The Fifties: Let's Play House

The Fifties, based on the acclaimed best selling book by David Halberstam, is an in-depth examination of the decade of the 1950s. Blending interviews with archival footage, it creates a vivid portrait of an era that defined the image of the American way of life. Fraught with nostalgia and a yearning for a simpler time, memories of the 1950s evoke an idealistic, innocent image of a time before the turbulence of the 1960s. The Fifties looks beyond the image of the 1950s to the realities of the decade. In doing so, it reveals the 1950s as an era as turbulent as any other, one that portended the explosion of the 1960s. From hula-hoops to McCarthyism, split-level tract houses to atomic anxieties, The Fifties provides a comprehensive study of a fascinating era in American history. The Fifties would be useful for classes on American History, Women's History, The History of Science and Technology, Economics, and Cultural History. It is appropriate for middle school, high school and college.

Let's Play House

This episode of The Fifties focuses on the changes in the family and gender roles following World War II. Trying to ameliorate the disruption and dislocations of the war, and the anxieties of the dawning atomic era, Americans turned to marriage in greater numbers and at an earlier age than ever before. The subsequent baby boom produced by these marriages created a home and child centered existence that demanded rigid gender roles, especially for women. Let's Play House examines the implementation and effects of these rigid gender roles on both women and men, and the inevitable discontent these roles produced. Also included is a look at how a book,written by a New Hampshire housewife, exposed the sordid realities of small town life hidden beneath an idyllic veneer. Grace Metalious' Peyton Place debuted amidst controversy and scandal, and would become one of the best selling books of all time, not to mention an American idiom.

Vocabulary Discussion Questions

  1. After the disruptions of World War II to American life, young Americans married in greater numbers and at an earlier age than ever before. How did these young Americans, and the rest of American society, look to family formations to solve the dislocations and anxieties of World War II?
  2. The 1950s was one of the most prosperous eras of American history, with unprecedented numbers of American families reaching middle class status. How were images of women used to symbolize this new affluence?
  3. The prosperous, happy family of the 1950s was the predominant image of the American family in the media. What was the role of magazines, in particular "women's magazines," in selling this idyllic lifestyle?
  4. How does the media in any society reflect that society's social mores? How does the media influence the social mores?
  5. The families of the 1950s were portrayed in the media as happy, carefree, affluent and loving. What were the differences of the realities of family life and the portrayal of family life?
  6. When housewives of the 1950s expressed discontent with their lives, they themselves were diagnosed as the problem. How did doctors perpetuate the rigid gender roles for women in the 1950s?
  7. Betty Freidan, author of The Feminine Mystique, exposed the discontent of housewives. What was this "problem with no name" that Betty Freidan defined?
  8. Credit cards were introduced to the American consumer in the 1950s. How did these small, plastic cards change the way Americans spend and live? What is the legacy of easy credit for our society today?
  9. The young men and women of the 1950s comprised the generation that fought and experienced the greatest war in world history, World War II. How did the experience of World War II influence these men and women?
  10. Sloan Wilson was the author of the 1950s best seller, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit. How did Wilson's book address the anxieties of middle class men in the 1950s? How would you compare the effects of Wilson's book and Freidan's book?
  11. Why was Grace Metalious' Peyton Place so popular?
  12. How did Peyton Place dispel the myth of small town America? Why do Americans sometimes want to hide their true selves from outsiders?

Extended Activities

  1. Research magazine advertisements of the 1950s that are specifically aimed at women and compare them with current advertisements aimed at women. What are the differences in the approaches used? Has the message changed, or is it still the same? How are gender roles used to sell products?
  2. Create a movie poster for Peyton Place, a 1950s movie based on the Grace Metalious' scandalous best seller. What would you emphasize in the poster? How would you create a desire to see the movie?

Classroom Materials
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