It is funny how a lot of people look at the 50's as a time of the time to live and raise a family. In Stephanie Coontz's story "What We Really Miss About The 1950's", she tells about the many things of what may have been peoples reasons for picking the 50's out of every decade the one to live in. I did not know too much about the 50's besides some of the movies, t.v. shows and music that came out. When she was discussing about the t.v. shows in the 50's I found it funny that people watching leave it to beaver knew it wasn't supposed to be a mirror image of their live but of how their lives are supposed to be. Right their is funny difference to me of now and then. I don't think people now a days try to replicate their lives after The Simpsons or The Bluth family from Arrested Development, now a days we like to see families more messed up than our own so we feel better about how are lives might be. In a way I think people were ignorant and perhaps reaching for something unattainable.
I also found interesting that she talked about how divorce rates were lower in the 1950's a lot of parents stayed together even though they could not stand each other or had no love for one another. I guess that would be a persons personal view and belief of what is better to raise a family with a mother and father who have no love for one another or to be divorced and perhaps be more happy.
One final point that that I thought was ironic with injunction with my last thoughts. Is she stated that the children who were raised in the 1950's stated that they could not live how their parents lived or talk to their kids like their parents talked to them. So this left me confused about what was it about the 1950's that made it so special? Maybe it was that kids for the most part had more respect for their parents and for adults. I think it is left up for debate and maybe if people really thought about it they would say different.
Nathan, I liked your thoughts on the Coontz story. Your comment, "...now a days, we like to see families more messed up than our own so we feel better about how our lives might be," was so true!! What a great insight!! Sad but true.
ReplyDeleteWhat a thought about our day and time. If you were to compare the content from the 1950's television series to those of today, your theory of people wanting to see someone worse off than ourselves may ring true through our culture. I agree that children may have more respect for adults during the 1950's than they do now. A famous saying around my family was that children of today would not last as children of their time. I also agree that people may have been happier if they had actually divorced. This may be the same problems of today, do we stay together because of commitments or do we seek after our own happines?
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