Charts DUE DATE:
American Society & Film
SOCIAL DYNAMICS of the 1950s/Early 1960s: Brainstorming Charts
Essay Question: HOW and WHY did 1950s/early 1960s America negotiate, challenge, and re-enforce the
society’s complicated understanding of youth, gender, homosexuality, race, and class? You must specifically
address 3 of these 5 categories. (i.e., Explain 1950s/early 1960s expectations, including why they existed and how
they were re-enforced. Consider how each of your three groups dealt with and/or challenged these expectations.)
Complete three different brainstorming charts, following the steps and chart
model below.
1. Choose the three subtopics you will include in your essay: youth, gender,
homosexuality, race, or class.
2. Review class material to generate ideas and specific supporting evidence for EACH of
the subtopics you chose. Review Required Sources on Essay Assignment. Remember
you need MLA cites: readings (Author Last Name page#) or if no author exists:
(“Title” page#) – note: neither has a comma;
films (Title in italic)
Possible readings: Paul Boyer’s “America at Mid-century” (hwk & class notes), “Beat Poets Give Birth to the
Hippie Movement,” “Wild in the Streets” the reading on ‘Rebel Without a Cause,’ “Containment at Home,”
“Fractured Fairy Tales,” “Mama Said,” “The Feminine Mystique,” Journal of Social History summary &
Congressional doc & Time magazine on Gays in the 1950s, Civil Rights Movement 1954-1970 packet, Loving case
and reading on interracial relationships, and Boyer excerpt, ‘The Other America’ in “America at Mid-century.”
Required feature films: Rebel Without a Cause
Far From Heaven
Documentary films: The Beats, Let’s Play House, Hidden Values of the 1950s, The Celluloid Closet
3. Create three different charts following the format below. Charts should be as long as
necessary for complete and thorough ideas/evidence (i.e., chart below will be much
longer because you want multiple ideas/evidence for each row).
Subtopic (e.g., Gender)
Ideas/Analysis
Expectations & Why identify 1950s/early 1960s U.S. society’s
expectations for this subgroup & explain
They Existed?
why these expectations existed
Specific Evidence & Source
list specific evidence fr readings/films
to support your analysis; include
cite info
How Expectations
Were Re-enforced?
explain how 1950s/early 1960s U.S. society relist specific evidence fr readings/films
enforced these expectations
to support your analysis; include
cite info
How Negotiated
and/or Challenged
these Expectations?
explain how the people in the subgroup
above negotiated (dealt with) these
expectations, and/or challenged/rebelled
against these expectations
list specific evidence fr readings/films
to support your analysis; include
cite info
4. Introductory paragraph and thesis due:
Review your three charts to identify PATTERNS among the three subgroups that will
allow you to summarize your analytic argument for your one sentence thesis statement,
which fully answers the essay question.