suburband conformity and social changei nfilm and tv

suburban conformity

• Suburbs = heartland of conformity; uniform housing, modern amenities (garage, TV, dishwasher, backyard).

• Racial exclusivity: 1960 → only 5% of suburban dwellers were Black; Levittown: 65,000 residents, only 57 Black.

• Baby boom: post‑war marriages + rising birth rates → rapid population growth.

• Media idealisation: 1956 Life magazine promoted the “ideal” suburban woman (32, married at 16, 4 children).

• Mass media + advertising promoted identical lifestyles and consumption.

• Cold War tension encouraged unity and conformity.

• Corporate culture: rise of “company men” → pressure to fit into standardised organisations.

the organization men

• 1947–57: 61% rise in salaried middle-class workers

• Driven by growth of large corporations (e.g. General Motors)

• Rise of white-collar roles: office workers, scientists, marketing analysts, management experts

• Management science: time/motion studies to optimise productivity

• Corporate conformity: employers used personality tests to select compliant workers

• Vocational schools (e.g. California) trained ‘custom-built men’ for corporate life

social cange in film and television

• TV ownership surged in 1950s–60s

• Popular sitcoms: I Love Lucy (1951–57), Father Knows Best (1953), Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–66)

• Sitcoms portrayed white, middle-class suburban life: stable families, domestic bliss, gender roles

• I Love Lucy: 70% of TVs tuned in for Lucy’s on-screen birth

• Game shows like $64,000 Question (1955) also popular → scandal: Charles van Doren given answers

criticsm of television

• Sitcoms like Father Knows Best, Ozzie and Harriet, I Love Lucy promoted white, middle-class suburban ideals

• I Remember Mama taught children that consumerism was good

• TV linked to falling test scores, declining reading habits, and reduced sales of magazines like Life

• Viewers became physically inactive and mentally passive

• Nat King Cole Show (1956–57) struggled to retain sponsors due to racial bias → “Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark”

working with women in the 1950s sitcom

• Sitcoms portrayed working women as undesirable

  • The Honeymooners (1955): husband says “No wife of mine is going to work”

  • Father Knows Best (1958, “Betty: Girl Engineer”): Betty abandons engineering dream after being told men wouldn’t want dusty working wives

• Women shown as supportive, domestic, passive

• Idealised as homemakers, not professionals

• TV reinforced traditional gender norms: women’s role = wife and mother

• Media shaped expectations for young women → discouraged ambition

• Reflected wider post-war push for domestic stability and conformit

hollywood challenges

• Race:

  • The Defiant Ones (1958): Black and white convicts chained together → racial cooperation

  • Imitation of Life (1959): Black mother = true heroine, challenges racial invisibility

  • South Pacific (1958): interracial romance → backlash in the South, race riot in Long Island

• Anti-war:

  • Paths of Glory (1957): critically acclaimed, poor box office → risk of challenging consensus

• Gender & conformity:

• All That Heaven Allows (1955): widow rejects materialism, marries younger bohemian man

• Crime of Passion (1957): woman trapped by suburban life → kills husband’s boss

• Seen as feminist critique, but ends in punishment → limits of Hollywood dissent

AO2: Analysis

• Hollywood cautiously challenged racial prejudice, gender roles, and middle-class norms

• Films reflected growing social tensions but avoided alienating mainstream audiences

• Box office pressure limited radical content → dissent framed within acceptable boundaries

• Women’s rebellion often punished → reinforced domestic expectations despite critique

advertising

AO1: Key Facts

• TV-driven consumerism:

  • By early 1960s, most US homes had a TV

  • US TV funded entirely by advertising → revenue grew 1000% in 1950s

  • Advertisers spent $10 billion/year persuading consumers

  • 1950: $5.7bn on ads → 1960: $11.9bn

  • Ad spending exceeded education funding

• Limits of influence:

• Viewers often laughed at exaggerated claims

• I Love Lucy sponsored by Philip Morris → sales dropped due to tobacco health concerns

🧠 AO2: Analysis

• Advertising shaped mass consumer identity and reinforced conformity

• TV became central to cultural messaging → blurred entertainment and marketing

• Psychological tactics exploited emotion, gender, and aspiration

• Consumerism embedded in everyday life and media narratives