The 1950’sPop Culture

1950’s – The War Comes to a Close

For Canadians, the late forties and early fifties marked the return to a normal family life

Several hundred thousand Canadian veterans returned home after serving in the war effort overseas

Some soldiers returned home to their families – others brought home their war brides and their children

Hard times during the Depression and World War II had kept people from having big families in the 1930s and 1940s

In the 1950s, the future looked promising again

The post-war years saw an economic boom4 million Canadian babies were born in the

1950s alone

The Baby Boom

The post-war years in Canada were the era of the….

BABY BOOM

1950’s

In just 15 years, between 1946 and 1961, Canada’s population increased by 50%, from 12 to 18 million

The baby boom made the 1950’s and 1960’s an era of youth, and many of these young people had pocket money and allowances to spend

They added to the new ‘consumer age’

Technological Changes

Technological changes accompanied the new lifestyle of the 1950’s

The growth of suburbs went hand in hand with an upsurge in driving and new car styles

Canadians bought over 3.5 million passenger cars in the 1950’s

The Automobile

Each year’s model seemed to grow longer, lower, and wider

North Americans believed that ‘bigger was better’ so enormous V8 engines and power steering became added features

The Automobile

Two-tone colours, plenty of chrome, and outlandish tail fins became the fads of the 1957 and 1958 models

New Fads

The popular candy which was created decades before the 50's, developed a new pocket size dispenser which became very popular in the 1950's

This new dispenser is now a Pez trademark and is what Pez is known for

Frisbee

Everyone loved throwing the frisbee around

Childrens first reaction to seeing the high flying toy was, 'Wow! What's that?‘

Even today people still throw frisbees around at parks and beaches but nothing compares to how people enjoyed them in the 1950's

Telephone Booth Stuffing

One of the most well known fads of all time was Telephone Booth stuffing.

It was started by several college students who would squeeze themselves into a telephone booth until no one else could fit inside.

Soon, many colleges around the world were trying to beat each other's records. The fad died out in 1959, but was reincarnated in the form of Volkswagen stuffing a few years later.

3D Movies

Movie studio executives worried that the new medium, television, would steal away their audiences

Even though 3-D movies had been around as far back as 1922 and had lost favor, it was decided to try again

Arch Oboler's "Bwana Devil" started the 3-D craze of the 1950's

People were issued glasses, which facilitated the 3-D effect

Sideburns

James Dean and Elvis Presley among others, got loads of mileage out of those strips of facial hair that grew down about an inch and a half below the ears.

Sideburns became the crucial detail to go along with the leather jackets and the DA haircuts.

Eventually sideburns could be seen everywhere and realization of the grooming seemed to be more trouble then it was worth.

The sideburns soon faded out.

Fashion Fads

Poodle Skirts Saddle Shoes Letter Sweaters Virgin Pins

Hula Hoop

One of the biggest fads of all time is the hula-hoop, invented in 1957, by an Australian

The name "hula hoop" came from the Hawaiian dance its users seemed to imitate

The invention was licensed to Wham-O, who sold 25 million hula-hoops in two months

They were manufacturing 20,000 hoops a day at the peak of popularity

The Hula Hoop

Television

TV first became widespread in Canada in the 1950’s

More Canadians had money to spend in the post-war years and Canada became a consumer society

The appliance that everyone wanted first was a television set

The Television

Television

Family life underwent great changes because of television

Families that used to play games or visit relatives suddenly found themselves watching television shows at home

Television

Eating habits changed when families bought TV tables so that they could eat their meals in front of the set

Television

Among the favourite Canadian television shows were: Wayne and Shuster; Country Hoedown; Front Page Challenge; Hockey Night in

Canada; I Love Lucy

The Ed Sullivan Show

America's hour-long pop culture classic -- which brought classic comedians, opera stars, Broadway actors and the hottest musical and variety acts together on one stage, every week from 1948 to 1972

Ed Sullivan

He helped to promote racial diversity by showcasing black performers, such as Pearl Bailey, Nat "King" Cole, George Kirby, and Leontyne Price.

Other television shows refused to present African-American guests due to sponsor complaints. Furthermore, Sullivan began inviting rock and roll stars onto the show to raise its appeal to the demographically important teen audience.

Elvis Presley made three memorable visits in 1956. Although cameras showed him from only the waist up on his last appearance to calm adult fears of the singer's swiveling pelvis, the fact that Presley was on the show seemed to legitimize rock to the adult audience.

Ed Sullivan and Elvis Presley

Furthermore, Sullivan began inviting rock and roll stars onto the show to raise its appeal to the demographically important teen audience.

Elvis Presley made three memorable visits in 1956. Although cameras showed him from only the waist up on his last appearance to calm adult fears of the singer's swiveling pelvis, the fact that Presley was on the show seemed to legitimize rock to the adult audience.

Elvis

Music