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The 1950s in the United States of America were marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years,
and a return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the baby boom from returning GIs
who went to college under the G.I. Bill and settled in suburban America. Most of the internal conflicts that had developed
in earlier decades like women's rights, civil rights, and imperialism were relatively suppressed or neglected during this
time as a world returning from the brink hoped to see a more consistent way of life as opposed to the radicalism of the 1930s
and 1940s. The effect of suppressing social problems in the 1950s would have a significant impact on the rest of the twentieth
century.
In the West, an American generation traumatized by the Great Depression and World War II created a culture with emphasis
on normality and conformity. Europeans took a generally different approach to a post-war society, aiming for a greater inclusiveness
and social awareness after a global crisis in the preceding decades that many blamed on the failings of Free Market Capitalism,
and the fifties were marked by the establishment of a Welfare State in many countries in Western Europe.
Continuing poverty in some regions during recessions later on in this decade. The 1950s is often mistakenly painted as the
pinnacle of American prosperity. To some, it also may be considered the peak of our modern American civilization The '50s
were supposed to be a time of the "Affluent Society".
The 1950s saw fairly high rates of unionization, government social spending, taxes, and the like in the United States
and European countries,. Most Western governments were liberal or moderate, though domestic politics were also affected by
reactions to communism and the Cold War.
Beatniks, a culture of teenage and young adults who were seen as rebels and against the social norms, were popularized
towards the end of the decade and critisized by older generations. They are seen as a predecessor for the counterculture and
hippie movements.
Optimistic visions of a semi-utopian technological future, including such devices as the flying car, were popular.
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| Artist's impression of flying car, on the Feb 1951 cover of Popular Mechanics |
The 1950s represent what many see as the epitome of Japanese cinema, starting in 1950 with Rashomon, the first major success
of legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, which is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time. Kurosawa
followed this success with a string of classics such as Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (1954), Throne of Blood (1957), and The
Hidden Fortress (1958).
Other Japanese directors who were at the top of their game at this period in time were Yasujiro Ozu and Kenji Mizoguchi.
Ozu made Tokyo Story in 1953, which is widely considered one of the best films ever made, as well as the best Japanese film
ever made.Ozu followed this success with a remake of his earlier A Story of Floating Weeds, only this time in color and sound,
which are both regarded as some of Ozu's best work.
In 1953 and 1954, Mizoguchi made the two films that are widely considered to be his masterpieces, Ugetsu and Sansho the
Bailiff.
In addition to Japanese cinema receiving vast success worldwide, European cinema was experiencing a reboot after World
War II.
The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, and in Vietnam as the American War, occurred from 1959 to April 30,
1975. The term Vietnam Conflict is often used to refer to events which took place between 1959 and April 30, 1975. The war
was fought between the communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam and its communist allies and the US supported Republic of
Vietnam. It concluded with the defeat and dissolution of South Vietnam. For the United States, the war ended with the withdrawal
of American troops and failure of its foreign policy in Vietnam.
Over 1.4 million military personnel were killed in the war (only 6% were members of the United States armed forces), while
estimates of civilian fatalities range up to 2 million. On April 30, 1975, the capital of South Vietnam, Saigon fell to the
communist forces of North Vietnam, effectively ending the Vietnam War.
This well-known photo taken by Hubert van Es shows South Vietnamese civilians scrambling to board a CIA Air America helicopter
during the U.S. evacuation of Saigon.
The Korean War, lasting from June 25, 1950 until a cease-fire on July 27, 1953 (as of 2007, there has been no peace treaty
signed), started as a civil war between communist North Korea and republican South Korea. When it began, North and South Korea
existed as provisional governments competing for control over the Korean peninsula, due to the division of Korea by outside
powers. While originally a civil war, it quickly escalated into a Cold War-era conflict and served as a proxy war between
the capitalist powers of the United States and its allies and the Communist powers of the People's Republic of China and the
Soviet Union.
On September 15, General Douglas MacArthur planned a grand strategy to dissect North-Korean-occupied Korea at the city
of Incheon (Song Do port) to cut off further invasion by the North Korean army. Within a few days, MacArthurs' army took back
Seoul (South Korea's capital). The plan succeeded which allowed American and South Korean forces to cut off further expansion
by the North Koreans. The war continued until a cease-fire was agreed to by both sides on July 27, 1953. The war left 33,742
American soldiers dead and 92,134 wounded.
Musicals including Singing in the Rain and An American in Paris with Gene Kelly were released and White Christmas starring
Bing Crosby.
Animated films included Walt Disney's Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland.
Comedies are always popular, and the 1950s were no exception. It Happens Every Spring, Some Like It Hot with Marilyn Monroe,
Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, and The Ladykillers starring Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers, would be loved by many. The year
1951 would have an important comedy milestone, the last film of the great comedy duo, Laurel and Hardy, Atoll K, in which
the pair starred as the inheritors of an island in the Pacific.
Beatniks and the beat generation, an anti-materialistic literary movement that began with Jack Kerouac in 1948 and stretched
on into the 1960s, was at its zenith in the 1950s. Such groundbreaking literature as William S. Burroughs's Naked Lunch, Allen
Ginsberg's Howl, William Golding's Lord of the Flies, Jack Kerouac's On the Road, and J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye
were published. Also published in this decade was J. R. R. Tolkien's epic The Lord of the Rings. This decade is also marked
by some of the most famous works of science fiction by science fiction writers Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Theodore Sturgeon,
and Robert A. Heinlein. Other significant literary works included James Jones' From Here to Eternity, Ernest Hemingway's The
Old Man and the Sea, John Cheever's The Wapshot Chronicle, Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Arthur Miller's The
Crucible, Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, Saul Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March,
and Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.
Science and philosophy
Known as the "Golden Age", this era of movie-making saw the release of many classics, talented stars and directors.
Films like Sunset Boulevard with William Holden and Gloria Swanson, All About Eve with Bette Davis, and Ben-Hur with Charlton
Heston, would become instant classics.
Westerns were getting bigger in the 1950s, with films like High Noon starring Gary Cooper, and Cheyenne with Clint Walker,
wrangling moviegoers back to the time of outlaws and wild shoot-outs. There was no shortage of war movies: the 1950s saw the
release of Stalag 17, directed by Billy Wilder, The Bridge over the River Kwai starring Alec Guinness, and Stanley Kubrick's
Paths of Glory, a potent anti-war film that starred Kirk Douglas as the French Col. Dax, defending three soldiers accused
of cowardice.
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The "Cold War", which began as a geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle between the Soviet Union and the
United States, intensified. During this time the Warsaw Pact and NATO were founded.
More American above-ground nuclear test explosions happened during this decade than any other during the Cold War.
The 1950s were also marked with a rapid rise in tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, which would touch
off the Arms Race, the Space Race, McCarthyism, and the Korean War. Stalin's death in 1953 left an enormous impact in Eastern
Europe that forced the Soviet Union to create more liberal policies internally and externally.
The most notable political shift in the Eastern bloc would be the Hungarian revolution of 1956 which would soon falter
due to the Soviet Union's intervention.
In the United States there was a "Red Scare" resulting in the McCarthy Hearings.
The Suez Crisis was a war fought on Egyptian territory in 1956. Following the nationalisation of the Suez Canal in 1956
by Gamal Abdel Nasser, the United Kingdom, France and Israel subsequently invaded. The operation was a military success, but
after the USA and Soviet Union united in opposition to the invasion, the invaders were forced to withdraw. This was seen as
a major humiliation, especially for the two European countries, and symbolises the beginning of the end of colonialism and
weakening of European global importance.
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| Suez Canal, seen from Earth orbit |
The Day the Earth Stood Still hits movie theaters launching a cycle of Hollywood films in which Cold War fears are manifested
through scenarios of alien invasion or mutation.
Considerable racial tension arose with military and school desegregation in mostly the southern part of the United States,
though major controversy and uproar did not truly erupt until the 1960s.
Resurgence of evangelical Christianity including Youth for Christ (1943); the National Association of Evangelicals, the
American Council of Christian Churches, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (1950), Conservative Baptist Association
of America (1947); and the Campus Crusade for Christ (1951). Christianity Today was first published in 1956. 1956 also marked
the beginning of Bethany Fellowship, a small press that would grow to be a leading evangelical press.
Carl Stuart Hamblen, a religious radio broadcaster, hosted the popular show "The Cowboy Church of the Air".
That same year, Bergman decided to follow The Seventh Seal with a more personal project on a much smaller scale, Wild Strawberries.
Wild Strawberries is the story of an old man (played by Victor Sjöström) who goes on a trip to receive an honorary degree
with his daughter in law (Ingrid Thulin). During the trip, she tells him he is cold and unfeeling and he thinks over all the
failures of his life. Bergman explores such trademark themes as the existence of God and mortality in this film. Wild Strawberries
also received enormous acclaim and only further emphasized his talent. It is now considered one of his greatest films, and
1957 is considered a year of prodigious output for the young Bergman.
Meanwhile, over in France, young critics such as Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, and Éric Rohmer,
who worked for the influential magazine Cahiers du Cinéma were starting to make their stamp in film. In 1958, Chabrol made
Le Beau Serge, the film that is widely considered to be the first film of the French New Wave. But the New Wave only started
receiving recognition in 1959, when Truffaut released his debut feature, The 400 Blows. The 400 Blows struck a chord in audiences
worldwide and praise was lavished upon it. Today it is considered one of Truffaut's two best films, along with 1961's Jules
and Jim.
Later that year, Godard released his first film, Breathless. It received attention for its radical storytelling methods
and mocking of American gangster clichés. It is now regarded as a masterpiece, and one of Godard's best films. It remains
Godard's only box office success to date.
Hollywood
The European Community (or Common Market), the precursor of the European Union, was established with the Treaty of Rome in
1957
During this time, African-Americans were subject to racial segregation despite the belief put forward in The Declaration
of Independence 1776 that, 'all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable
rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.' However, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s
was brewing. Key figures like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Rosa Parks highlighted and challenged those who were against
African-American rights and freedom. The Little Rock Nine integrated Central High School ending segregation in schools.
Culture.
Brylcreem and other hair tonics had a period of popularity
juvenile delinquency was said to be at unprecedented epidemic proportions in the United States, though some see this era
as relatively low in crime compared to today.
In 1953, renowned Italian director Federico Fellini made what is widely considered to be his first masterpiece, I Vitelloni.
Although it did not achieve significant success at the time, Fellini followed it up with his international breakthrough, La
strada, which went on to win the first competitive foreign language film Oscar. Fellini followed the success of La strada
with another huge success, Nights of Cabiria. Nights of Cabiria was lauded worldwide and earned Fellini another Oscar.
Meanwhile, in Sweden, a young Ingmar Bergman was starting to leave his indelible stamp in cinema. In 1955, after a string
of financial flops, Bergman achieved his first international success, Smiles of a Summer Night. Smiles of a Summer Night received
international acclaim and earned Bergman a Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Bergman followed up the success of Smiles
with what remains his most famous film to this day, The Seventh Seal (1957).
The Seventh Seal was an ambitious project in which Antonious Block, after returning from the Crusades plays chess with
Death in the hope that Death will allow him to live. The Seventh Seal earned unanimous praise worldwide and established Bergman
as one of cinema's most promising, young directors and is still considered to be one of his best films, and some even consider
it to be his masterpiece.
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