It was America's coming-out party a decade-long celebration of growth and power, fueled by the victory in WWII. Based on Pulitzer Prize winner David Halbertstam's bestselling book, this lively series casts a nostalgic eye back on the years of Ozzie and Harriet and the Hula Hoop, years which nonetheless paved the way for the tumult of the decades to follow. From Sputnik to Elvis, bobby-socks to the Kinsey Report, DAVID HALBERTSTAM'S THE FIFTIES is a breathtaking collage of the people, music, memories, fads and issues that sent the first Baby Boomers on their way. Countless interviews, clips from landmark TV shows and movies like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and specially-produced music videos set to original '50s hits capture the intense tapestry of optimism and fear, repression and discovery that was THE FIFTIES.
The 1950s are fast becoming what the 1960s were not all that long ago. Which is to say that the era that set the stage for the obviously upheaval-heavy '60s is getting its own undressing, and the interlocutors are finding all sorts of fascinating stuff. Historian David Halberstam, who logged time in the era as a journalist and civil rights struggle participant, helped nudge the era's current popularity with his book, which gives this exhaustive six-tape series its name. And given art historian Karal Ann Marling's consideration of the era as the dawn of "visual culture" in her own book on the 1950s, it's fitting that this set is so geared towards the visual. From its coverage of the McCarthy era and the baby boom to its study of the growth of affluence as a national ideal, the set roots many of its themes through the ways 1950s culture came together as a visual spectacle. First there is television ad-mogul Rosser Reeves and the leveraging of the television as a sales machine, then there's Richard Nixon's first career salvage job via television, then there are the running visual (and literary) constructions and interrogations of domesticity, and much more. Also prevalent in the set, though, is the concurrent rise of the "men's magazine" (i.e., Playboy), the then-alluring first edition of the Kinsey Report, and the spread of a manifest culture of desire--which in writing sounds amply intellectual but in viewing is fast-paced, compelling, and easy to engage for long periods of time. Probably most compelling in the set is the way the era's visuals changed society irrevocably--and swiftly. The civil rights era's catapult was due in large part to general citizenry witnessing fire hoses and police dogs trained on children and the astonishing power of Martin Luther King Jr.'s nonviolent resistance. On another level, the visuals also created both a dizzying array of styles, captured here in regard to automobile manufacturers, and the flattening of one style into a de facto standard, captured here in the spreading communist fear, the rise of McDonald's restaurants, and even Elvis Presley. This series is the best up-close focus on the 1950s, making it essential to students of American culture, general history fans, and anyone curious about the tendrils of culture in the United States. --Andrew Bartlett
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Uneven portrayal of 1950s I lived in the 1950s and it was just great. This show presented too many stuff from a 90s leftist perspective. At the outset, however, there is SOME good to be found in this miniseries: the descriptions of the civil rights movement, suburbanization, the beatniks, television, the fall of Cuba to Castro and the rise of rock and roll are quite accurate, even if you can get by the "teens are rebels" slant.
That, unfortunately, is all the good to be found in this seemingly endless procession of leftist... more info
Excellent series, one major exception... First of all, let's get this straight. This is an excellent 300 part video series about America in the greatest decade in history: the 50s. I thought the segments about Jack Kerouac, black athletes like Bill Russell and Jackie Robinson, and the rise of television and suburbs were fascinating. (I study the Washington, D.C. suburbs in the mid-1950s). HOWEVER, there was one major inaccuracy:
I absolutely abhorred the "Burning Desire" tape. America was not so sex starved in the decade as the left-coasters... more info
The raw appearance of a decade known for proper appearances To many, the sixties cannot be mentioned without prefacing it with the adjective turbulent. However, as can be seen from this tape, in the fifties, the turbulence was there, just subterranean and pressing hard towards the surface. Quite frankly, I do not understand how anyone could be nostalgic for that decade. You see in detail the paranoia against communism milked so well by Joe McCarthy, the incredible hatred blacks faced and how people were so dissatisfied in an era of unprecedented prosperity. ... more info
The American Dream Unfolds I've always had a special interest in the decade in which I was born and this six-part video collection from The History Channel, along with the more extensive book upon which it is based, provides an excellent overview of some of the more significant political and social events which defined this post-war decade. It is a marvelous journey back to a pivotal time in 20th Century American history.
In 300+ minutes, it examines topics as widely diverse as the Cold War and Senator McCarthy's Communist witch... more info
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