1950s
comparison chart
Television in Canada
• Television made its debut in 1952
with television division of the Canadian Broadcast
Company (CBC) with CBLT-Toronto & CBFT-Montréal
• Only about 10% of population had a tv because it
was so expensive
• Broadcast was 3 hours a day, in 2 languages
• Mostly cultural elements – Shakespeare and opera
• And, of course, sports – Hockey Night in Canada
began in 1952
Hockey Night in Canada
• 1st televised game for French Canada was in
October 11, 1952
• Montreal Canadiens vs. Detroit Red Wings
• 1st televised game for English Canada 3 weeks later
• Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins
• http://archives.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/clips/16388/
• By the end of the decade, it would be the only
show making money – 475% profit!
The Golden Age of Television
• In America, black & white television sets
exploded at the beginning of the '50s.
• By mid-1950s, there came electronic colour
TVs, which was followed by launching of
remote control towards 1959.
Variety Shows
• The Ed Sullivan Show aired Sundays from June
20, 1948 to June 6, 1971
• Featured a variety of musical performances,
notably three appearances in the 1950s by
Elvis Presley, the debut of the The Beatles in
the 1960s, and so on
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOvUdZgl
7vo&feature=player_embedded#at=26
Sitcoms – Situation Comedies
Glossy view of mostly middle-class suburban life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wp3m1vg06Q
But...
I Love Lucy
The Honeymooners
Game Shows
• Twenty-One was a huge hit in
the 1950s but was hit with
scandal in 1956-58 when it
was revealed that a
contestant, Charles van
Doren, had been given
answers by the show’s
producer
• So dramatic was this
revelation that there were
Senate hearings to help
decide the fate of game
shows on television
Westerns
Davy Crockett
King of the Wild Frontier
Sheriff Matt
Dillon, Gunsmoke
The Lone Ranger
(and his faithful
sidekick, Tonto):
Who is that masked man?
Suburbia
• 1950s was the first decade of “urban sprawl”
• Many “planned communities” cropped up around
major urban areas
• In the 1950s, 1.1 million housing units were built
• In the US, the first was Levittown, NY
• In Canada, it was Don Mills
– Both were prototypes for future developments
Planned Communities
Levittown, NY: “The American Dream”
In 1949, William Levitt produced 150 houses per week.
$7,990 or $60/month with no down payment.
Don Mills, Ontario
• In 1950, the area was farmland
• E.P. Taylor, a prominent businessman, bought 2000 acres
• 1953-1965, area was transformed. It introduced many
design features that would define generations of suburbs.
• Each quadrant had a school, church, and a local store
• Wide variety of housing types (e.g. small apartment
buildings, semi-detached homes, and ranch-style singlefamily houses).
• At the centre of the community were plans for a shopping
centre, community centre, curling rink, and hockey arena
• The outdoor plaza opened in 1955
Automobile
• Cars made the suburbs possible
• In the 1950s, Hwy 401 and 400-series developed,
along with more urban roads getting paved
• Because of cars cities and suburbs become more
homogeneous (where things are the same)
First McDonald’s
(1955)
Drive-In
Movies
Car registrations:
1958 Pink Cadillac
1945  25,000,000
1960  60,000,000
1959 Chevy Corvette
In 1956, the largest public works project in history
begins in the US: The Interstate Highway Act
• Cost $32 billion
• 41,000 miles of new highways built
Teenagers
• In the 1950s, the word “teenager” enters
North American lexicon
• By 1956 in the US, there are 13 million teens
(remember the Baby Boom!) with $7 billion to
spend a year
• Marketers took advantage of this new
category in order to make $ and geared
advertising and movies to teens
“Juvenile Delinquency”
1951  J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye
Marlon Brando
The Wild One (1953)
James Dean
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Music for teens – “Race” music
Elvis Presley
“The King”
Chuck Berry
Bill Haley &
The Comets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5fsqYctXgM
Literature for teens
J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye
The “Beat” Generation:
Jack Kerouac  On The Road
Allen Ginsberg  “Howl”
William S. Burroughs  Junkie
“Beatnik”
“Clean” Teen
Educational Reform
• Strict rules of conduct for dress code & behaviour
– Specific boy and girl doors to enter/exit school
• Attendance through high school was the norm
• Science and history were added to the curriculum
vs. the previous focus on 3 ‘R’s
– Reading
– Writing
– Arithmetic
Rules for Behaviour in 1950s
• Obey Authority.
• Control Your Emotions.
• Don’t Make Waves  Fit in with group.
• Don’t Even Think About Sex!!!
HAVE TIMES CHANGED? WHAT DO YOU THINK?
• Assign comparison poster for 1950s and 2010s