger in some sort of mega sunburn condition until our kidneys gave out. Or that was my take on the matter.
The Timmy Turtle Duck and Cover routine didn't fool us kids.
I grew up thinking the movie "Fail Safe" was a documentary about where my Dad worked.
Look up that movie, or -- better yet -- read the book for some real insight into growing up in the Cold War culture.
There are numerous threads "what was it like in the 50's", "what was it like in the 60s", and "what was it like in the 70s". Very popular threads in this forum for some reason, and a bit of an irritation to those that are interested in historical subjects as compared to pop cultural topics. They appear monthly. The mods sometimes just shut them down.
You can do a search and find them.
I remember working as a kid in the early 70s in Georgetown, DC. The bars had no cover charge. The music was the best. Then Disco came along and all the hippies switched to wearing polyester suits and driving Cordovas. The Horror, the Horror.
I was a kid thru the 60s and 70s so I didn't give a damn about the political situation at the time. My main concern was getting that 3ft sissy bar for my spyder bike. I remember pushing lawnmowers all over the neighborhood just so I can get $2.00 a yard and then heading to the dime store to buy .20 cent sodas and .15 cent comic books. I ate more than my share of Fritos just so I could replace the Frito Bandito pencil eraser that my brother chewed the hat off. I remember little league and there was no T-ball, our coach gave us batting practice by firing fastballs under our chins. TV shows were cool back in those days, even the ones that sucked at least had a catchy theme song. In the summer it was hanging out at the pinball arcade and the drive-in at night. If I remember correctly I think gas was only .30 cents a gallon. I remember my dad reminiscing about the 30s and 40s so I guess we all end up doing that.
There are numerous threads "what was it like in the 50's", "what was it like in the 60s", and "what was it like in the 70s". Very popular threads in this forum for some reason, and a bit of an irritation to those that are interested in historical subjects as compared to pop cultural topics. They appear monthly. The mods sometimes just shut them down.
You can do a search and find them.
I reluctantly have to agree with that observation, but the OP's maturity would, hopefully, allow us to take this thread somewhat further and deeper. The "pop culture" posts might get a bit too simplistic from time to time, but it's something we can live with.
In addition, the period '55-'75 covers a longer time frame -- hopefully, we can keep the discussion going beyond the Leave it to Beaver oversimplification.
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 07-27-2015 at 05:46 PM..
I reluctantly have to agree with that observation, but the OP's maturity would, hopefully, allow us to take this thread somewhat further and deeper. The "pop culture" posts might get a bit too simplistic from time, but it's hopefully something we can live with.
In addition, the period '55-'75 covers a longer time frame -- hopefully, we can keep the discussion going beyond the Leave it to Beaver oversimplification.
...exactly. I want to observe discussion and as I said, please break any myths I have. I picked 1955-75 because this thread is really about the 60's, but I want to know the feeling leading up to the 60's and the feeling exiting the 60's. I know of the 50's utopia myth, and I don't fall for it. Unfortunately, my, and my generations source for this era was TV, Movies, Music. We can read history books and accounts, and I do, but we don't get the colorful picture that media provides. Personally, I was in a year long class in High School about the Vietnam war, with guest speakers and other interactivity so that was one of my sources into the decade.
This was in no way the source of my liking of the 60's, but I recently finished binge watching Mad Men, and it did renew my interest, which had been dormant. Sadly, my searches has revealed some people saying the adultery, sexism, alcoholism really was that bad.
The question was not "if" the Communists were going blow us up, but "when". If it happened while my Dad was at work on base, he would get off easy via instant vaporization. Meanwhile we suburbanites would linger in some sort of mega sunburn condition until our kidneys gave out. Or that was my take on the matter.
The Timmy Turtle Duck and Cover routine didn't fool us kids.
I grew up thinking the movie "Fail Safe" was a documentary about where my Dad worked.
Look up that movie, or -- better yet -- read the book for some real insight into growing up in the Cold War culture.
My dad worked in aerospace, but on the day Castro blinked or not, they kept me home from school and Dad stayed home from work. Just in case. That way we'd be together. It seems unreal to people now, but the fear was really real. And now that we know more, it was even more tentative a moment, but Kennedy had his daughter playing in the room, and Kruschev his grandchild, and they both decided their children deserved better.
Fail Safe was much less touted than How I stopped worrying and learned to love the bomb, especially with that catchy song at the end of the second movie, but watching it today its still scary. So much power to destroy everyone in so few human beings.... It actually had an impact on public though.
But I remember drop and cover drills under the desk which wouldn't have saved you from an minor earthquake. And fall out shelters. And the subtle psychological effect the maybe we'll all be dead tomorrow had. Maybe my generation who grew up with it saw challenging the beliefs of the society as the other side. But I remember thinking of the future as a very undefined thing. It would be what it became, and what we chose to make it, but I did not know how.
And we of that time saw technology change the way we live. Anyone seen the House of the Future in Disneyland that was built in the fifties? It seemed amazing. They even had an integrated computer, even if it wasn't called that and we didn't have anything like that. Today we live in that house. But we still remember when we couldn't.
That's the difference between the perception of those who lived thru and those who only know the present. We remember. Most of us have embrassed it. Some of us had nerdy friends who built their own computers and remember the wonder of being able to log into a wider world. I still feel that. My son, who sat playing games on my desktop when he was a little one, just sees it as normal.
But those years overall are a time of great transion. Parents who were alive at the end of the war swore they were going to give their kids all the chances they could. It wasn't just that there were more chances, but they were eagerly embrassed. We've rewritten the way we live with our handy toys. My son loved corn on the cob and *complained* we couldn't microwave it.... But my mom loved Big Band and thank to the transistor raido she listened to music on all day, I love it too. We want more. As a kid who was very introverted and loved science and anthropology as a kid on, I can imagion how I'd have used a computer.
There's losses too. We're so busy today. Or some of us are. I gave up busy after I quit working. I enjoy things a lot more now since I'm not rushing through them. And there's so much more pressure today, particularily for kids, to be something more than kids. I'm grateful I'm not a kid today.
What was it like? It was different. We were terrified the bomb would wipe us out but we loved all the good things in life. We were raised to dream, and some of them came true. We saw the world differently than other generations as before we were born our parents had begun to see a world, not just where they lived. And we were a generation that were encouraged to look past the barriers to what might be, be it social or science or art.
Would I like to relive it? No way. I'd love to sit in my aunt and uncles house with my cousins and grandmother and my parents and aunt and uncle on a Friday night. We always visited on Friday. But would I want to revisit the unsaid rule that NOBODY mentioned certain things in the news, like Viet Nam? Or WW2 for that matter since Uncle made himself a defirment. Dad didn't bring it up but always held it against him. Or that women were doing the cooking and cleaning up and men played cards after dinner.
We have made a different world, in some ways a better one. In some ways a more terrifying one. In some ways a more promising one, and in some ways one which will leave a lot behind. But as this is the one I live in, I'd prefer to be here.
...exactly. I want to observe discussion and as I said, please break any myths I have. I picked 1955-75 because this thread is really about the 60's, but I want to know the feeling leading up to the 60's and the feeling exiting the 60's. I know of the 50's utopia myth, and I don't fall for it. Unfortunately, my, and my generations source for this era was TV, Movies, Music. We can read history books and accounts, and I do, but we don't get the colorful picture that media provides. Personally, I was in a year long class in High School about the Vietnam war, with guest speakers and other interactivity so that was one of my sources into the decade.
This was in no way the source of my liking of the 60's, but I recently finished binge watching Mad Men, and it did renew my interest, which had been dormant. Sadly, my searches has revealed some people saying the adultery, sexism, alcoholism really was that bad.
I don't think the fifties were 'utopia' to mom and dad. Dad had fought through the pacific and Mom sat home and hoped he came home. He left home at sixteen to get off the farm. Mom's dad dumped my grandmother when Mom was sixteen and Grandma worked in a grocery store to support herself and kids. They knew about real life. They were grateful for the first vaccines, but kids were still getting polio. They were not innocent.
Dad stayed home when the bomb might go off, and kept me home. They were not assuming it would work out. Mom and Dad and their generation were survivors. They had to deal with life realistically. They saw the world still waiting to teeter totter back into war. Or the Bomb. But they were capable of enjoying the good things and appreciating them, but knew they weren't utopia.
A suggestion I have is watch some of the old tv shows of the 60's. Note how different they are and how they'd be far more 'proper' today. On Bewitched, you notice how Darren's boss drinks so much that when he catches Sam in witch mode, he just assumes its the booze. You notice in all of them how everyone smokes, and with their babies and kids in the room too. Women seldom ever hold skilled or managerial jobs, and those women are often caricatures. Yes, the smoking, the booze and the sexism were every day. If you were used to it, it wasn't that bad. Perception is everything. Popular media of the time is a mirror of the audience, and it shows a closer image. But that it was portrayed as normal is what means the most. And how much 'sensitivities' have changed. But there are undoubtedly things about today which when seen by future times will be just as distrubing.
As for the generation that grew up then, we didn't really know about our parents lives until later. But we were both cherished and living in a different time, and our parents wanted to keep us safe from the world. But the world has a way of getting in anyway. No matter how hard to try to shield your kids from life, it fails in the end. But at least we were lucky they weren't the helicopter parents of today afraid to let the kids play in their own yard.
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