1950s is a period for a significant development of television in North American. The television set entered North American living rooms in the early 1950s bringing with it a new lifestyle. From 1948 to 1953, the rate of television sets increased virtually 50% with over 25,000,000 in American family. With television growing widely popular among North American societies, so did advertising and consumerism. With women staying at home, the television set was a perfect companion to keep them occupied while doing their daily tasks. The consumerism competition had a great influence on 1950s ideology.
The symbolic ‘television set’ is portrayed more obscurely in the film All That Heaven Allows. After the traumatic decision to leave the man of her dreams, Cary’s two children purchase her a television set for Christmas. She does not seem pleased about their gesture. A shot of Cary’s lone face is reflected in the glare of the television screen. The television itself represents the symbol of ‘companionship for the lonely’ in All That Heaven Allows. Cary’s reaction to consumerism is negative compared to Alice’s. Alice is a woman who seeks refuge from boredom, while Cary feels as if she is the victim of modernization. The television represents the ‘women’s best friend’, and plays a prominent role in the 1950s.
Females were not exclusively the sole gender captivated by consumer culture. For instance, in The Honeymooners, Ralph becomes engaged in a soap opera (intended generally for a female audience) while his friend Ed becomes engaged in the children’s program Captain Video. The plot line here obviously pokes fun at the modern “working man” and how he himself becomes a victim of consumerism and modernization. This goes to show that although women are targeted for advertisements and television programs, men have also been captivated by consumer culture, thus contradicting ideological gender roles. An obvious example is when Ed takes his Captain Video apparel out of its box and wears it while watching the show.
1950s ideology revolved around gender roles, consumerism and the introduction of the television set being a quintessential aspect of life. Lifestyles have changed over time, but television is still a large part of current popular culture. Along with other media, television still subjects us to advertising and consumerism that keeps North American capitalism thriving. As we can see, the 1950s were a crucial time for mass media to market products to housewives all across the continent. The television set was also considered a companion for many women while performing their daily chores. Women portrayed in television programs at this time reflected 1950s ideology, however at times, gender roles became ambiguous as to who was being consumed into popular culture. Nevertheless, the television was a definitive symbol of North American ideology during the 1950s.
Brainstorming: 60 years ago, we are highly influenced by the television industry because of the poor technology. However, we can use internet now to explore the world. In some way, the mode of television hardly satisfy audience because the scheduled timetable and constraint content. In modern day, audience like to create their own content and like to be involved in the production. Internet is a good platform to achieve this kind of idea.