The Nifty Fifties!

1. The Nifty Fifties!

2. The Mentality • Gee, golly, that’s swell! • Why that’s just nifty, Steve! • Let’s all have some good, wholesome, clean fun! • Honey, I’m home! • Dinner’s on the table, dear!

3. Family Life • Stereotypical gender roles- Mother stays home and has dinner ready when Father gets home • Divorce? Not in this lifetime, you just worked it out and stayed together forever • Conformity- Fitting the mold

4. Money Then, Money Now • House: $14,500 • Average income: $3,216 • Ford car: $1339-$2262 • TV system: $549.50 • 12" records: $4.85 • Milk: $.82 • Gas: $.20 • Postage stamp: $.03 • Sirloin steak: $.77 lb

5. Dig That Crazy Lingo... • Back seat bingo = Necking in a car • Get with it = Understand • Horn = Telephone • Hottie = A very fast car • Ankle Biter = a child • Like crazy; like wow = Better than cool Paper shaker = Cheerleader • Pile up Z's = Get some sleep • Radioactive = Very popular • Reds = The Communists • Wazoo = Your rear end • What's buzzin, Cuzzin = What's new?

6. More Lingo... • Add “ville” to anything…loserville, squareville, deadsville, coolville… • The word “COOL,” despite what you think, was coined by the 50’s generation…yes, that would mean YOUR grandparents! • Kids would use cute phrases like, nifty, golly, and swell… a far cry from those “cute words” you hear in the halls today.

7. The 50’s Fashion Agenda • No one went anywhere sloppy--the look was CONSERVATIVE; imagine that. • Girls always wore dresses, unless playing outside--they are taught to be a “lady” from birth • The look was tailored and refined • Gloves, heels, and often a hat, completed a woman’s outfit • Boys attended school dressed in ties, sweaters, and dress pants--girls dresses.

8. Actual 50’s Fashions I DON’T THINK SO! More Richie, less Fonzie! Hey!

9. Check out the HAIR! Ah, if only we all could look like Sandra Dee! The POPULAR DUCKTAIL

10. The Creators of “FADS” • Hula hoop • 3-D movies • Pink - not the singer • Poodles • Chlorophyll • Coonskin Caps • Telephone cramming

11. And More Fads... What people would do to break a record!

12. Television...Gray but FUN! • I Dream of Jeannie • I Love Lucy • Leave it to Beaver • Lassie • Ed Sullivan • Mr. Ed • Donna Reed • Dennis the Menace

13. Top Movies of the 50’s • Ben-Hur • Singin’ in the Rain • Roman Holiday • Hitchcock’s Vertigo • Shane • Some Like It Hot • Streetcar Named Desire

14. Bye, bye Miss American Pie... Buddy Holly • February 3rd, 1959 • Private plane left Iowa from a concert headed for Fargo, ND. • Buddy Holly • “Peggy Sue” • “That’ll Be the Day” • “Big Bopper” • “Chantilly Lace” • Richie Valens • “La Bamba” Richie Valens “The Big Bopper”

15. The Beats. Can you dig it, man? • The term beat, or beatnik, originally referred to someone poor and exhausted… • Jack Kerouac coined it to describe “people of a special spirituality” • The Beats: Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Neal Cassidy, and many others. • They wrote poems and stories that let their spirit take over the writing; much of the Beat works were written in a stream of consciousness.

16. Jack Kerouac Allen Ginsberg Poem: “Howl” Book: On the Road

17. The Six Poets at Sixth Gallery:Legendary Poetry Slam • October 7th, 1955 • San Francisco • Jack Kerouac collected the money. Bought the wine. 150 people attended. 5 great writers read…then it was Allen Ginsberg’s turn.

18. He read from “Howl” "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterically naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix..."

19. Jack began chanting... Go! Go! Go!

20. And he read in methodic rhythm... • “...yacketayakking screaming vomiting whispering facts and memories and anecdotes and eyeball kicks and shocks of hospitals and jails and wars, whole intellects disgorged in total recall for seven days and nights with brilliant eyes…”

21. and the audience chanted... Go! Go! Go!

22. The poem took off into orbit... “...Moloch! Moloch! Robot apartments! invisible suburbs! skeleton treasuries! blind capitals! demonic industries! spectral nations! invincible madhouses! granite c****! monstrous bombs!”

23. And when he had finished... • Jack was in ecstasy • Allen was exhausted • The audience was in tears • And the world finally understood what it meant to be beat

24. Holden's Journey By J.D. Salinger

25. Central Park

26. Central Park Carousel House

27. Rockefeller Center

28. Radio City Music Hall

29. American Museum of Natural History

31. Peter Lorre • Casablanca • Maltese Falcon • M • The Man Who Knew Too Much

32. Gary Cooper • High Noon • Love in the Afternoon (w/ Audrey Hepburn) • Pride of the Yankees • For Whom the Bell Tolls • Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

33. The Lunts • Most respected, popular and critically acclaimed acting troupe • Extremely innovated and different acting shows • People would do anything to see the Lunts, in plays or just at their vacation spot

34. The Lunt Fontanne Theatre

35. Sites of NYC in 1950’s Central Park Pond Washington Square Park

36. Hot Dog Vender

37. Themes: Catcher in the Rye • Loss of Innocence • Society vs. Man • Man vs. Self • Painfulness of Growing Up • Alienation/Self Protection • Phoniness of Adult World